Demo:n av FCPX har faktiskt fått många proffs att ställa fler frågor än man hade innan demon... Jag saxar vad jag skrivit på två engelska forum (ja, jag är lite lat och stressad just nu!):
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While re-inventing the wheel I just hope Apple doens't forget what was good with the first wheel they created. As a long-term FCP editor (start with the first PAL-verison of FCP 1.2 was it?) I love they've made a try at re-writing the whole application. I think however an issue FCP or rather Final Cut Studio has is the simple facts it's become very fragmented due to having not one but 5-6 apps in the suite. Who should receive some love in the coming upgrade?
At the moment I have more questions / concerns than feeling "wow, this is awesome!". If FCPX is anything near the later versions of iMovie Apple really needs to think twice at what they are doing. Anyhow, a few concerns are:
- i/o options (i.e. working to / from tape or digital files)
- monitoring options (i.e. working with videocards)
- GUI flexibility (where is the source-window, where are the scopes, can you use mulitple timelines, how does the app work in different workspaces with multiple screens, where do we edit clip parameters etc)
- Effects and animation architecture (how has the out-dated effects / animation engine changed? how will third-party add-ons work?)
- Project format, in / exporting (is XML still there? how does FCP play with other apps?)
- Currently lacking features (TC-handling, project management and conforming issues, support for image sequence formats, old buggy graphics engine etc)
..and the list goes on. Personally I'm not so worried about loosing Motion or Soundtrack Pro - or Color for that matter with the recent update of Reslove. However, a lot of people are using these apps on a daily basis (Color is still my grading app of choice!) and I really hope these stay around. I think the issue is, FCP is being used by everything from "the Blogger" (which can range from very professional to non-professional) to TV-commercial editing or feature film editing. It's used for "offline" or creative editing and "online" or finishing editing - the later largely in conjunction with other applications like Color, Resolve and After Effects. This is one of FCP's and QuickTime's strength but this is also an area the can be improved in. What parts have Apple kept and what have they said "we'll just wait and see what the crowd says".
Premier Pro is now a re-written app since something like 8 years back. It's still in some regards playing catch-up with FCP in terms of features but it's also innovated in areas where FCP is lacking. Will FCPX see this "slowly growing" future now that they've start from a blank slate? So many questions, so few answers.
I guess in the end we do have a lot of options.. Sort of. Avid Media Composer for $995 is an interesting option. Sadly they are still a bit I have to say anal in regards to what monitoring hardware you can use. Premier Pro is getting there for sure and it's more in line with FCP in terms of hardware support. Then you also have Smoke for OSX. Well that's a different beast all together (and sadly it requires different hardware then Resolve to run). With FCPX being a new cat on the block I really hope Apple has done their homework and haven't forgotten about the true video professionals. What they did with QuickTime X and iMovie makes me really, really worry though..
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I wouldn't make any decisions before I try the package. FCP 7 will cover my needs for "years to come" and if FCPX is a fail-boat there are a lot of options out there.
Features that sound perfect for me:
- 64 bit
- Unlimited menory
- Uses Open CLI and Grand Central Dispatch
- Color fully managed with ColorSync
- Resolution independent playback system up to 4K
- Mix & match all content in timeline without transcoding
- No rendering, it does it in the background using every available CPU cycle
- Can plug into cameras and edit whilst ingesting
- Non destructive color balance on ingest
- Stabilisation on ingest
- Audio cleanup on ingest
- People and shot detection
- Range based keywording - metadata attached to part of a clip
- Smart collections - like smart folders
- Clip connections, primary and secondary media locking together
- Magnetic timeline -moves audio out of the way to avoid collisions.
- Single keystroke nesting
- Compound clips - collapse clips into a single clip
- Inline precision editor - simplifies trimming of clips
- Auditioning - sampling of different versions of edits
- 'Skimming' media previews when you move the cursor over
- Timeline Index- an index of all the clips in the timeline
- Automatic control of number of tracks - add and go when needed
- Sync clips with Plural Eyes style featue (Not Plural Eyes)
- Pitch corrected audio skimming
- Waveforms show levels in realtime
- Retiming in the timeline
- One click to match color between clips
- New advanced color correction
- Improved keyframing, bezier paths and curve display in the timeline
- Color & Soundtrack now in FCPX
Features that make me.. worry:
- iMovie like filmstrip view
- Color & Soundtrack now in FCPX
- Automatic control of number of tracks - add and go when needed
- Smart collections - like smart folders
It all boils down to HOW they've integrated new features in conjunction with keeping what people used in the past. GUI / Eco-system (i.e. i/o options) is really important. Multiple timeline support is important. But it's too early to say. And like other posters have commented I think Apple is prematurly seeding select info to prove "it's not another Copeland, FCP lives in FCPX and it will be awesome!".
Let's hope it is.
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Well if they have support for "4K workflows" I'd be very surpriced if they forgot to have / keep an open architecture for A/V workflow to and from FCP.
- OMF or AAF
- XML and EDL
Never the less I found these bullets on a site I presume is a recap from the show (might be correct, might be an interpretation of what was said):
[samma bullets som ovan]
To me this sounds very good all in all. It also sounds like we're moving to a focus on metadata and a "smart" application. This should if anything enhance the options for external i/o with other apps, but this is still a huge unknown. Being a what is it.. 12-13 year editor in FCP I do get a little worried as it's always been my editor of choice. I've also moved from the "spare time / short-flicks editor" to working as a full time online operator. So over the years I've used FCP in a variety of ways and in it's current shape it's very flexible. That said, all of the above are major improvements.
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The iMovie metaphor is horrible for pro-work. We live for in and outs and I often have a 3- or 4-up display depending on what I'm doing. BUT if Color and STP is integrated perhaps this is done in different "rooms" of some sort. For pure editing, I'm curious how this will work.
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Also regarding the price I don't see this as pro vs consumer anymore really. Blackmagic and their acquired Resolve proved this. Imagineer Systems Mocha proved this. Even Autodesk to a degree proved this with Smoke for OSX.
If Apple can triple the amount of sales of FCPX for $299 vs 999 and keep a similar or better product, hurray for all of us. If Apple choses to break down the "Studio" to separate products so we as user have a choice in the end, hurray for us. If in fact FCPX turns out to be "iMovie Pro" well.. Let's hope not.
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Vi får se vad som händer. Så det verkligen går igenom är nyheten på första-sidan helt felaktig.
