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Lost in the Tardis

Final Cut Pro 7

How Apple took the Pro out of FCP

Jan Ozer over at OnlineVideo.net has a great blog on Apple taking the Pro out of Final Cut Pro with Final Cut Pro X.

I totally agree with the conclusions and think it was one of the stupidest moves Apple has ever made, but it looks like Adobe and AVID are ready to take the slack.
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Little Frog in High Def, 10 things will miss about FCP

Little Frog in High Def has an excellent article on the 10, or make that 9 things he will miss about Final Cut Pro 7 after moving to AVID and Premiere Pro.
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Philip Hodgets getting FCP 7 to FCP x

FCP X has a video from the LA Final Cut Pro User Group on bringing FCP 7 projects to FCP X with 7tox.
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PHYX releases Defocus for FCP, Motion and After Effects

Creative Cow has the press release on this new defocus tool that works with Noise Industries FX Factory.

Some Features are

  • Chroma Aberration – Editors can simulate chroma aberration – the imbalance of RGB color channels that can occur with camera lenses.
  • Fast Defocus – This effect can be used to simulate ‘bokeh,’ or out-of-focus lens effects. Editors can create depth of field with the use of a depth mask, rack-focus effects, and more.
  • Pan / Tilt – A popular effect used in many motion pictures and music videos, users can create a tilt-shift setup for still and motion picture cameras, with smooth, defocused gradients.
  • Vignette Vision – With two effects options, editors can defocus either the outer edge or the center of the image. Defocusing the outer edge simulates POV shots, vintage lenses and more. Defocusing the center of the image allows editors to censor images, create hallucinations, etc.

You can read all about it at Noise Industries Site.
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Apple Has Updated FCP X added Multicam, 3rd Party FCP 7 Project Import

Good old Larry Jordan has a great blog post on the update to FCP X 10 10.0.3, which is another free update.

APPLE’S RELEASE NOTES

According to the Release Notes from Apple, Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.3 adds the following features:
  • Multicam editing with automatic sync and support for mixed formats, mixed frame rates, and up to 64 camera angles
  • Media relink for manual reconnect of projects and Events to new media
  • Ability to import and edit layered Photoshop graphics
  • Advanced chroma keying with controls for color sampling, edge quality, and light wrap
  • XML 1.1 with support for exporting basic primary color grades and both importing and exporting effect parameters and audio keyframes
  • Multiple improvements to the Color Board, including new key commands, editable numeric fields, and adjustable parameters that act like infinite sliders when dragged
  • Ability to reorder color corrections in the Inspector
  • Reveal in Event Browser shows clip range in the filmstrip while in List View
  • Batch offset for clip date and time
  • Ability to search text added to Favorite and Reject ranges
  • Automatic restore of projects and Events in case of file corruption
  • Beta version of broadcast monitoring with third-party PCIe and Thunderbolt I/O devices
Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.3 also improves overall stability and performance, and addresses the following issues:
  • Improves performance when editing text in titles
  • Improves performance when applying an effect from the Effect Browser
  • Improves key-framing behavior in the Inspector, with keyframes automatically added when moving to a new point in time and adjusting a parameter
  • Modifies transition behavior so that all newly added transitions use available media and maintain project length
  • Fixes an issue which affected audio solo while skimming
  • Resolves issues related to using Synchronize Clips with media containing a silent audio channel
  • Fixes an issue in which constant speed retiming was not properly applied when using the Paste Effects command

The 3rd Party FCP XML transfer apps are created by
Intelligent Assistance and include 7toX and Xto7. 7toX is available for $9.99 and Xto7 is $49.99 in the App Store, and both with XML much like Premiere Pro ability to open XML files from FCP 7.

Looks like Apple is listening and has added back many of the features that are necessary for a Pro to Use this software, even Beta support for broadcast monitors, and multicam, and especially the ability to relink media to different clips. The biggest are the utilities from Intelligent Assistance, which should be free and integrated, but it is great that they are available at all.

Compressor and Motion have also been updated.

