“The backlash over Apple’s redesign of Final Cut Pro video editing software two years ago was so severe that even slashing the price by $700, to $299, caused an uproar,” Chris O’Brien reports for The Los Angeles Times. “Video editors jeered that Apple had abandoned loyal professional users to create a cheap product aimed at consumers. References to “Apple’s lemon” and “debacle” became common refrains in blog posts and industry trades scrutinizing the fallout.”
“Now, after updating the software seven times since its release in 2011, Apple is launching a campaign Thursday aimed at winning back skeptical professional users,” O’Brien reports. “That campaign, timed to coincide with the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention that starts April 6 in Las Vegas, will feature users like Julian Liurette, who followed the firestorm from his video editing desk in Toronto at the Globe and Mail newspaper.”
O’Brien reports, “After waiting a year as Apple gradually released updates, Liurette finally gave it a try and was surprised. So Liurette began moving the newspaper’s video operations from the old version to Final Cut Pro X. ‘It’s better on all fronts,’ Liurette said. ‘Its interface is 100 times more interesting. And it’s much, much faster.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Ultimate Mac: Building the Final Cut Pro X dream machine – November 9, 2012
Final Cut Pro X gets significant update with new features and RED camera support – October 23, 2012
PC Magazine reviews Apple’s Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3: Editors’ Choice for high-end video editing – February 7, 2012
Apple significantly updates Final Cut Pro X – January 31, 2012
Editor Walter Murch is feeling better about Final Cut Pro X – November 8, 2011
Apple releases major Final Cut Pro X update; debuts free 30-day full version trial – September 20, 2011
Film editor: Apple’s Final Cut Pro X is flexible, powerful, incredibly innovative software – September 12, 2011
IT Enquirer reviews Apple’s Final Cut Pro X: Very much a professional’s tool – July 8, 2011
Former Avid employee on Final Cut Pro X: Only Apple seems capable of pushing boundaries – July 5, 2011
Why Apple built Final Cut Pro X – July 1, 2011
PC Magazine: Apple’s Final Cut Pro X makes serious leaps and bounds past its predecessor – June 30, 2011
Apple revolutionizes video editing with Final Cut Pro X – June 21, 2011
We are working with FCPX on seven MacPros every day, and we love it. However, I would much more appreciate a headline which reads “Apple aims to win over video editors with new Final Cut Pro X update and stability and speed push”.
10.0.7 is the best so far but it still lacks tons of features. The very best list you can find here: http://fcpx.tv/top.html, I completely agree with the guy who wrote it.
Exactly @ I love Apple. I rant in your same direction below.
Well, they better start fixing it then, shouldn’t they…
Seriously, FCPX has tonnes of potential, I actually like it BUT there are many areas it needs improvement and even FIXING!
…and low’n’behold APPLE UPDATES FCPX! We’re at 10.0.8! Let’s see what this holds.
Apple certainly dropped the ball two years ago. They didn’t like the backlash so they have tried to make amends ever since. Apparently they still care about the image they have with the professional community. They could improve that a lot if they would give us our new Mac Pros. Are you listening Tim?
GM
Actually something positive. If only this sudden attention to pro users meant that the company was about to reenter the unlimited market for serious computers to be found in the corporate and government world. We’ll get a new Mac Pro but it really needs to come in many configurations along with a commitment to move aggressively ahead with determination to do what Apple should have been doing when it was converted to a mobile device company. Is Tim Cook smart enough to do this or will we see more tweaking and thinness of phones, pads and pods in an over crowded field of devices that no longer excite anyone? We’ll see.
They could very well be looking at NAB as the right time to release the updated Mac Pro.
By “many configurations” are you meaning the configure-to-order choices or are you meaning physical differences like a half-height tower, a full tower, etc.? I kind of doubt Apple would do that (said with frustration and a smile: Apple Introduces 13″ tall Mac Pro, 15″ tall Mac Pro and 19″ Mac Pro that can be mounted sideways in an audio rack… :^)
You keep talking about this ‘unlimited market for serious computer’, and it’s obvious you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.
The vast majority of corporate and government computers are low-end, low-margin, <$1000 basic-needs computers for 'business-class' computing. It's exactly the segment Apple does NOT want to compete in. In contrast, the number of high-end 'workstation'-class machines like Apple sells is quite small. It's so small, that if you could somehow convince every single owner/user of high-end workstation-class machines to throw away their old hardware and buy a new Mac Pro machine, it would still be a small percentage (in terms of profit) of Apple's business.
Workstations are a niche – get over it.
Here PeePee boy, I bought you a new rattle. Go play with it in the corner while the big boys chat among themselves.
Oh and big GIRLS as well! My apologies. Thank goodness tech isn’t only boys.
