The last Final Cut Pro X initial reactions

I've tried to put together here a wrap-up of the reactions to Final Cut Pro X. In the future, I'm going to concentrate on how-to's and specific bug reports.

Hands On
Andrew Reid at EOSHD has posted the first part of a hands-on review, going through things he likes and doesn't like. He also includes an important note about Plug-ins:

It seems the reason Apple did not make any noise about plugin support (or even tell developers) is because it’s almost business as usual. Looking at the package contents on my drive, Final Cut Pro X’s system files contain the established FXPlug libraries, updated for FCPX’s new 64bit environment. This means that for most existing FCP7 plugins, a simple recompile and a bit of tweaking might be all that is necessary to get them working with FCPX.

EOSHD: Final Cut Pro X – Hands On Review – Part 1



Another Perspective
Dylan Reeve reviews Final Cut Pro X, the highs and lows, and concludes:

The outcome of all these things is that it is unlikely we’ll see any network TV or feature films edited in FCP X until at least version 2 (whenever that might be) and I suspect we’ll see people in that market look elsewhere as they consider their future post-production investment.

On the other hand, a technology savvy editor can now access some features that might only have been expected in pricey pro applications in the past – for example the colour tools in FCP X have obviously taken a lot from Apple’s Color application.

Crewstv: FCP X Decisions



Who's it for?: Part I
Canon5D Tips thinks that Final Cut Pro X was written for a specific type of user:

Call it Apple biggest mistake if you want but they built this app for people like us. People who shoot-edit-deliver all by ourselves. By simplifying the timeline and media management, they made it even easier for us to edit our clips.

Canon5DTips: Who is FCPX target market?



Who's it for?: Part II
Rob Imbs looks at Final Cut Pro X and thinks it is aiming way too low:

And lastly, we don’t want to see consumer effects in the app. A nightvision goggle effect, scrolling Star Wars font or a “Ken Burns” effect shouldn’t be included. It’s insulting! Editors don’t want to work in an environment where we’re surrounded by things that amateurs use.

LovelyJunkie: FCP X: The Aftermath



Workflow Issues
Michael Kammes looks at the new release from the perspective of someone that has to deal with workflows:

I am a huge fan of Wes and of Automatic Duck. His products, by far, are the most useful out there. But I believe it’s downright dumb to have Duck as the only solution. Would a car manufacturer not build doors, and let a 3rd party do it aftermarket? FCP innovated the open philosophy with XML almost a decade ago. Where did *that* go?

michaelkammes.com FCP X – from a unique perspective



The Waiting Game
El Skid explains why he's going to sit out this release:

Personally, I haven’t bothered downloading it, and I won’t be even considering it for a good long while yet. First generation software releases tend to be horrible facsimiles of the sophisticated toolsets they often become. Switching to MacOsX drove me absolutely insane, and it took a long time for it to win me over.

WideOpenCamera: I, Editor



Philip Hodgetts Interview
Mitch of Planet 5D interviews Philip Hodgetts about Final Cut Pro X in this podcast.
Planet5d: Philip Hodgetts live conversation – the good, bad, and future of FCPX – podcast #44



Who's it for?: Part III
Jon Bryant sees this as a marketing issue and a disruptive change:

I am that “marginal or new” segment. I am the “one man band” who’s beyond iMovie and between Final Cut Pro. I need speed, simplicity, and one day I will need functionality. So eventually in a month or so I will be paying $299 for Final Cut Pro X. Not because of what it is as an editing tool today, but because I know it is a disruptive innovation and as a new innovation it will evolve to include all the pro editing features of FCP7 today.

web.me.com: A lesson in marketing? Final Cut Pro X



Change Is Hard
James Cottle looks back at how editing software has evolved, and notes that change is both inevitable, and not always easy.

And this is why I am coining the expression “The Zap Mama Logical Fallacy”. It is a very seductive conclusion to draw that because everyone around you feels a certain way about something, that EVERYONE feels that way. When you are in the middle of a very much self-selected group, conclusions about how the rest of the world feels are highly suspect. So, in the example at hand, a large number video editors, no matter how large or vocal, on the Internet does not reflect the world or the core interests of Apple.

JamesDavidCottle: FCPX, Zap Mama, and the ASR-33 Teletype



Give Us Our Money Back
The International Business Times notes the reaction:

But it seems the product has failed to impress the early buyers as some are even demanding their money back on the Apple discussion forum.

ittimes: Apple Final Cut Pro X first reaction: Unimpressive, ‘Give us our money back'



Reacting to Others
David Tames posts his reaction to comments from Larry Jordan and Philip Hodgetts, and others.

The time has come to look around and play the field, for no matter what happens in the future, one thing is for certain, Final Cut Pro as we know it has come to the end of the line, it is a dead product with no support. We have to consider the tradeoffs of jumping over the chasm between where we are with Final Cut Pro 7 and the promises that Final Cut Pro X will grow up fast enough to meet out needs and fulfill our desires. For now I will continue editing my mission critical work with Final Cut Pro 7 and experiment on short projects with other tools and see what happens.

Kino-Eye: Final Cut Pro X: My first impressions