The worst thing to happen to video editing since the release of Premiere Pro

[absolutedestiny]

Seriously, Apple. What have you done?

Sure, I'm not a fan (at all) of the way editing software is crippled by the needs to support proprietary technologies but entire editing studios are built upon a workflow. You can't just throw that workflow away with the next version without any means to transition. I can edit something in Premiere 6 and still have it imported with some moderate success to Premiere Pro CS5. We're talking support for a 10 year old program! (that I still use, in a virtual machine, because it's still the most efficient bread-and-butter clip editor out there)

It's definitely the end of an era. Maybe the new one will be simpler - the last 10 years of the digital editing revolution have been hard for new users but this seems like too far a step sideways, for me. Time will tell.

P.S. On further reflection, I think my problem with FCPX is this: the ease of use revolution for video editing needed to happen (I certainly have a dream video editor in my head that has yet to be made) but that program was not going to be the next final cut or the next premiere, it was going to be an entirely new program. If that's what apple wanted to do, that's what they should have done - retired FCP to patch-only updates and create a new editing program. They've made the new final cut something else entirely and at the same time taken away support for a massive massive editing industry.

Comments

[kuwdora]

what the fucking hell was that.

* traumatized*

[laurashapiro]

My surmise after spending all day reading about this (when I should have been working) is that Apple honestly doesn't care about losing the professional market, because the amateur and prosumer markets are more valuable to them.

[absolutedestiny]

*nods* and like I said, the revolution needs to happen but why FCP? Why not use the reality distorting ray to make iShiny and leave FCP with a small support team for the professionals to use while they transition their workflow.

I always figured that the professionals gave FCP validity, that there was some magic in having the software that the pros use. I guess they couldn't make FCP be all things to all folks and this is what we have instead.

It's fascinating stuff. Don't know I like the magnetic timeline - I never liked the similar feature in Premiere. I guess we'll see. It'll be a long while before I could ever afford a mac, so I'll leave my workflow as it is. You know, the workflow that allows me to handle aspect ratios and put markers on the timeline?

I bet Adobe are happy today, though. I can't see Avid winning over the professionals these days.

[laurashapiro]

Why not use the reality distorting ray to make iShiny and leave FCP with a small support team for the professionals to use while they transition their workflow.

I know! I don't really understand it -- unless it was somehow more expensive to do that.

Like you say, there's been a certain cachet in using the tool used by the pros (Walter Murch!). I wonder if I'll have to change my vidding icon...

Interestingly, we just upgraded our Adobe package at work and will now have Premiere and After Effects, so I will finally get to try those out (in a professional capacity). I have been snubbing Premiere for a decade now -- I used it on a Mac back when it was version 1.5 -- but it might be time to take another look.

Meanwhile, I'll continue using Final Cut Studio 2 until it dies. At least I can put markers on the timeline. (:

[killabeez]

Why not use the reality distorting ray to make iShiny

Or better yet, make iMovie not completely horrible?

After what they did to QuickTime Pro, I'm not in the least surprised. But still, so stupid.