Before you read further, I suggest you watch this video from NAB 2011 where they did their first public demonstration of the program. It's worth watching cause it'll make much more sense with what I'm talking about... unless you know Final Cut like that back of your hand, in which case watching will just give you good visuals!
First a foremost... there are a few things I liked about this video, besides the fact that it sounds like Aaron Eckhart is giving the presentation, it really gives you a good visual for how these new (or just updated) features will work.
Here are the things I like the most about this new version... Format ingestion and Background rendering. I absolutely love that Final Cut can now handle ANY format you put into it... and yes, from my understanding this does include H.264 now...which just makes life much easier considering all the DSLRs these days! But even more so than the formatting thing, I love that there is background rendering! Do not be fooled, this does not mean you will never have rendering problems... all it means is that FCP will not wait for you to hit the RENDER ALL or RENDER SELECTION button anymore... it just is always doing it in the background. So as you apply effects or whatever your heart desires to a clip it will automatically start rendering it and you can go on and continue editing elsewhere in your timeline. But user beware, this still means when you apply a lot of effects to a clip, you still won't be able to watch right away... I hope that goes without saying, but since FCP has seen fit to make it over the top easy to edit now I'm going to say that this means there will be a bunch of "not the brightest crayon in the box" editors taking on the program now.
My one fear with the background rendering though is how it will effect the overall power and speed of the program... before you look at me and say that I'm stupid cause the point of background rendering is to help speed up your workflow, know this... it may speed up your workflow, but it takes a lot more processor speed to make this new feature work... and when you have FCP try so hard to be a one stop shop for all things post production, that eats up a lot of processor speed.
"Well, AVID can do it... why not Final Cut?".... well, AVID works better because it does have all the whistles and lights that FCP has seen fit to make sure it has.
Don't get me wrong... I like being able to apply a quick effect, or touch up a shot with color, or apply animation and motion as much as the next guy... and it's nice to do a quick check to make sure your edit will work correctly with what you envision as the final version...but does Final Cut really need to be so heavy on all these features? Isn't that what the other programs are for? Color...Motion...Compressor....etc. etc.
With that said, let's look at some other of the new features FCPX has to offer. The layout of the whole program is much different.. and for lack of a better description, much more simple (i.e. lame). I don't think it needs to be a very complex layout... that would just be counterproductive, but I think making it so plain and simple means it's more confusing how to do or see the multiple things we've gotten used to in the older versions of the program.
For example, the viewer is gone. All you have is the canvas, which I think is called the Event Viewer now. (they call things events instead of timeline, clips, etc.... was this necessary? No. Did they have to change all the terminology to seem very new and improved? No. Did they do it anyway? Yes. Why? Cause they're Apple.) So with no Viewer, it's all done in one window... which for me I feel I'll have to pay closer attention to what I'm actually applying a cut to now... Did I do it in the timeline like I have hoped? Or did I do it to a clip by mistake... or vis versa.
Instead of the viewer though, they do have a film strip viewer... which allows you to skim through a clip and see it skimming on the Canvas. Is this nice? I'm not sure.
I do like the new way of marking clips though, it's called Keywording now I believe, allowing you to select a whole section of the clip and adding notes to it. This is nice because with the marker you can only mark 1 frame, and then if you really want to know your out point you have to put another marker, so when you come back later you can just quickly cut it and drop it in the timeline. With the keyboard since you select the whole section you like, when you come back you just grap and go really fast... nice when used in the appropriate way, I'll explain what I mean by that soon.
I do like how they have the whole audio workflow set up... it's a step in the right direction I think, though I can't say for sure since they only talked a little about it. There are a lot of features that are nice for this and what I like is it seems like it's all about making editing with picture with the sound there much easier and not trying to make FCP into a sound design and editing/mixing program...though since they didn't show much, I'm sure it has more to it than there needs to be... sorry Soundtrack Pro.
