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