Clam Down...Apple says missing features coming soon.

"I AM PERSONALLY ABLE TO DO THE SAME WORK ON THE NEW FCPX" - Well, I was not able to import 1080p60 AVCHD footage in FCP 7 directly, I am still out of luck in FCPX.

I'll calm down when Apple releases the "real" Final Cut Pro. But I don't think that will happen. Us "Pros" make a living off of this. For now, I'll be a jerk and complain about EVERYTHING that is wrong with this product. I want my money back, because this is something I will NOT use!!

-No EDL, OMF, XML support

-No legacy support

-Barely any preferences left

-Extremely clunky interface

-Magnetic Timeline....GO TO ****! I tried iMovie years ago and HATED this. Why is it still around?

-Markers, in and outs? "Pro" editors like these

-Where do my files go? Not where I want, but where FCPX wants. How am I supposed to manage my media on multiple drives if I need to?

-Edit to tape? I dunno.

-External Monitoring? hmmm, not really. I don't even know if this will work with my AJA.

And this is just my list from a few minutes of using it. But I had to shut it down before throwing my laptop against the wall. I'm sure there are a lot more holes. My brain hurts at how over simplified this is. My timeline is no longer free and fluid, but rather, a frustrating mess!

All the "new" features would have been great had they integrated them within the existing FCP architecture. Compound clips...great idea! Magnetic timeline....horrible!

This is clearly a way for your average prosumer/amateur video maker to gain access to some of the technologies we love. However, they just put handcuffs on us "pros."

Luke, I'm ****** because I use this everyday. It make my living editing. I just wasted $300 on something I can't use and potentially something that will dilute and ruin our industry. Wouldn't you be upset?

Owe your list is far from complete! But I get your point and I too completely agree.

Please go to Apple->Support->App Store and file a report for a refund. I paid ******* $346 for it over here in The Netherlands! 240 euros the cheaters! I Paid less for FCE and that works 10 times better than this piece of utter useless crap and I even had to upgrade (rebuy) FCP Studio to get the features I need only for them to be stolen now.

I completely agree with you. I have been a long fan of apple products, I would rather see what's next then burn bridges. I must admit, I ranted a little, but when I really engulfed myself in the software last night, I woke up this morning driving to get back on the saddle again. Some people get chained up and feel comfortable with software like a family sits in the same pew at church for 20 years. I did at first, but then felt some release. I can't explain things the way you can, but I'm down with your saying. Thanks for putting it in a creative and professional way!

i did and they never got back to me

This isn't the most mature resposne but I'd be more impressed with the refund requests if by getting one you were permanently prevented from buying FCPX in the future.

-=Tim=-

Alessandro Gaieni1 wrote:

Frank ShorttDominic Witherow, [...] And quess what: there's a major UK company that uses plasma screens to use it as monitors.

Nope, you do prefer to load tape footage, edit, edl, load footage to a cc suite, output, load it on a finishing machine... Pretty time consuming.

frankfromstavanger: it is a kind of a paradox, but at the end it's all a matter of what do you need to do. You have a workflow heavily depending on tapes. I understand your problem. I do not have that problem. I do not use tapes. I do a fair amount of effects on motion. I do not do 2-3hrs timelines, I mainly do commercials, broadcast bumpers and MTV graphics. For MY kind of job, FCPX is REALLY ok. For me tapes are old, and realtime effects are a must. When I had to switch from Quantel to "Discreet" I had to learn completely new thing, and the first Flint didn't have things that were common in Henry. But boy if flint was better at the end! It all depends on what is the result you need and ho long does it takes to get there. My workflow BEFORE needed conversions from RED camera, output to Motion/shake/after effects/Color, with just motion supporting realtime effects. Now I can drop conversions (**** I can even work while I load!) and everything becomes realtime.

Is FCPX perfect? NO. Is it a disaster for my needs? Far from it. Am I in danger with clients trying to work on it? No.

That's why I say: what it is all this about, with people insulting and yelling? It is a 300$ piece of sw.

Do you remember when everybody was yelling at the lack of a floppy on the firs iMac? Same problem.

Hi Alessandro, thanks for the reply. I am happy it is working for your needs.

Left the quote you wrote to Dominic, as I wanted to comment on it. I know of several companies who jumpt on the plasma screen as a viewing monitor. However there are Professional LCD monitors both for in-the field (when shooting Red or Alexa etc) and for the cutting-room that are great as reference monitors.

As for Tape, it is still broadly used in TV-production, and other areas. However, once transcoded to file, it seldom goes back out on tape unless specified for whatever purpose.

Now for us, our productions are mainly on feature films and feature documentaries, we do some ads now and then too. Features are usually shot on 35mm film, then telecined and taken through digital post-flow, and like we did on Iron Maiden: Flight 666, it was distributed through the D-Cinema system so as to achieve same day release globally. On this and others, we used both XD-Cam, and film. On the latest one (which was a live dvd) we used, Sony F-900 full HD tape based camera, a bunch of 5Ds, GoPro, and EX (SxS Disc). Also shot quite a few features and TV-Drama (features) on Red and now Alexa.

Yes our timeline is usually up to or above 2h, as it is we are holding on to FCPX for the moment waiting for confirmation from Apple on the features that are supposed to come - if they can confirm, we will leave it on the machines and wait until it is functioning to our purposes - and until then we are still using FCP7.