It does have a lot of controls for the audio, but again it's nice when used to just check how a cut is coming along not to do a final mix for a whole piece. I did laugh in the video when they showed the fade controls for audio... why did I laugh? Because it is the exact same thing you can do now in these older versions of Final Cut, except it looks different, yet everyone there was applauding and cheering is they someone had just invented the wheel!
I like the way the workflow is used for the trimming... I think it is much easier to use and allows for much more control than the previous version of trimming. I never use the trim aspect much now because it's too confusing and time confusing and prone to messing me up... but this new way looks promising.
Things I'm not too likely to enjoy.... I don't like there are no lines separating tracks for video or audio... it's just open area you drop stuff in to. The lines, though they serve no actual purpose to the outcome of a project, were nice because they kept some form of organization in the timeline. What I do like though now is you can cluster clips together to appear as 1 clip and edit them in a separate timeline. Similar to After Effects and how you can work in one Composition and bring that into another composition, and so on and so forth.
Overall my ultimate fear is this... the ease of editing. I like what I see in FCPX in terms of technology and advancements in workflow and the simplicity for the common man to harness such power. What I hate, is the exact same thing... it's becoming too easy. This appears to be iMovie on steroids... which isn't great for those that understand what I mean when I say iMovie is crap.
Now I am trying to constantly take a step back and look at the bigger picture and to know that this program is still at least a year and a half away from being released... and it's coming out by itself and a very cheap price (or so they say right now) but what I mean is that there is a lot, and I do mean A LOT of things they have not shown us...which could be good or bad.
As a tool used for small production companies, freelance one stop shop people, commercial companies and even television stations (news, shows, whatever) this could be a gold mine. It allows for fast work to meet tight deadlines or have faster turn around times to get a piece to a client... which I hope down the line does not come back to bite us in the butt. I don't want to see the post production process become to quick and easy that people expect us to have something done so fast.
Editing is still an art... it's still something that takes time and SKILL. To all you people out there wanting to hire someone to edit, be you a producer, a production company, or just an aspiring filmmaker... please please please, do not just assume because the program makes it easier to edit that anyone can do it. You wouldn't want a cinematographer shooting your film if he doesn't understand how to use light and harness the power of composition and framing, even if he does have the best top of the line camera. You wouldn't want a Director who doesn't know how to act or communicate... even if they are cheap or will work for free. Don't take an editor just because the program should be easy..... the technology and equipment is only 20% of the actual process of post production. (Unless you're James Cameron in which case the technology and equipment is like 98% of the process)
Seriously though... when it comes to working in film and movies, this program could not be any further from the point. It's so easy that there's so many ways to lose creativity.
Part of post production, ESPECIALLY editing is about finding the believable moments in a scene...the compelling parts of an overall story. Being able to quickly cut something together is not the point of it... anyone can edit something together to show an edit, but it takes time and understanding to edit something together into a viewable and enjoyable piece of art. By allowing such fast skimming you miss every opportunity to find those "magic moments" in a take. Be it the subtle look an actor gives or the way a certain line was delivered... it's about finding those moments to make a scene dynamic... but just skimming to where you know there is a take or the part you want, you miss the opportunity to watch through all the bad stuff and B-roll... which is where you find those moments you never expected and can really make or break a film.
What would you rather eat... Grandma's cookies made with love and created with good, real elements? Or store bought cookie dough that was made in a factory? Sure they both do the same thing in the end, they fill you up.... but which one will you enjoy more? Which one will you look back on one day and miss more?
I still have a lot to learn about this new version, and I suggest you look into it and learn more too. You have to make your own opinion of it for yourself... I can't do that for you... all I've said here is my own opinion based off what I've read, seen, heard, and learned.
Final Cut has never let me down and I love the program dearly...it's what I've always known and used. But with the ability to see where this is going and my fears fueling my doubt... I have decided it's time to learn AVID more intensely. I will never abandon FCP, but I may have to learn both in order to survive here.
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