In truth what we have here is a classic example of "New Coke."

Like FCP Express or was it LE, a dead variation. It will become imovie.

Ethan@advantagevideosystems.com

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LJ, you can't give a brother a shout out when you appropriate his meme?

Actually New Coke is not the best analogy. That would imply a flavor change.

FCPX is more like the introduction of flip top openings for cans so that one no longer needs a can opener. What we're seeing are some fundamental functional changes.

Maybe to extend the analogy you have the new flip top can but can openers have been pulled from the market so you can no longer open that storage refrigerator full of old cans which need the can opener. While you may still have your old can opener, if you need to buy new can openers since you have all these cans you need to open, you can't.

Old coke was taken off the market, and caused a huge rush on old coke, hoarding even. Sales went through the roof. People bought new coke too, lots more sales. Old coke is brought back, except reformulated with corn syrup. Much cheaper to produce, bigger profits, and so much publicity.

And people cheered the return of the inferior product.

If I'm actually talking about the cans, then I'd say it's like a can with no opening. I can show people the can, I can paint the can. But the mixer at the stage and the colorist, are going to have to be parched.

And if you know those guys they drink a lot of pop.

Ethan@advantagevideosystems.com

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[ethan-editor.blogspot.com] (My Reel)

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Not necessarily a bad analogy, given the dissatisfaction with the "new" and the longing for the "old." Personally, I wouldn't mind of they brought back the "old" FCP in 64 bit after a year. The problem with the analogy is that New Coke was a finished product, not a work in progress. If you want to call FCP X "beta," that's closer to the truth. But it ain't New Coke.

I think the crucial word that a lot of the negative criticism is missing is "foundation." As a longtime Avid editor, I see some CRUCIAL improvements under the hood (i.e. beneath the GUI) that we've been clamoring for. I believe it's the AV Foundation that's responsible for the improved sound of the audio when playing faster than real time, and probably the skimming (which is much better than scrubbing, you must admit). Other foundations include the new media strategy, which uses a database just like Avid does, the metadata tagging, which offers a huge number of options for organizing, sharing, and cataloging media, both inside and outside the app, than any previous versions of FCP, or even Final Cut Server for that matter.

Do I think the real-time trimming options suck? So far. Do I wish I could have more than one sequence per project? Maybe, if it turns out that the Project Library can only hold so many projects or so much duration before it becomes more unstable than Lindsay Lohan during a lost weekend. Am I scared I'll even be able to cut without being able to lay out my tracks the way I want to? Maybe. I have to try cutting a real project first before I'll know all the pros and cons of this primary/secondary storyline paradigm.

Thing is, even if I'm not satisfied now, one thing is inescapable. Apple has CLEARLY rewritten the entire app, which means NEW CODE, based on MODERN technologies. Guess what that means? It means this is version 1.0 of the new FCP. FCP 1.0, as many may recall, had NO AUDIO METERS. Now that was a deal breaker. What we have now is very annoying on many levels, and truth to tell, I'll probably be "playing" with FCP X for a year while I trust paying gigs to FCP 7 or Avid 5.5. However, I would have done the EXACT SAME THING with an FCP 8 or an Avid 6. I fully expect Apple to start adding back the features that a lot of professionals need, like multi-cam, XML or some equivalent for imports and exports, etc.

But when I look at the FOUNDATION that is laid here, I see that an impressive bit of architecture is possible when they finish building it.

I think I speak for a lot of editors out there when I say if Apple had delivered FCP 8 with the same GUI, the same outdated QuickTime architecture, and those useless speaker icons in the Trim Edit Window when you choose to view audio tracks, I would have lost my @#$%& about that.

This is the beginning, not the end, according to the chief architect, so let's all have some faith, some patience, and some fun.

Steve Kanter
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Final Cut Studio Master Trainer and Editor
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