[ 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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Philip says:
April 15, 2012 at 10:45 pm
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Anthony Dalesandro says:
April 15, 2012 at 11:16 pm
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Craig Seeman says:
April 15, 2012 at 11:52 pm
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Marcus Moore says:
April 15, 2012 at 11:57 pm
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Andrew Richards says:
April 16, 2012 at 12:09 am
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Bill Marsh says:
April 16, 2012 at 2:01 am
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Andy Field says:
April 16, 2012 at 3:07 am
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hank says:
April 16, 2012 at 3:40 am
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Paul Russell says:
April 16, 2012 at 3:43 am
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El futuro de Final Cut Pro X para este año 2012 | says:
April 16, 2012 at 4:12 am
← Older Comments Newer Comments →Given how fast FCS moved, with major advances every 18 months, it’s disappointing to see how slow FCPX movement seems to be. A year in, and there’s still nothing here that could possibly convince me to migrate from FCP7, or prevent me switching to Avid in due course. Any resistance I have to FCPX is not resistance to change – heaven knows, I’ve used about twenty different software platforms in my career – it’s little things like that damn ‘Send to CNN iReport’ menu item that was just such a stupid decision by Apple. It just makes it look like a toy.
The reason FCP X does not retain In and Out points is because there are none. Next time ask them to retain the Start and End points and maybe they’ll do it!
Philip, I (and others) feel FCPX development is moving very fast especially compared to FCS. It’s not at feature parity (or equivalency) but it’s certainly a professional NLE as shows in Apple’s FCP In Action site. It’s being used in broadcast environments. I know of other facilities that have or are in the process of moving to it.
I doubt people are avoiding it because of the CNN iReport feature. Unfortunately CNN did recently lay off a bunch of staff . . . because they decided to depend more on CNN iReport (not that FCPX had anything to do with that). I can say personally that iMovie Import has helped me with a couple of clients who started jobs in iMovie and found they needed to hire a professional editor to edit for their online marketing.
Philip. They key advances in FCPXs core foundation are already there, and have been from the beginning. Either the ideas of a metadata based file management system, or a magnetic/connected timeline is something you’re willing to put the time into investigating or it’s not. Apple can spend the next year getting FCPX back to “feature parity” with FCP7, but all those improvements will mean nothing if you’re not onboard with those core ideals. I’ll eat my hat if FCPX goes back to bins and tracks.
As for your problems with CNN iReport, or I’d assume import from iMovie; one person’s useless feature is another man’s bread and butter. I’m trying hard to understand why it offends you so much that Apple has made an application that can appeal to an ever expanding set of workflows, from the dreaded “prosumer” moniker, to broadcast and feature work. Is not using the tools you don’t need that much of an inconvenience? Does if offend thine eye so much?
@Philip
Seriously? Two major feature updates in ten months (it won’t be a year till June 21st) is a slow pace of development? OK……
If you’re going Avid, now is the time. Crossgrades from FCP7 to Symphony are only $999 (normally $5,999) till June 15th.
The Marketing department of Apple may have decided it sounds groovy to say Apple has “professional” editing software, but the Finance department clearly overrules the allocation of Apple resources to a market smaller than one week of iPhone sales.
In depth and breadth of linked applications, Adobe is clearly dedicated to visual creators, demonstrated by the example of its CS6 evolutions.
Apple is a deep and wide consumer electronics company, demonstrated by its its iPhone, iPad, iPod.
Larry re: multichannel audio. Does that mean a real time mixer that records editable key frames?
Do any commenters actually work in a professional post production environment? Final Cut X is dead in the water. I know of no post professionals in New York or Los Angeles who has chose to or plans on choosing Final Cut X as their editor of choice. Quite frankly, no one’s going to use it. Tom Daigon is spot on, whether you like it or not. There are three camps right now: Those who are continuing to use FCP7 and bemoaning the fact that it is EOL and those struggling to try and make Premiere work in a broadcast environment where HDCAM delivery is crucial. Then there are those using Avid.
Brilliant article. I’m convinced that I should switch to fcpx after all, as it should, at some undefined point in the future, be able to do what fcp7, cs5.5 and avid do just now. In and out edit points? What ever happened to the new paradigm? In and out points, thats like so linear editing man.
Nobody uses in and out points any more, just like nobody uses tape anymore… Just get used to it: Apple make ipads and iphones now. Everything else is second or third or forth fiddle. CS5.5 is very much a faster horse scenario, but then it’s my money, which i can only earn by being able to satisfy my clients today (dinosaurs that they are giving me tapes with log sheets) thanks Apple. The iphone is great, and old fcp and i had some good times and did some good work. Maybe you’ll learn from the fcpx launch experience, but i feel its too little too late. A year down the line folk no longer talk about what they are going to edit on after fcp7, they are already editing on it.
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