For small projects, we might use CC in the Studio package and VFX from AE, but bigger projects these tools dont go - especially when Warner Bros. is behind it, so then we go to the top of the line. Technicolor or Soho Images for development and telecine, then cut in proRes, and CC on Da Vinci, then out to film print (Our first 3 features) and now on we stay digital - D-Cinema complient for distribution with Arts&Alliance Media.

So to sum up, we need a NLE system that can deal with all this, in a good way. We were very exhited and waiting for the update to 64-bit system in FPCX, but getting it, it was quite dissapointing to see all the missing functions that we rely on. And as such, we put a complaint to apple for this - especially calling it Final Cut Pro X, even calling it Final Cut X would have been enough to realise this was not an update to the known system. There are some nice features which you mention - which is what got us all exhited, but the removal of the normal functions was a blow to the head or should I say heart.... 🙂

thanks for the reply, and like I said at the start - happy it is working for you and making your workflow easier.

f

You see? There's a totally different workflow. You have multiple sources, lots of tapes, very long projects. Not saying you have plenty of time, but in a 2 (?) months project, having to load 10-20 hrs of rushes is a little problem. If you do commercials, you mainly have one source, more and more a digital files one (for us right now is 85% shot with RED/Alexa/5D). I have an HDCam deck with 570hrs working time in 4 years. You get an idea. That's the difference. Somebody talked about getting the new model year of a car. I'd say more it's like getting a sports car instead of a fast truck: you get there faster, but you carry a smaller payload.

I wish the hobbyist fanboi's would butt out of this argument and let the professionals discuss the pros and cons of this app. I seriously hate explaining myself to someone that has ZERO idea what a professional workflow looks like on a day-to-day basis. I love these guys telling me how my studio should l just suck it up and deal with it. I make a serious living doing what I do. And I NEED certain tools to get it done. When those tools aren't just nerfed... but completely absent..... how am I supposed to tell HBO that I cannot get them their product because I haven't the tools to get it to them any longer? And to all you fanboi's who claim we're not 'professional' because we didn't do our research... and that early adopting was dumb, etc. Tell you what... FCP X was supposed to be a serious upgrade to FCP 7... that's the way Apple spun it. So what we THOUGHT we were getting was an upgrade path similar to moving from FCP 6 to FCP 7... nope... indeed we were moved into an editor created by people who, by looking at the tools available and the controls that are missing... that they have not a clue as to what happens in a professional studio.

The worst part is for the feature docs we had an average of 450h rushes 🙂 Really made the assistant editors work hard.

Amen, brutha.

If Apple was going to give us a different app that was not meant as an upgrade to Final Cut then they shouldn't have called it Final Cut.

I honestly cannot think of Apple ever releasing a product that was this hated.

Actually-- Apple has ceased tech support of FCP7 and its studio suite. Translation: FCP7 is now a 'dead' software.

In terms of FCPX being better, its only better than iMovie. For those professionals that work in a professional workflow environment, FCP is not the end-all-be-all of post-production. We have to consider how FCP files can be "handed off" to other post-production systems such as Color correction, Visual FX, CGI, Sound Design. As you can imagine, Apple's non-editing post products, although competitive, are not the best in their field. So it's crucial that we can send files over to ProTools or Flame.

As an amateur/prosumer/student, I can understand your awe of FCPX as a cheap editing solution. But to the professional, Apple has once again closed a professional creative environment making it difficult to assimilate FCPX into current professional post-production workflows.

In the end -- all post-production facilities and professional editorial shops will have to revert to Avid because incorporating FCPX is impossible.

Sadly -- I don't think Apple will revert anything back to FCP7. It is well-known that Apple does not want to continue supporting the FCS brand, and they are happy to kill it.

With Jobs' introduction of iCloud/iOS/Appstore/iTunes, it is very obvious that Apple is pricing and positioning FCPX not to the professional, but to the general consumerist who has no intention of using professional tools.

Welcome to the future of Apple -- soon all your machines will run iOS and you will be editing off of iCloud. Looks like Apple is "Big Brother" and "1984" has come in 2011.

FCP - RIP 2011

Kenneth0923: and after 1 day from release. This should make you think.

Can you run Motion 5 and Comp 4 without moving to FCPX? I need Comp 4 for the 64 bit piece..... I don't need a new edit suite if it's a problem for other reasons (although I would love to work in a render free environment). How many people are responding to the change negatively because the interface looks like iMovie? How many people are responding to the change because they are truly screwed by the release?

What people are responding to is the discontinuation of the Final Cut Pro Suite line.

WIth the introduction of FCPX - Apple is introducing a brand new line of editing software. Meanwhile, tech support for FCP7 ended yesterday making FCP7 disfunct.

That being said -- everyone who wants to work in a professional post-production workflow is now screwed because in a year, their FCP7 Suite will be outdated. And instead of being able to update to FCPX, we will now have to consider reverting back to Avid or even worse - consider Premiere CS5.

And the complaint isnt to FCPX being liek iMovie -- it is the fact that FCPX has been stripped of all the basic professional features of FCP7 -- it is essentially iMovie-ized in that it doesn't operate like FCP7 - it operates like iMovie.

Matter of fact -- you cant even import FCP7 files -- only iMovie files!!

FCP -- RIP 2011