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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Mike says:
June 27, 2011 at 3:53 am
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Paul Escamilla says:
June 27, 2011 at 3:53 am
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DavidH says:
June 27, 2011 at 3:55 am
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Larry says:
June 27, 2011 at 10:27 am
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John Eldon says:
June 27, 2011 at 3:59 am
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DavidH says:
June 27, 2011 at 4:07 am
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Allan Sperger says:
June 27, 2011 at 4:21 am
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Hamdani Milas says:
June 27, 2011 at 4:36 am
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Chris Chapman says:
June 27, 2011 at 4:41 am
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Greg Mills says:
June 27, 2011 at 5:11 am
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True Professional says:
June 27, 2011 at 5:52 am
← Older Comments Newer Comments →That email from Randy Ubillos was arrogant and defensive. Apple must figure out a way to communicate with us — this launch has been reckless and unprofessional, and insensitive to all the people that will be hurt as a result.
Even though Apple has acted terribly, I’m still willing to be open-minded to what benefits Final Cut Pro X could contribute to us after some updates. I hope it survives this terrible first impression, because I see some real potential here if Apple is serious about it and wants to pursue it. It’s hard to know right now if they care about this program at all.
In any event, thank you Larry for the great training over the years. I first learned Final Cut Pro thanks to you and your calming method of teaching. After reading many books and freaking out about not understanding it all, you had a very calming, simplified yet technical, “everything is going to be alright” way about teaching, and your classes were the first time I actually got it and it all clicked for me. I ended up editing several documentary feature films and making a living off editing as a result.
So, no matter what happens, I’m sure you’ll do well as a teacher, and we’ll all do well as editors and storytellers.
Here’s my take. I’m a professional video editor in NYC. I learned to edit on Avid Media Composers at work. About 9-10 years ago, we switched to FCP because it was much cheaper to set up new FCP suites than Avid suites.
For 9-10 years I have edited on FCP and championed it. I have been a true believer.
But tomorrow, I will be writing an email to the head of my company recommending that we switch to Adobe Premiere Pro or Avid as soon as possible.
After 10 years, I have no choice but to say goodbye to FCP. This new version of iMovie (which they’re trying to pass off as FCP) is a complete non-starter in our editing environment. I can see no way that we can use it in our workflow.
I feel like I am in the middle of a really bad dream and I can’t wake up. But life is about change, and Apple has just changed me into an ex-customer.
Take a look at FCP 7 editor Kevin Monahan in “enemy” territory at Adobe.
Kevin is switching from FCP to Premiere Pro.
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/switching-to-adobe-premiere-pro-cs5/switching-overview/
It does look fascinating, particularly that it opens up FCP 7 project files with no sweat.
As David notes in a later post, Kevin Monahan has been working for Adobe for a while. But it is true that Kevin became well-known as a Final Cut editor and co-founded the San Francisco Final Cut Pro User Group.
Larry
Well done Larry.
You hit the nail on the head.
I switched from Avid Pinnacle to FCPro 7, having been dropped in the proverbial you-know-what by Avid when they pulled the plug on an excellent NLE…….. and now we see the same story being repeated by Apple.
Having spoken to many of my editing friends in the UK, there is a huge sense of having been let down and great anger. The most common attitude is, “we’ll give Apple 6 months and then if they don’t come up with something for us professionals, we’re jumping ship.
Adobe, Grass Valley and Avid must already be popping the corks !
Wake up Apple, and please Larry use whatever influence you have to talk some sense into these marketing clowns
Woops, I made a mistake about identifying Kevin Monahan. He is on the Adobe team and has been for a couple of years. However, the videos are very relevant to help FCP people take a look at crossing over.
As a FCP 6 and 7 user, I am thinking about Adobe because I use a lot of Panasonic DVX-200A flashcard .mxf format that establishes my timeline as DVCPROHD 50 (25) in European standards.
FCP X cannot just take these in and let me edit with that codec to start with. Adobe apparently can. And I can see them in Adobe Premiere Pro from the start, in .mxf files before Final Cut Pro 7 transcodes them to .mov.
just sweet
http://vimeo.com/25645130
I’m sorry that this isn’t a direct comment to your wonderful article. But apple seems to need some pressure from the creatives.
Everything has changed in post. Though perhaps not quite the way Apple intended.
What is happening to Apple’s corporate culture? The events surrounding the release of FCPX indicate that something is definitely amiss.
Before continuing, I am a film-maker of more than 40 years experience, a TV documentary film editor early in the 1970’s, producer, director, cinematographer, writer and, for the last two years, an FCP Studio 3 user editing my own corporate productions here in Hong Kong and happy to be back in the editing game. I’m also the purchaser of probably 25 or so Apple computing and mobile devices since 1991. My customer loyalty has taken a battering in the last week.
It is quite clear that Final Cut Pro X is not ready in its version 1 release for the professional video post-production industry. After reading reviews and reactions over the last three days by seasoned editors who earn their living in post-production I don’t even need to try it out.
If FCPX was intended as the next generation for post-production then it should not have been released until it was ready for use in today’s professional workflows. Everything might change in post in a year or two when a fully-fledged FCPX emerges, but maybe not if Apple doesn’t make a dramatic move to repair its damaged reputation and tarnished image very soon. Word travels fast, Apple surely knows this. Maintaining silence is the very worst thing Apple can do right now.
