After a year of updates, is Apple’s best-selling nonlinear editor finally ready for primetime? And how has it addressed users’ major concerns? David Fox investigates the evolution of FCP X
WHEN APPLE introduced Final Cut Pro X last year, it wasn’t so much an update to FCP 7 as a completely new nonlinear video editing programme. It was a radical re-think of how we do editing — but because it was essentially a version 1.0 release, it became more talked about for what it didn’t do than its new features. Among broadcast editors, especially, the initial reaction was one of dismay. Many aspects of the traditional broadcast workflow weren’t supported. Indeed, so great was the backlash that Apple soon put the discontinued FCP 7 and the Final Cut Studio package back on its shelves, so that facilities and production companies that relied on the earlier version didn’t need to upgrade to X if they wanted to add further edit seats.
Since then, Apple has certainly lost mindshare in broadcast, where some editors faced with having to learn a new way to edit have decided to look at discounted crossgrade offers from Avid and Adobe — while many
others have simply remained on FCP 7 and waited to see what Apple would do next. “I think the main issue was
that FCP X wasn’t what people were expecting. It was a whole new application that shared little with its predecessor other than its name and it edits video. It also challenges the way we think about editing with its storyline approach to editing rather than tracks,” says Chris Roberts, video editor, Apple Certified Trainer and Adobe Certified Instructor. “It also lacked some of the
key features we had come to expect with FCP: the ability to update older projects; the familiar roundtripping workflow with Motion, Soundtrack Pro and Color; exporting and
importing ‘industry-friendly’ files such as EDLs and XMLs; working from shared media assets; audio mixing; broadcast video monitoring; and, of course, multi camera editing. All this, coupled with an unfamiliar interface, alienated existing users who unfairly likened it to iMovie [Apple’s consumer editing package].” However, FCP X does have
some excellent and innovative features, such as the Magnetic Timeline, Inline Precision Editor, skimmer (now also seen on Adobe Premiere), Auditions, Keyword collections, and Smart Collections. Apple has also been diligent in pushing out updates, and is seemingly listening to complaints, although there are still more than 80 requested features on the To Do list at the Final Cut user site fcpx.tv. “The updates have helped address some of the major concerns (XML import/export; exporting Media Stems; multicamera editing) and the software we have now is quite different from the software initially released,” says Roberts. “In many
Cutting edge: Final Cut Pro X is designed for how we’ll edit in future — not always helpful for use today
circumstances third parties have started filling
Chris Roberts: “The software we have now is quite different from the software initially released”
the gaps … but not always and sometimes the updates from Apple break what already works,” he adds, citing problems with Automatic Duck’s Pro Export FCP, Genarts’s Sapphire Edge plugins and Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Looks. Although fixes became available, some users had to wait months. Among the large number of
third-party applications that solve some of the problems of X, one of the most useful is Intelligent Assistance’s 7toX. It only costs $10 and makes it relatively easy to migrate FCP 7
projects or sequences into X, and handles the vast majority of standard effects and transitions. Some things (such as text effects) might not translate exactly, but it will make it a great deal simpler for anyone upgrading from 7 to X. Intelligent Assistance also has an Xto7 application ($50) that converts FCP X Project XML to Sequence XML for import into FCP 7 or other applications, such as Premiere Pro. It also has a nifty $5 app, Event Manager X, which makes it very easy to keep track of Events and Projects,