If I had a nickel for every time some self appointed journalist / industry visionary declared shake dead... well, I might not be a millionaire, but i'd have a pocket full of change 😉
To my knowledge the last statement Apple made about Shake was the letter that we got (or I guess those who were currently registered users at the time got) where they said a new (completely rewritten) version was in the works.
Ponder for a second... why would pixelfarm give away it's imbedded match mover to existing shake users, for one month? (and only one month) Only one reason, seats... market share.
But what does market share on the back of of a discontinued product net you?
(particularly if you gave away the software to achieve it?) unless you have a successor...
Also, if you knew that (and had access to) a vastly more powerful infrastructure that was in the works (snow leopard API) wouldn't you be foolish not to write to that specifically, and perhaps exclusively if that markedly increased performance?
I have no crystal ball (nor insider info) but until Apple makes an official statement, the fat lady has not started the last aria.
But if it uses Snow Leopard APIs then it would have to be OS X only, which would make it a deal-breaker for VFX houses that use Linux (i.e. most of them).
Do you really think Apple will release a node based replacement for Shake? They pulled it from the store. The link is redirected in the software section. Motion is not a replacement for Shake. Motion is not even a good replacement for After Effects. Nuke looks good but has a service contract a practice I have always disagreed with. I hope you are right and Apple replaces this product with a node based compositor - Phenom or something.
True enough, though I am not of one mind on the linux thing, (and I have worked in development) What should they do; Make a lessor linux version?, Cripple their own product on their own platform by not utilizing all the resources available? Neither seem very acceptable or likely.
I think apple will make some official statement fairly shortly
Declaring shake dead (and dead-dead as in no replacement) before that seems premature.
You could be right I could just be seeing things (that make mw think there is a successor) because I want it to be so....
But until I see some official statement appending that last one (admittedly several years ago) I am not willing to believe that Apple would just let their (very successful) compositor drop dead.
(particularly considering that they are really starting to get major penetration with FCS into the independent (mid budget) studios & production companies (and even some majors))
If Apple
really wanted to seed this product for future upgrade revenue they should have bundled it with FCS 3. Instead, they've taken if off the Apple Store (Are other retailers still selling it?) giving the impression it's discontinued.
Live Type seems also discontinued as a stand-alone, now "integrated" into Motion. I think having a LiveType "lite" in Final Cut would be helpful for quick on-the-fly lower 1/3 ID's. Launching a memory hog like Motion just for simple titles will hamper workflow. I hear that LiveType will still work with FCS 3 installed so maybe it's not problem.
It would be ok by me if Apple bundled Shake (or "Phenomenon") into FCS. It makes some sense particularly going to the demographic that apple appears to be pursuing in pro AV & Film (but I don't think that is going to happen) However once bundled it is doubtful that it could be separated, so as a promotional device is is not really viable (except to drive upgrades to a new version) (my example several posts up was of a third party giving away a costly shake plugin, major difference)
The posts I see (not on this forum BTW) about Apple not knowing about "high end production software" are both laughable and seem to be posted by people who don't seem to really be informed about "high end production" themselves. (let us not forget who is running apple.... and what other company he guided from almost an "intellectual curiosity" to THE major animation powerhouse in the industry, to suggest he doesn't understand high end production is laughable)
I think possibly apple didn't want the large post houses (linux version), and so the curious upgrade methodology (I don't think I have ever seen a company "EOL" a product while claiming to be working on a next generation. ) Whether that road map ever came to fruition, I guess we will know fairly shortly. (If there is going to be news it should be around the end of the month or perhaps not until the release of snow leopard.)
If you have Shake already, continue to use it. It still works just as well as it ever did, only be aware that it may not be compatible with future OS and QuickTime updates.
thanks john 🙂
alas, i don't have it, just setting up a suite... scouring the interwebs for a copy... will check out silhouette altho it may be a bit pricey...
One of my PA's just got a new copy of shake (still shrink-wrapped) off eBay for an obscenely low price, can't guarantee anything, but I would try there.
Yes, but if Apple thinks a layer based compositor (rumors of Phenomenon) is "Professional" and will supplement a node based compositor then I do think they (who ever is in charge of product definition) may not know about high end production software, or, at least it may indicate a strategic shift in product strategy.
Darn near everything follows the good old 80/20 rule. With the boon in home/indy/smalltime video production that 80% market is getting huge. It would not surprise me at all that Apple may be directing it's engineering talent towards producing NLE tools aimed squarely at that 80% and if the features of the very top end suffer, well maybe too bad. When you look at it from a business perspective that strategy is not at all any different from Apple's entire business strategy. They know there is 20% of the market they will never make happy and they don't care. They are not after that 20%. They want the 80%. Given that Apple own's the PC market above $1000 and they have higher gross margings than HP or Dell, I'd say that is a very good strategy. To me the latest FCS3 release is looking like that is exactly their strategy. Yes, it is a "nice" release and makes some nice fixes but in my mind it's simply a glorified patch. If you figure the lead designers were off the development of FCS2 6 months before the release of that product, they've had close to 3 years of a dedicated engineering team to produce what is now FCS3. An aggressive startup could have made a significant product from scratch in that amount of time. FCS3, in my mind, does not jive or pass the sanity check with what I think they could have done. So yea, I think there is an alternative strategy in mind. I could well be full of it. I hope I am, but if the Shake replacement comes out and it is a dumbed down layer based compositor for the masses we will all know.
PS - Autodesk just announced Maya2010. They have bundled their node based compositor Toxik as well as MatchMover (a previous acquisition) with Maya. Taken together, that is a fairly impressive bundled 3D package.
I am guessing many users are baffled by its design, and the reason for discontinuing it. In some ways the node way of doing things is revolutionary (at least to me), but in other ways, I think Shake needs to be refined, unless I am not looking in the proper places to accomplish simple tasks.
Before acquiring Shake in December 2008, I had been using Commotion Pro 4. Their paint function was outstanding, especially where the same brush stroke could be repeated over a sequence of frames. That function would have been nice in Shake, as well as various levels of feathering and opacity.
Defining output file extensions was another sticking point, and glad for this forum in regards to that. I am guessing someone played around with Shake and type in the extensions .jpg or .bmp after the name of the file. I took extensions for granted, thinking Shake was more intuitive. But I suppose all these little inconveniences will be corrected in the next incarnation of this compositing software. ****! Another chunk of change to go to Apple!