Now FCP X does become a viable editing app and successor to FCP 7, though we still don’t know for how much longer FCP 7 will run on the latest OS’s, so it is time to freeze a system to keep FCP 7 viable and be able to even export XML to be able to import into FCP X (Since it does not work with project files).

And no matter what I still think that that the basic editing techniques of FCP X is broken. The inability to have numbered tracks just would not work with the DR workflows that I cut with and make Media Composer and Premiere the real solutions available for editing with. And honestly FCP X will make more people think they are professional editors and leave the high end jobs to people who can use the other software. Sure you will still be able to make good stuff with FCP X and it does have a powerful engine with impressive features, but it’s fundamental changes to editing are not going to revolutionize the industry, but instead continue to drive people to Adobe and AVID.

I still say Apple should have released this as a new App and made a 64 bit version of FCP 7, and slowly added the new features they wanted to implement instead of this scorched Earth policy which has and will continue to alienate the high end post people.

I think the fact that the Final Cut Pro User Group is now the Creative Pro User Group says a lot. Still the updates to FCP X will mean that more people can and will use it, and I am glad Apple is actually listening to some of the complaints, but mostly I hope it means that AVID and Adobe continue to upgrade their software. After all Premiere Pro really needs to be able to do more than 4 angle multi-cam and the automatic syncing, and being able to re-sync at a later time are very cool features that it could use.
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Arstechnia on why Pros are moving away from Apple

Ars Technica has an article on why Pros are moving away from Apple. It talks about the whole Final Cut Pro debacle, the fact that MacPro’s have not been updated in so long, and are rumored to be EOL’ed, but it does end with quotes about how FCP X is not that bad, which may be true for some people in certain situations, but for most Pro’s it is too little and too late.
I mean my first Apple was a IIC, and then a Mac Classic and I have never looked at a Windows PC, but have been pricing them out of late, and even talked to adobe to find out the process for moving my Creative Suite license to Windows, as it is likely that Mac just won’t be around for me as a professional editor and graphics artist.
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FxFactory updated to 3.0

FXFactory

Noise Industries has updated their Flag Ship Plugs in suite to version 3.0!

This version has new Playback Ready transitions, as well as other new updated effects for it.

Still I wish they had added Premiere Pro support, as having Final Cut Pro support is no longer so important for me (yes I still use After Effects) and Adobe Media composer support would be nice as well.
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Bunim/Murray drops Final Cut Pro for AVID

Arstechnica is reporting that, that top reality show producer and long time Final Cut Pro proponent Bunim/Murray has dropped final Cut Pro and is moving back to AVID media composer.

Due to the large volume of media generated by our reality shows, we needed to re-evaluate our editing and storage solutions. At the same time, we were looking for a partner who would understand our long-term needs,



Basically FCP X is not good enough, and FCP 7 is old and gettiing long in the tooth, and with AVID now being 64 bit, they felt the need to make the move.
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Did Apple have a completed 64 Bit Final Cut Pro 8 that they scrapped?

MacGasm is reporting on a video of Richard Harrington that FCP.CO reported on and posted the video which has subsequently been removed.

Harrington said in the video:

"There was a Final Cut 8 and it was 64bit and it was done and they looked at it and said 'This is not what we want to do, this is evolutionary, this is not revolutionary' and they killed it."


If this is true I am totally disgusted. If it is true, Apple should have released the 64 Bit Final Cut Pro 8, and also released Final Cut Pro X as something else, probably iMovie Pro and then done what they could to implement some of the new technology as add ons to Final Cut Pro 8. They would have had a huge hit on their hands, and could have revolutionized editing, but instead they have killed Final Cut Pro as a professional editing program and made FCP X a completely consumer program. Sure it has some great technology, but it will never become a standard even if it does have some good new ideas, because it does not work as well or efficiently as Final Cut Pro 7.

