Last year at this time, the professional editing world was agog at the idea that Apple would be releasing a new long-sought after version of its storied editing solution, Final Cut Pro. And introduce it they did – via a user group – not the show floor. Final Cut Pro wowed people at the Final Cut User Group event. They were really excited by what they saw – until they started to use it several months later. Then, the sky began to fall.
The sky is still falling for people who don’t use Final Cut, but used to. Just this morning, on a LinkedIn group, I read people complaining that Final Cut Pro X doesn’t ingest projects from Final Cut 7. I read that multi-cam clips are a thing of the past, and as a result, someone’s business has been ruined. I read that people “never saw this coming.” That Apple would never create another Mac Pro tower (or related system).
Every one of the above bits of hand-wringing and finger pointing is just plain wrong.
Software evolves. Those legacy files CAN be integrated into FCP X. Multi-cam clips work well, so those of you who create wedding videos are saved.
If you want to change software bases, that’s cool. But, don’t make decisions based on bad data. Get the facts. If you’re running a business (whomever you are), you owe it to yourself to make sound decisions. And, it’s important to look into the future a bit as well. What will change? processors? graphics cards? operating systems? As yourself, “what will those changes do that affect my business?” I attend the NAB (starting on Monday) so I can learn and be prepared. If you can’t attend, read online and get the 411 that will give you an edge – and help you prepare. Don’t ever put yourself in a position where the future hits you in the face like a winter storm. Evolve, just as your tools do.
One Comment
Mark MqGuire
Thanks for this article. I’m going to NAB next week, and I was thinking I had no choice but to abandon FCP due to the lack of monitoring, multi-cam, and legacy ingest of FCP 7 files. According to your post, I can do all of those things. Why doesn’t anyone know that? Isn’t that Apple’s fault as well? Anyhow, I’m going to keep my eyes open, thanks to your post.