FCP X is a product that was clearly over-hyped, over-promised and under-delivered. Perhaps the credo that should have been followed, and I learned this a long time ago from an editor colleague, is to under-promise and over-deliver.
I’d like to think it was not Apple’s intention, but by launching a product purporting to be a professional tool, that is in fact unusable in today’s video post-production industry and furthermore by ruthlessly yanking FCP Studio 3 and FCP Express off the shelves, Apple has delivered a cynical insult to the hundreds of thousands of editors and businesses around the world who have helped to build and evangelise Apple’s name as a company that thinks different. The same people who were told to expect in FCPX a product that was “awesome” and “jaw-dropping”.
I am sure there is marvelous technology under the hood of FCPX but any creator of editing software should respect the production needs and the tried and true working methods of the people using it. This is no problem for its two main competitors AVID and Adobe, why is it so difficult for Apple to appreciate this?
I am increasingly less trusting about anything Apple promises and shall not be so eager to make recommendations about Apple products in future. The OS on my Mac Pro edit workstation is now frozen at 10.6.7 and will stay that way.
I shall continue to use FCP Studio 3 for the near future but meanwhile I have been exploring Adobe Premiere CS5, purchased earlier this year, and will very likely move to software with a guaranteed and clear forward path for product development plus committed and ongoing user support.
Hamdani Milas
Hong Kong
I was initially very excited and interested in FCP X when I was reading articles and watching the videos of it (especially yours Larry). The new features and the support of more RAM and computer cores was an amazing thing to hear. I had my reservations about it too (if you could use dual screens and why there was only 1 viewer window etc).
But now it’s out and i’ve not heard much good for it, I haven’t bought it due to being a student in the UK and waiting till I could afford it to dive in, but i’ sure i’ll get it eventually even just to check it out and see if I like it, but I think it’s unlikely. I was looking forward to it immensely with this new design and complete re-write but now I think I can wait to be honest.
I don’t see what the problem is. Anyone who has built a business or career around FCP7 should already have all those systems in place and hence have no need to buy a new version of FCP7. I’m sure it would be easy enough for them to get extra copies if needed. Nobody is forcing anyone to upgrade to the next version of OSX and if you are a “Pro” needing the features missing from FCPX you’ll probably have a machine dedicated for editing anyway.
@Dennis Kutchera
Do yourself a favor and do a bit of research before claiming that the sky is falling. It may “feel” like it is falling but really this is all a kind of lynch mob mentality that is ultimately not going to change a thing. Here are the simple reasons why:
1) Apple employees use Apple products. Just go ask someone from Pixar how they work. They are professionals who use Apple hardware and software, including proprietary products. I doubt they see Apple as an unreliable partner as you claim.
2) I mentioned SGI for a reason but I doubt you are familiar with their history or products. Maybe you should understand that many industry veterans felt the same way when FCP was first released. It cost a bundle, and I do mean a bundle, to be an editor or media producer back then. Avid suites cost real money. Along comes this software only solution from Apple… It is cheap and almost overnight everyone who wants to think of themselves as an editor is using it. So please don’t cry about how much money you spent on your suite. Trust me, it’s pennies compared to what we had to spend before the non hardware software only solutions began. Where you might have spent $10k, others invested $100k.
3) With that perspective, FCP has been a revolutionary software based solution from Apple. It has enabled people such as yourself to take it for granted and earn money using it. This is without a degree or certification, the price of becoming an “editor” being only the cost of FCP and a Mac and some hard drives. It was only recently that hardware to work with FCP has even become available!! So please stop with all the dramatics. It does nothing more than show how incredibly entitled and privileged the vast majority of complainers are. You may *feel* entitled, but I am sure if you read your EULA you will plainly see that you are not.
4) Here is the most important point! Stop with all the threats about using other software, no one cares! Real professionals already know Avid and Adobe because they HAVE TO in order to be even considered a pro. I do not know a single person who is in this industry who *only* knows a particular single software package. It’s like the main problem in the Mac prosumer sector where most of these people only know the Apple OS and not Windows or Unix. Everyone flipping out needs a reality check. If the reality is that FCP X has killed your business then perhaps you need a different career to be in. What did all of you do when Apple went from OS 9 to OS X? Or from PPC to Intel? There were gripes then too but nothing as to the scale and scope of this. I am waaaay more upset over the demise of a application like Shake than the demise of FCPS3. I am not just some Apple evangelist either, I just hate that the brunt of this hateful spewing is coming from PROSUMERS and NOT PROFESSIONALS! They are the ones who feel slighted primarily because they lack the skill-set to get projects done on ANY platform, irregardless of software or hardware involved. This what you complainers fail to realize and why you will be left behind in the dust for being so inflexible and thinking only in monolithic ways.
The future of Apple is here now. Lion is just around the corner. Things are going to be different. Apple innovates, they do *not* make toys. I am sorry you see it that way but know one thing for sure…many pro editors have over the years viewed FCP as a neat toy, I mean it’s nothing compared to a Flame or Smoke station. Now that you can actually run Discreet (I mean AutoDesk) Smoke on a Mac there is cause to celebrate! Maybe you should be doing that rather than crying over $300 software. Smoke is just $17k btw, a fraction of what it use to cost. Oh the irony….