I still can’t figure out why they did this to begin with. A new program that is a revolution is fine, but you should not throw out an industry standard program because you have a new idea.
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Automatic Duck Plugs Ins are FREE!

thankyou

I honestly thought with them moving to Adobe that the old plug ins were gone for good, but it seems not as
Automatic Duck has released all their old plug ins for FREE!

I already owned Pro Import AE 5.0, which allows you to import either Final Cut Pro 7 or AVID Media Composer sequences into After Effects. You use Free XML exporter for FCP and it works almost perfectly. A must have.

Pro Export FCP 5.0 is for FCP X and is to allow OMF export.

Pro Export FCP 4.0 lets you export either OMF or AAF from FCP to AVID, and I previously owned this.

And their is Pro Import FCP 2.0 which allows you to import an AVID sequence into Final Cut Pro.

And they are all FREE. So download them now. Sure they will not be updated again, but free is a huge price drop!
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More FCP Feedback

Well with all the rumors that Tim Cook is actually listening to customers I decided to leave Final Cut Pro feedback with Apple once again. I asked them to rename FCP X into iMovie Pro and release a true 64 bit FCP 8 (along with a new Color and Soundtrack Pro) with all it’s previous functionality and some of the added features of FCP X. They can even put the magnetic Timeline in, as long as it can be turned off!

I doubt it will make any difference, but it sure would be nice to have FCP 8 truly 64 bit with all it’s functionality, bug fixes and new features that make it the premiere editing system out there. And Tim Cook could make that change, even if he in all likelihood wont.
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PVC on BLackmagic $299 Thunderbolt Intensity Extreme

intensityextreme619

Pro Video Coalition has an article on the new $299 Thunderbolt IO device the Intensity Extreme, which has only HDMI in and out and RCA in and out but is Bus Powered and inexpensive and perfect for laptops.
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FCP.Co on the AJA Io XT thunderbolt

FCP.Co has a report on the new Thunderbolt equipped AJA Io XT with HD-SDI dual link support and HDMI input and output. Now if only someone could come out with a Thunderbolt PCI card for older MacPro’s (I know they say it is not possible). And I love that new cards are working with Media Composer.
AJA_IOXT
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FCP.CO shows off DVcreators new FCP 7 Plug ins

FCP.co is showing off DVcreators 3 new film looks FXScript plug ins for Final Cut Pro 7 created by the great Graeme Nattress. The effects look great and are only $35 dollars, which is good as they don’t work with FCP X or anything besides FCP 7, which is EOL.
filmstyles_fcp_dvcreators

Check out the filter FilmStyles at DVcreators.

Inexpensive enough that people may still get them for FCP 7, but they had better add Premiere Pro support soon!

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Digital Rebelion on 18 Features Premiere needs to borrow from FCP 7

Digital Rebellion has an excellent article on 18 features that Premiere Pro must lift from Final Cut Pro, some of which I have covered extensively (like showing clip duplication in the timeline) and others I had not even realized, but all I agree with are necessary for Premiere Pro to really replace Final Cut Pro.
Though I doubt you will ever be able to open multiple projects as you can’t in After Effects either (only import projects into each other). Still it would be nice!
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FilmRiot is Premiere better than FCP

Film Riot has a a good video podcast on is Premiere Pro better than Final Cut Pro, and basically it comes down to that yes it is. It can open Final Cut Pro projects, and is really damn fast. And one of my favorites, is the After Effects integration, which really is incredible. Check out this video below.



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FCP Studio 3 Back for Sale

Final_Cut_Studio-500x232

MacRumors is reporting that Apple has quietly put Final Cut Pro Studio 3 back for sale, though they are not making it easy.
You have to call 800-MY-APPLE and ask for part number MB642Z/A for $999, not through the physical stores or the internet, but at least, if true you no longer have to pay outrageous prices on E-Bay for a copy.
Took them long enough. And it should never have stopped being for sale, but this is arrogant apple so…

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John DeMaio at Production Apprentice back to Avid

Production Apprentice has an excellent article on moving back from Final Cut Pro 7 to AVID Media Composer. He likes the move and really gets back into using trim mode, which is barely used on FCP 7, though still likes some things about FCP 7.

