Since Apple launched Final Cut Pro X last Tuesday, I’ve had more than 3,500 emails that range from “I’m enjoying FCP X and creating useful projects,” to “FCP X will destroy my ability to make a living.” (And, ah, far worse, I’m sad to say.)
When I first saw Final Cut X, I was excited by its potential, but warned Apple that this release would be intensely polarizing to the editing community. It does not give me pleasure to see that I was right.
Worse, Apple has alienated the very people who can make a very visible statement as to the inadequacy of the program. No clearer example can be found than the public ridicule of FCP X on the Conan O’Brien show.
Or, as David Pogue wrote in his New York Times blog: “…let me be clear on this point — I think Apple blew it.”
With the possible exception of the launch of MobileMe, I can’t think of an Apple product launch which has spun more wildly out of control than this one. Apple did not just blow this launch, they went out of their way to alienate their key customer base.
Which is a shame, because FCP X has such great potential — but now, Apple has to concentrate on damage control, rather than getting people excited about the new program.
After the launch, Apple compounded their problems with three extremely poorly timed moves:
1. Canceling Final Cut Studio (3) and pulling all existing product from the market. This is devastating to shops that can’t use Final Cut Pro X. The two applications can co-exist on the same system — killing FCP 7 will not boost sales of FCP X to those shops that can’t run it. All it does is set up a black market for FCP 7.
2. Not providing – then publicly stating (thru David Pogue’s New York Times blog) that they do not plan to provide – a conversion utility from FCP 7 to FCP X. Not only does this render a HUGE number of past projects inaccessible, it sets up the obvious conclusion that if Apple is willing to discontinue support for legacy applications with no warning, what’s to prevent them from doing so again in the future? Every time you watch a movie that is more than 6 months old, you are dealing with legacy assets. Not providing a conversion utility is completely inexcusable.
3. Leaving the support for interchange formats – XML, EDL, OMF and others – to third-parties; or not supporting them at all. Yes, the video and film industry needs to move into the current century. However, Hollywood is very reluctant to change what works. Meeting deadlines is far more important than adopting new technology. Apple’s walled garden approach is totally at odds with the nature of post-production, where the editing system is the hub around which a wide variety of other applications revolve. On any editing project I routinely run 5-10 other programs simultaneously — only three of which are from Apple. I am constantly moving data between programs. This, combined with a lack of support for network-based storage, highlight grave development decisions in determining what features to include in the program.
NOTE: Apple told Pogue that they are working on providing the specs for their XML API. This is essential for any third-party developer to access conversion “hooks” in the program. David didn’t report that they mentioned when this would be available, however.
When I was talking with Apple prior to the launch, they told me that they extensively researched the market to determine what needed to be in the new program. In retrospect, I wonder what people they were talking with.
As I was working with the program, developing my FCP X training series, I often felt that the program was developed for two different audiences. Some features, effects for instance, are clearly geared for the iMovie crowd, while others, like trimming or 4K support, are geared for pros. The program sometimes felt like it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be when it grew up.
In FCP X, Apple got some things amazingly right. But they also got key features amazingly wrong. And if they don’t change course, this software, which has significant potential, is going to spin further and further out of control. At which point, its feature set is irrelevant, its reputation will be set. We’ll be looking at another Mac Cube.
Apple does not normally ever comment on future products – though they did this year, prior to WWDC, because they needed to reset expectations. Because of the visibility of this product into an audience that can cause extensive PR damage to Apple, I suggest that Apple break its usual vow of silence and do three things:
1. Immediately return Final Cut Studio (3) to the market. If it is not compatible with Lion (and I don’t know whether it is or not) label it so. But put it back on store shelves so consumers have the ability to work with the existing version until FCP X is ready for prime time.
2. Fund the development of a conversion utility – either at Apple or thru a 3rd-party – and announce the development with a tentative release date.
3. Publicly announce a road-map for FCP X that just covers the next 3-4 months. Apple needs to be in damage control mode and the best way to defuse the situation is to communicate. Answering the question: “What features will Apple add to FCP X, and when?” will go a long way to calming people down.
I have written in my earlier blog (read it here) that FCP X has a lot of potential, and, for some, it meets their needs very nicely. I still believe that.
I was also pleased to provide training on FCP X so that new and existing users can get up to speed on it quickly.
I don’t mind helping a product develop into its full potential. I enjoy providing feedback and helping people to learn new software. I don’t even mind that FCP X is missing some features; this is to be expected in any new software.
But I mind a great deal being forced to adopt a product because other options are removed, forced to lose access to my legacy projects, and forced to work in the dark concerning when critically needed features will be forthcoming.
This launch has been compared to Coca-Cola launching New Coke – resulting in a humiliating loss of market share.
With Final Cut Pro X, however, the situation is worse — with New Coke, only our ability to sip soda was affected. With Final Cut Pro X, we are talking losing livelihoods.
Let me know what you think,
Larry
253 Responses to Apple's Challenges
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Delton Childs says:
June 28, 2011 at 10:12 am
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DavidH says:
June 28, 2011 at 10:50 am
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June 28, 2011 at 10:58 am
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DavidH says:
June 28, 2011 at 11:00 am
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June 28, 2011 at 11:15 am
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June 28, 2011 at 12:30 pm
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June 28, 2011 at 12:40 pm
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June 28, 2011 at 1:12 pm
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June 28, 2011 at 2:08 pm
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Kelly Thomas says:
June 28, 2011 at 3:11 pm
← Older Comments Newer Comments →I don’t comment on blogs much. I’m and editor and shooter. I love it and YOU, Larry, are one of the masters I learned Soundtrack Pro from. I remember in one of your lessons you taught me that there was no substitute for a dedicated audio editing environment if you want to produce the highest quality video possible. After working for some time now my agreement with you on that statement has become more than that of a student and teacher. How could they can STP, our dedicated audio editing environment? I feel a bit betrayed by Apples greed for consumer dollars. Is that it? Can I say that?
