How Final Cut Pro X forced me to go Pro

Andrew RiceEditing

…and Become an AVID Editor.

I was excited, yes I was, for the release of Apple’s Final Cut Pro X. I have been using the software since 2000. That’s over 10 years. I had invested lots of $ in the program, and also a lot in the many plugins I use. So when Apple said they were going to make FCP better than it was, I believed them. It reminded me of Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man…”We can make him better than he was…faster, stronger”, INSERT Cool jumping sound here!

Well, I dutifully threw down the $300 when it came out in hopes of familiarizing myself with it for possible use on an upcoming short I was to work on. Ambitious, and possibly a bit foolish, I know, but it was worth a try.

It was sleek, and fast, and reminded me of iMovie. What did I just say? Yes, iMovie. Well, I thought, maybe there are some pro features hidden away that would separate it from its baby brother, Apple’s consumer level editing program. In short- NO GO, what was missing you ask?

  1. You cannot open previous Final Cut Pro projects ( I have a LOT of those)
  2. You cannot customize the organization of the project media (Really?)
  3. No multicam – gone
  4. No OMF and XML export
  5. No output to Apple Color, which I used a lot (Apple actually killed Apple Color with the release of FCPX-Thanks again Apple)
  6. You cannot assign audio tracks, something every pro needs to do before sending the work for Mixing/Mastering
  7. No (real) external monitoring
  8. No support for Capture from Tape
  9. No layered Photoshop support

The list above has been written about in many different places. Thanks to Walter Biscardi’s article for consolidating it.

So, I was under the impression that when you put out an upgrade to software that you were supposed to ADD features, not take them away!

avidWell, what did I do next, something I had been thinking about for a long time but resisting, in hope Apple would come through with a real solution. I SWITCHED TO AVID. Yes, that pro tool where the software developers actually listen to the people that use the software, and make changes/upgrades accordingly. Yes, there was a learning curve, and I am still figuring things out as I suspect I will for some time. And with the upcoming release of AVID Media Composer 6, which promises the possibility of a 64bit program and a, in my opinion, much needed GUI refresh. I am stoked!!!!

I still have FCP 7 and am actually using it on my current project….but I will transition to the AVID for the next project.

Keep tuned to the blog for how this transition goes.