I feel about the same, I still like certain things about FCP 7 better, but now that it is EOL, it is time to really to get back into Media Composer, though I am also really enjoy Premiere Pro quite a bit.
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Apple's Abandonement of the Pro Market

Apple's abandonment of Professionals is obvious to me.

If they were planning on supporting professionals they could have done what they did with OS X. Release FCP X as a beta, while also continuing to support FCP 7 for a time, and especially keep it available. And keep adding features to X until it was at par with 7 and then kill 7, with a definite timetable. They did it with OSX, so they could have done it here, but they are aiming for Prosumers and have abandoned the pro market completely.

All the people saying how great FCP X is, well I am glad you like it, but it is not, and will never be a professional app. Sure you can edit amazing things with it, and use it’s new very powerful features to make an incredible product or movie or whatever you are editing, but you can do that with any tool, it is just not a professional editing program and from what I see, never will be.
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Macgasm article on FCP X

The web site Macgasm has an article on two editors take on FCP X, and why they are not going to be using it. It is a good read on the subject and goes along allot with how I feel about FCP X.

From Eugene Ho:

By releasing a program that ought to have been a step forward from the existing app, but instead was missing many features that used to be there, Apple made it so that FCP X doesn’t “just work” for many professionals. By changing the video editing paradigm, FCP X now “gets in the way” of many pros, who will now have to spend the time to learn the “new way” of video editing.


From Paul Skidmore:

People keep asking me what I think of the new Final Cut Pro. My answer has been consistent: “It’s hands down the best editing program I’ve ever used, and when it comes time to edit my short film this fall, I won’t be using it.”


Though Paul seems to think FCP X will get there, which I don’t. I think it has some very basic flaws that will preclude it from ever being a viable pro editing program, and that is why I will be getting Media Composer for $999 before the deal runs out, and I already have Premier Pro CS5.5 and have been spending a lot of time learning it.
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Rob TInworth's 10 years with FCP

This video is well worth checking out, I knew what was coming, but still enjoyed it.

Rob Tinworth’s 10 years with FCP a retrospective at Filmmaker.com.
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Editing Software on Lion

So I am checking Editing Software Compatibility of Mac OS X Lion.

As Apple Said Final Cut Pro 7.0.3 does open fine in Lion, though it does ask me to register, though the button to register is grayed out.

The Demo of AVID Media Composer 5.5.2 boots and runs just fine.

Adobe Premiere Pro 5.5 I am having issues with. and it won’t start. Adobe claims it should run fine, so I am going to try and re-install and see what happens. It is weird as After Effects and Photoshop work fine, but just Premiere won’t boot.
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Dylan Reeve and the FCP X Disconnect

Dylan Reeve has an excellent post on the FCP X Disconnect, which is about how FCP was used by professional users and how Apple sees FCP.


He has some excellent graphs that show what he thinks is the potential market for FCP and how Apple just doesn’t see it as an important segment of it’s market, because it is so incredibly small, and I completely agree.


Apple is going lowest common denominator, and it can even be seen in Lion. Making everything more iOS like, instead of making iOS more mac like, because iOS is great for portable devices, but too simple, but they want to make the mac more like iOS and that personally scares me.
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Larry Jordan has a nice post on Accountability

Larry Jordan has a good blog post on how Apple is not accountable to anyone for the disaster of it’s Final Cut Pro X release.


And it really is true. No is accountable, and Apple would hold everyone accountable if things were revered. Nvidia made one mistake and look they have not been in a mac since, and we the users are punished by Apple for it (having to put our ATI cards back in for major upgrades and then re-install the NVIDIA drivers).


I am knee deep into learning Premier Pro (after trying, but giving up on FCP X) and am pretty impressed by many features (especially the XML export being able to do the whole project with all sequences), but can’t see why this was even necessary! I can see that Apple might have wanted to cement their lead in the future, but not at the expense of their entire installed user base who are going to bad mouth the hell out of their new product until they make something useful.


