Final Cut Server

Has anyone:

a) Actually used Final Cut Server?
b) Know of anyone actually using it?
c) Seen a demo of it?
d) Know when its going to be available?

I'm guessing its not available yet and the answer to the questions is no but I'm interested in learning more about it and the information from Apple is not very helpful.

Not out yet. Ships "Summer 2007" according to Apple.

[www.apple.com]

Michael Horton
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You mean like this summer? The one that's almost over?

Someone must have beta tested it? Its not like Apple isn't talking about it.

If anyone has it like a "news agency" they will be under an NDA to not publically speak about it.

You know this paranoia really gets old, its on their website for God's sake.

They announce FCS2 at NAB and still there is little to no training materials for Motion3, FCP6 etc..

I was able to get great tutorials, books and training resources for Adobe's CS3 before they even launched it.

Wow, Apples developing an asset management solution, about ten years after everyone else but I guess they better keep it a secret....

Lots of training on FCP 6 and Motion 3. Just look to your left for a couple. And those aren't the books. FCP Server was announced at NAB to ship Summer. Aint end of Summer so its on schedule.

Michael Horton
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The only decent training I've found for Motion3 is "Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Studio 2" which is a very good book.

I ordered Apple Pro Training Series: Motion 3 which was supposed to ship at the end of July, no sign of it yet and Barnes and Noble doesn't expect it for another 3 - 5 weeks.

I also purchased the Motion 3 Fast Forward training, although the table of ontents is quite extensive it is divided into only 12 .movs that did a good job of explaining much of the interface but didn't go into much depth for 3D compositing and paint. Ths is a good resource if you've never used Motion before.

Doesn't anyone else think its lame that we have to wait so long for training materials because Apple seems to think secrecy [and marketing hype] is more important than "timely" training resources?

Read the FCS Manuals.

They are a good resource for training and also include excellent tips.
Several important technical details about audio, video and graphics are very well described.
All in simple English.

Rui Barros
Editor Colorist Trainer
Lisbon, Portugal
RTP Post-Production
Apple Certified Trainer FCP 7
Apple Certified Pro FCP 7

Doesn't anyone else think its lame that we have to wait so long for training materials because Apple seems to think secrecy [and marketing hype] is more important than "timely" training resources?

not trying to bait you here, but in reality we're extraordinarily lucky to have the vast wealth of third party training resources that we have with the Apple apps. you can't move for them, and they are generally released pretty quickly. try picking up some Edius training resources, for any version you like let alone the latest one.

as for Final Cut Server, don't waste your time trying to evaluate software that hasn't been released yet... kind of pointless.

Hi Andy,

I agree, there's a lot of great trainers that produce quality tutorials and books, thats part of my frustration. Apple needs to be a bit more like Adobe in this regard and get their pro applications out to these trainers much quicker so the training materials are ready to ship when the applications is released.

Regarding Final Cut Server, I'm not so much trying to evaluate the software as I am trying to learn more of what it really does and maybe a bit on how it does it. We're integrating a shared storage solution and want to purchase asset management software and I'm holding out hope that FCP Server might be what we need and not simply and application to help sell XSan.

i have to agree here, Apple is not nearly as open with its software pre-release as Adobe is. Don't get me wrong, I love Apple's software, but Adobe has had training releases at Lynda.com concurrent with their public-Alpha releases. All this while most trainers get Final Cut Studio when everyone else gets them, their shipping date. It seems Adobe places more importance on getting users up to speed right away than Apple does...

The moment the new iLife came out there was tons of video on their site, not particuarly detailed but at least there was something. It'd be nice for us ProApps users to get something more in depth than a demo at NAB or at the Apple roadshow. Even if it was just restricted to one or two Apple sponsored trainers, there should be something more available than just the manuals at release.