[ Updated April 18, 2012, to clarify some wording after a second conversation with Apple. ]
I had an on-the-record meeting with Apple this morning in Las Vegas, the day before the start of the 2012 NAB Show — along with a preview of future FCP X features, which I’ll talk about at the end of this blog.
NOTE: We also covered some amazing third-party announcements coming at NAB this year. I’ll have more on that later this week, after the NDA expire at a variety of press conferences later today and tomorrow.
SOME BACKGROUND
When Apple was preparing to launch FCP X, they told me that the new architecture of the software, combined with the flexibility of the Mac App Store would allow for much more rapid updates to the program. However, while the releases were planned well in advance, there is no significance to the alternation of feature (10.0.1 and 10.0.3) with, essentially, bug fix (10.0.2 and 10.0.4) releases. In other words, don’t read too much into this alternating pattern of features and bug fixes. However, do keep in mind that Apple has updated FCP X four times in less than a year since its initial release.
Apple stressed that FCP X is a long-term project and that they are fully committed to it. (In other words, because I asked, there is not a Final Cut Pro 8 waiting in the wings.) Apple views Final Cut X as the future of video editing.
Also, if you look at the features Apple has added since FCP X first released, Apple has almost exclusively focused on adding features for the professional market: Roles, Multicam, broadcast monitoring, etc.
I asked what the benefits were to using the Mac App Store for distribution of updates, and was told that the biggest benefit was that the Mac App Store license allows Apple to deliver both bug fixes and feature updates, unlike Software Update.
NOTE: The benefits of using the Mac App Store for updates to video editors are something I want to learn more about in a future conversation with Apple. I’ll have more to share with you then.
Apple also highlighted the workflow at Leverage which uses FCP X.
* The show shoots on RED in Portland, Oregon.
* Ships hard disks down to LA for editing.
* RED files are transcoded to ProRes Proxy for editing.
* The show is edited in FCP X
* X2Pro (from Marquis Broadcast) converts the files to ProTools for audio sweetening.
* XML exports from FCP X are sent to DaVinci Resolve for color grading
* Final conforming of audio and video is done in FCP X
* Final delivery is a ProRes file.
Apple also said the 10.0.4 update significantly improved broadcast monitoring performance, so they have removed the term “beta” when describing it. I specifically asked if 10.0.4 now has sufficient performance to support multicam monitoring and Apple said “Yes.”
THE GOOD STUFF
Then, Apple shared their plans for Final Cut Pro X features coming later this year (2012). Apple began providing “advanced looks” as part of the roll-out to the launch of FCP X and wanted to continue letting us know what’s coming. (I think this is a great idea, because it helps us plan.)
Here are the bullet points (none of this was demoed):
Audio mixing in FCP X is still weak. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new tools provide.
Dual Viewers is analogous to Source and Record monitors; though Apple stressed that when they implement a feature they try to do it better than it has been done before. A good example of this is their recent multicam addition. This feature would allow us to easily compare two clips.
FCP X has been able to read MXF files (think XDCAM EX), but not the native MXF wrapper that contains them. In the past, it needed to convert MXF to QuickTime. In the future, FCP X won’t need to make this conversion. Apple was quick to stress that this was not a move away from QuickTime, instead it was adding support for a common video format.
While Apple did not provide any details, I interpret “RED camera support” to mean that we would be able to edit R3D files natively, as opposed to editing R3D files as QuickTime proxies.
I asked when Apple would support retaining In and Out (Start / End) markers in clips in the Event Browser. They refused to comment, but stressed that while these were the four features they were announcing, these four would not be the only features released. Retaining Ins and Outs on clips is SO useful, I will continue to bang the drum for Apple to add these.
I asked if Apple would commit to WHEN these features would be available? They politely declined to speculate. (Sigh…)
SUMMARY
It was an interesting meeting. Apple clearly wants it known that FCP X should be considered a professional application, that development is on-going, and that they are listening to comments from users.
I tried to get them to provide hints on upcoming hardware, but no hints were provided.
I also got a sense they are working on another application to join FCP X, Motion, and Compressor. (There are several that would be very useful, we shall have to see what develops. I don’t expect anything announced immediately.)
All-in-all, it is always fun to meet the FCP X team and get a sense of what’s coming. And I wanted to share what I learned with you.
Larry
P.S. For the latest in Final Cut Pro X news, please sign up for my weekly, free newsletter: www.larryjordan.biz/newsletter/
108 Responses to Future Features in Final Cut Pro X
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Floris says:
April 15, 2012 at 4:23 pm
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Russ Bradbury says:
April 15, 2012 at 4:33 pm
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Russ Bradbury says:
April 15, 2012 at 4:50 pm
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Marcus Moore says:
April 15, 2012 at 4:53 pm
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Tom Daigon says:
April 15, 2012 at 5:03 pm
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Larry says:
April 15, 2012 at 5:15 pm
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Markus says:
April 15, 2012 at 5:46 pm
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Apple’s FCP X announcements for NAB « the davis review says:
April 15, 2012 at 5:53 pm
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Ahmadallah Hemid says:
April 15, 2012 at 5:58 pm
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Ian Stubbs says:
April 15, 2012 at 6:02 pm
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Al Davis says:
April 15, 2012 at 6:21 pm
← Older Comments Newer Comments →@Tom
And they will come back if FCPX is leading again. I still think it is the best editor out there. It needs to improve in sharing with other apps and workflows.