Taken from Apple’s Marketing of Final Cut Pro 5.
From the days when Apple seemed determined to be an industry leader in Professional Media Production.
“all the power you need to complete even the most challenging projects”
“The scalability and performance of Final Cut Pro make it the ultimate movie editing
application.”
Overview of the Apple Postproduction Applications
Each of the Apple postproduction applications provides industry-leading
postproduction tools that give you all the power you need to complete even the
most challenging projects.
Final Cut Pro 5
The scalability and performance of Final Cut Pro make it the ultimate movie editing
application. You can work with virtually any format, from DV and HDV to DVCPRO HD
to uncompressed 10-bit HD video. Final Cut Pro includes many professional features,
including multicamera editing tools, advanced real-time color correction and image
manipulation filters, and audio control surface support.
Current Beta Version (may 2011) of Lion is fully compatible with Final Cut Studio 3 applications. Hence, if in retail version (due in Jule 2011) Lion would refuse to walk along with FCP 7, you know that it’s only because Apple malignantly wanted so.
This is an example of the kind of market that Apple has just stiffed.
Apple not too long ago, while they were working on the early stages of Final Cut Pro X, promoted and marketed fulfilling clients such as these…
From reading what their technical requirements were, including massive sharing of resources and xml based file sharing, this cannot be replicated in Final Cut Pro X.
http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/xl_video/
@TerryS – Terry now you are starting to irk me. You and all those amateurs, who have no idea what it is like to work in a professional environment, are all over the internet bashing pros for being dinosaurs and for not wanting change. Everyone welcomes change, or at least most people do, as long as it’s an upward trade and there is a reasonable amount of time given for transition.
What do we have here with XFCP? Apple released a product that is not an upward trade. It’s dead on arrival. At least half of their intended market can’t use it as is. At the same time they cut off access to the proven version of the tool that so many businesses were built on. Not to mention the fact that at NAB they pushed all other vendors aside, bullied their way in and gave a presentation that targeted pros, heavily implying that XFCP was designed for pros and was developed to be the replacement for the true Final Cut Pro.
And on top of this there are a bunch of people out there that say “calm down, your over reacting. Apple will fix this and will add back all those missing features somehow soon.” First of all I’m calm. I already decided to switch over to CS 5.5. But, excuse me? What are you smoking? Haven’t you seen how Apple behaved over the years? They pull stuff like this all the time because they believe that they can get away with it. And until this backlash they DID get away with it. Are you absolutely sure that Apple will do that? Can you guarantee it?
Listen to this. You know how Apple responded to the petition that that Andrew guy started? They responded by deleting his thread on the topic and by canceling his Apple account. Then when I called corporate customer relations at Apple to find out what are they planning to do about this backlash the woman I talked to treated me like I’m delusional. She kept telling me that she doesn’t understand my issue. Even after I explained to her what is happening online and on twitter and on the news. I asked her point blank “are you guys not following the backlash on the internet? Do you guys have your head in the sand?” because her line of questioning implied that they are just sitting in their castle in the sky and are clueless about what’s going on in the world around them. And then I said, ok let’s say you guys are not following the firestorm. Aren’t you guys looking at the reviews on your OWN AppStore? Don’t you guys see that “FCPX” is at 7th place, or that it has 2 1/2 stars? Again, she sounded (or more like acted) clueless. That’s the kind of behavior that pisses so many people off. The pompous arrogance Apple and their people exhibit.
Whatever…
And now I get off my soapbox, LOL.
Larry, has it occurred to you that your training videos are likely being touted as one of the few brights spots in this whole FCP X mess over at Apple? I’d be more impressed if you added real weight to your criticism by pulling your videos in protest. Especially since you’ve been informing us since last February with your ‘inside source’ status this would “be a great year” and now you’re comparing it, rightfully, to New Coke.
Even if it’s just for a few days, pulling your videos in protest would send an undeniable message to the powers that be that it’s more important to be heard than to make money. Because I’m guessing you’d rather be remembered as a revolutionary who helped spark critical change than a Benedict Arnold…
Waiting on Apple to take my recent order for FCP Studio and convert it to FCP X. Will it happen?
Cutters,
Im bummed, you’re bummed and we’re all contemplating whether we can trust Apple as a professional application provider/supporter. If you deal in HD footy, 64 bit will only continue to become a necessary tool in our workflows. Not to mention the plethora of other shortcomings that FCPx presents to us who have toiled to master this program as a means to earn a living.
Lets get Apple to fix this pronto! Here is a petition that is circulating throughout Hollywood and amongst many, many other cutters. It’s gaining traction, so lets work as a community together and bring our dissatisfaction to Apples attention.
FINAL CUT PRO IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL APPLICATION (petition)
http://www.petitiononline.com/finalcut/petition.html
Sad state of affairs to be sure. Pros are definitely the hardest hit here. Apple really needs to clarify the path to the pro sector asap. It’s a matter of common decency to those who have supported FCP and whose primary livelihood has depended upon it.
After revisiting the links noted in the post by David H above I’d quite like to hear how Walter Murch is taking the blow as well.
What kind of a bone head suddenly looses their livelihoods over a new crappy version of software? (nobody) Does their computer suddenly stop working? Does the old version of the software suddenly stop working? I doubt it. The system in use can be preserved for 7-11 years with care and used equipment from eBay & SmallDog. I have a friend and former boss who has been doing outbound calling with old Macs for the last 15 years! Gov. Regulations have been their biggest challenge. Not keeping the systems alive. Sure it’s a bummer but nobody says you HAVE to upgrade. I’ll bet the next rev will be much better.