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FCP pro no more?
It seems like in trying to reach out to more than just professional editors, Final Cut Pro X might have lost their main clientele of professional editors. Released in late June 2011, some are calling FCP X Apple’s biggest mistake
It’s not that the software has bugs (which it does); it’s just missing vital and mostly favourite features completely. They’re just gone. The biggest problem here seems to be the incompatibility with projects that are on previous versions of FCP. They don’t open on FCP X. What else? There’s no external video monitoring. Support for EDL, OMF and XML is practically nonexistent, meaning transferring of files is nightmarish. More problems. FCP X shows you all your media, all the time. And this isn’t something that can be disabled. Big problem! As some of the professionals point out, working on projects for competitive companies (which happens often) at the same time means you can in no way allow company representatives to sit in on an edit session, lest they might see folders for their competition. As a professional, that’s a bit of a job hazard. FCP X is missing the option of using multiple tracks on the timeline. Their version of the timeline is so far removed from the traditional, it’s almost unworthy of being called that! Imagine not being able to layer your edit? Not ideal. It is also missing the multicam toolset. This list could go on for a while. What we hope for is that Apple soon makes the changes needed, and makes FCP usable again.
In all fairness however, most of the biggest concerns with FCP X are those only a professional editor would have. For a not-so-niche editor, FCP X will make life a little easier, although after making a few necessary changes! There is still an upside, albeit not as long a list as the cons. Upgrading Final Cut to 64 bit means it is much faster, and enables more options. FCP X displays shots in “events” (formerly called bins) as footage is being transferred, so they can be viewed immediately. Clips can even be copied onto a timeline while the media is being transferred. Once the transfer is complete, FCP automatically redirects media to the program. It also uses the same program as aperture and iphoto and categorises shots as 1 person, close ups, wides etc. There are a lot of other ‘intuitive’ tools that make an editors life easier.
It is an almost entirely new user interface, built up practically from scratch. And it looks good, we’ll admit. Here’s hoping for a new and (much) improved Final Cut Pro X. Until then, we would recommend sticking with Final Cut Pro 7, especially if you’re a pro editor, and hoping for the best. If not, FCP X might still work for you. Come have a chat with us at Visual Impact, and check out the product.