Tom,
It is a shame you feel that way.
There appears to be an increasingly enthusiastic attitude towards Final Cut 10. There are “rumours” going around that it is actually quite “feature rich” if you decide to lay down your prejudices and give-it-a-go.
There is NO piece of software which I have found to be perfect.
It is time to move forwards on this one, and I am glad for this positive talk from Apple. This encourages high levels of “competition” amongst the software vendors which ultimately is good for all of us in the long run.
Eric,
I tend to agree with you to some extent. At work two of my machines are Mac Pros and I am writing this on my Mac Pro at home. Also I use a bunch of 27inch iMacs, and am getting quite fond of those, looking forward to the imminent refresh of the iMac range. Strategically if Apple do-decide to let the Mac Pro range go then I firmly believe they should do the decent thing and cut a deal with say HP and license OSX to them. I use the HP Z400/800 range machines quite a lot and they are quite a decent build standard.
So HP could do some re-engineering/do a build of OSX/Apple get their licensing fees and quality standards are upheld..I suspect Apple would not do this as this would dent their “iMac market” so they should do the decent thing and do a new build for the Mac Pro, then Thunderbolt will develop to where-it-should-be for future iMac releases. Then they could phase out the Mac Pros after this “hoped-for” refresh.
I do suspect Tim Cook has a more pragmatic attitude though being originally from the Mac computer division. So lets all keep hoping!
With all the announcements this year from AVID, Adobe, Autodesk… I wonder if Apple isn’t playing a very cagey “end run” play around the other NLEs.
The announcement from others all seem to be based around bolting more functionality onto their existing platforms. FCPX seems to be the antithesis of that. With FCPX, Apple seem to decide that it was time to hit the “reset” button. FCPX audaciously asks, “can editing be easier”? Of course, that’s a serious problem for those who have years, or even decades invested in the current paradigm- to them, it IS editing, and the lack of very specific ways to do very specific things has meant “pass” from a group of people who either didn’t think editing could be better, or didn’t want to try. But for those just starting out, who’s first NLE will be FCPX, it could be a HUGE advantage.
We’re way to early into this to tell. But I (and it seems Apple) are not bull headed enough to ignore the idea that not every new UI paradigm that FCPX proposes will work out exactly as they planned. Maybe we do need a source monitor back. Maybe we do need track (I don’t think so). But Even if only 50% of FCPX proposes turns into positive workflow enhancement, then it was a worthwhile experiment from my perspective.
Most of my work utilizes AE for motion graphics. Dynamic link between PrP CS6 and AE is steller. Cant really see any reason to use any other software.
Adobe is a positive experience for me all around. I like my dialogs with them and how they implement suggestions. I dont like Apples way of dealing with editors.Use what you choose 😀
Tom:
I agree this is a personal choice. I respect your decision. Your job is to earn a living — you should pick the tool that works the best to help you meet that goal.
Larry
I do like FCP X a lot. It will, however, still take time, until it can be used in a high-stress environment. I know, certain companies are using it, but that doesn’t mean it will work for any company any time soon.
For me it’s mostly little things.
Please give us
– “retainable Ins and Outs” in the browser
– “selective pasting of attributes” without erasing everything that’s been on the target clip before.
– I’d like to have the ability to match-frame from a multi-cam segment back to the original clip (with ins and outs!) – to connect that part of the original clip to the multi-cam clip in my project in order to stabilize it for example (since stabilizing a full 10 minute long recording with changing camera angles doesn’t work…) – The list goes on an on.
The old FCP had a lot of these “little” things that helped us save a ton of time. I have yet to see the same commitment in FCP X.
[…] Jordan has the scoop. Then, Apple shared their plans for Final Cut Pro X features coming later this year (2012). Apple […]
Thanks sir.Larry for the update. this is a reassuring news. I wish Apple could add a button to click on the color correction panel in FCPX to open a full interface for a program like color or Resolve without round tripping with xml or any, just do the correction and come back to FCPX interface with another click. “just a wish i dream of seeing it in the future” 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to pass this on Larry. Personally I am hoping that the audio enhancements will include the ability to be able to mix down all of the audio tracks in a multicam clip at the end of a picture edit. Like you I am looking forward to seeing how they will implement audio mixing in general. It’s great to see Apple listening to us and, since they are, I’d like a updated Mac Pro in the near future please! 😉 Oh, and non-reflective screens would be great too! As Eric says, pro level software needs pro level hardware.
Sometimes I wonder what all the fuss is about with shifting editors. I haven’t budged from FCP 7. That’s where I earn my money; and have the greatest creative ease. It’s not like 7 has gotten worse or fallen behind.
I will continue to do pro-bono work, and small projects in X and watch the progress. Not a big deal really.