And why buy Color, just to kill it a few years later? Or why kill Shake? Why did they not spin off their entire pro-division like they did with FileMaker Pro? Make a business unit that is answerable to it’s base. and needs to make a product that it’s customers want!


I am left shaking my head.
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Helmut Kobler has an excellent article on being a Final Cuttter moving to Premiere Pro

Helmut’s article is mostly on the switch and what Premiere does and doesn’t offer, but also talks about the whole FCP X Fiasco.

Yes, well before all of Apple's recent shenanigans, I started to sense that Final Cut, along with all of Apple's professional apps and gear, was slowly being strangled to death. Here are a few of the harbingers of doom that caught my eye over recent years:



• Apple took nearly 2.5 years to upgrade Final Cut Studio from version 2 to 3 (and v.3 was only a moderate upgrade at that). Until then, updates had come at a much more aggressive pace.

  • Apple cancelled the popular Shake, promising to replace it with a new tool that never came.


• Apple got lazy with its Logic Pro app as well, letting development creep along with an upgrade about every two years.


• Apple stopped updating the Pro page on its web site long ago. There hasn't been a new item posted in almost two years: http://www.apple.com/pro/


  • Apple took more than a year to fix a glaring Final Cut 7 bug that made its Close Gap command unreliable. To break a core Timeline feature like Close Gap and not fix it for 14 months was offensive and inexcusable.


• Apple cancelled its Xserve RAID then its Xserve hardware.


• Apple started taking longer and longer to release Mac Pro workstations, and absolutely phoned in the latest upgrade last July. 511 days in the making, the newest Mac Pro was one of the most un-inspired hardware upgrades I've ever seen from Apple.


• Apple pulled out of industry trade events like NAB.


• Multiple rumors (and confirmation of rumors) of significant layoffs in the Pro Apps division.


• Multiple rumors that Apple was trying to sell off its Pro Apps division.


Take just a few of these and maybe they don't add up to anything. But take all of them together, and it's a real sign of Apple's low-to-non-existent priority for professional media. Yes, the writing has been on the wall for quite a while, and by 2010, I reluctantly began to read it. Late last year, I started to look at the two clear alternatives to Final Cut....




The rest of the article has some excellent reasons why he moved to Premiere, and documents the differences and similarities, and really gives a good idea of why to try out Premiere Pro, it really is a must read!
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Premiere Pro Needed Feature

So far I am enjoying learning Premiere Pro, in fact much more than I thought I would, but one feature I really miss is iChat theater.

The ability to cut remotely and show your cut and see the producer and let them see you was an amazing addition by Apple, and something that really needs to be added into Premiere to bring it on par with Final Cut Pro 7.
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Neptune Salad has a great article on switching to Premiere Pro

Neptune Salad has an article that is worth reading on waiting for Final Cut Pro X to release to start a big job, and then seeing what it is, and moving to Premiere Pro. It is really worth checking out, and looks to be the start of a series of articles.

But the real question anyone who edits is this: What are we going to do right now? I mean what are we actually going to do? As professionals, we don’t have the time to play around with multiple new programs until this dust settles as it could be months, and it might take Apple over a year to put FCP back on track.



And

Honestly, I’m not excited about moving to a new platform. This will be my third (Media 100, Final Cut Pro, now this – go ahead and laugh, Avid users). But the integration of AfterEffects (which is becoming a must-have item for filmmakers, see www.videocopilot.net to understand my zeal) and Photoshop make it an attractive one-two knockout punch.


Kind of how I feel, though he did not get a refund on Final Cut Pro X, and I did, but we both are making the move to Premiere Pro.
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Apple has put back the FCP Studio 3 Downloads

Richard Harrington pointed this out, and I do think it is a positive, but literally the least that Apple could do!

The updates are available at
Apple. So you can download and archive the updates or FCP Studio 3, which is a good idea, since the program has been end of lifed!
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Created by Jonah Lee Walker 2011