Typical corporate nonsense. Rather than spend money to fix the numerous ways FCPX is STILL inferior to it’s predecessor, Apple is spending it on marketing. How very Microsoftian!
Spot on.
Good lord, I’m agreeing with GM!
Smart man.
You noticed. Golly. 😉
It may lack the some of the features of the old FCP but it is much faster and the UI is way more user friendly which counts in improving workflow. That in itself is a plus. It’s a much better foundation to build new software updates on than old Macromedia code.
Alternatively, they could be following a strategy and the marketing campaign is to support a new version coming out along with new hardware.
Yes, a NEW VERSION is appropriate. Anything less is still the mangy dog, if only by expectation.
Are you referring to it’s lacking previous generation workflow solutions or previous valuable features missing that also work with modern digital workflows? Frankly I don’t expect FCP X to be up to FCP parity for a few years even if quite usable now. Such is the nature of a completely rewritten app. Sort of like the issue with Maps. I still feel that a FCP 8 should have been released while ongoing work on FCP X was going on. They seem to have released the new one a generation too early to best serve the pro community. But this is old news.
Glad to hear that Apple is actually working to FIX the issues.
Kind of reminds me of the “Get a Mac” commercial about Vista where PC is dividing money for: “Advertising, Advertising, Advertising, Fix Vista”.
I don’t care that the interface is interesting. Great that it is. But I need to be able to open FCP7 projects and FCP7 crashes constantly on my new iMac. If there was just some way to cleanly import FCP7 projects I’d be all set to move. Imagine if Microsoft released a new Office that couldn’t open Office 2011 documents. That’s what Apple did. I have hundreds of projects across over 10 years that I need access to to make my living.
You may want to try the conversion app called 7 to X. Available in the App Store. Of course this assumes that you even want to work in FCP X.
How about this?:
7toX for Final Cut Pro
http://assistedediting.intelligentassistance.com/7toX/
…and then the little boy cried wolf again. This time when the townspeople came to his aid, they beat him about the face and neck with blunt instruments, tied him down and FED him to the wolves.
The townspeople returned to their edit suites and began installing Adobe Premiere and they all enjoyed a real professsional editing experience happily ever after.
THE END.
A piteous tale, too close to real. I prefer a better outcome for Apple. I REQUIRE a better outcome from Apple.
Here, here. Me thinks this wonderful company hath lost its way. I started on Final Cut Pro 2.0 back in 2002ish.
Only saving grace is Adobe’s FCP keyboard setting–or else 11 years of muscle memory would have gone out the window.
Only thing harder than getting to the top, is staying there.
Quite like Apple to look at iMovie too… oh for a timeline.
How about Apple use their monster cash horde to fix and polish the myriad of awesome-but-could-be-awesomer products? Why did they make FCP if they don’t want to win over video professionals? If they do, then get serious and make it the best damned software on the market (by far). They have the cash and apparently have the expertise.
This applies to several other great products that have languished a little bit.
Aperture and iPhoto
iWork
Why doesn’t Apple have something better than Photoshop?
I don’t like it when Apple “just dabbles” in software.
Apple’s history is filled with dabbles that break into a field, then they sit back as if hoping someone will come up with a superior third party alternative. And if no one does, you have this meagre thing from Apple that is not satisfactory and barely functional. I never liked that.
There are instances where Apple should be encouraging and not trampling on third party developers. When that is the case, make it clear that is the case. Fine, put out iMovie, encouraging users to move into video editing. But don’t THEN come out with a professional level Final Cut Pro, making a mark in the pro field, and follow it up with iMovie Junior, making a mark in the FAIL category. WTF was up with that worthless path of progression? FAILity FAIL FAIL.
Well said DS and DC.
It boggles the mind to think that Apple is unable to make their competitive software BETTER than industry leaders.
All that idle cash and tepid software forays not brought to dominance.
Fingers crossed, Apple.
I miss soundtrack Pro!
“Now, after updating the software seven times since its release in 2011, Apple is launching a campaign Thursday aimed at winning back skeptical professional users.”
Make that updated EIGHT times, as of today.
New updates for FCP X, Compressor, Motion, and QuickTime.
Marketing a once mangy dog, no matter how vast the improvement, is a waste of time and money.
Apple: INCREMENT THE MAIN VERSION NUMBER. Call it an abandonment of a bad idea (which it was). Call it both a return to sanity AND the actual improvement everyone expected at the time you accidentally shoved the mangy dog on stage. Do NOT keep the same version number, at your peril. That one simple thing says volumes more than a legion of talking heads.
Apple may be trying to win back their previous customers but I know at least one that won’t be back. Our local film school recently switched 18 workstations to Avid after evaluating FCP X and rejecting it for interface issues and lack of features. This is happening many other places in the country according to a friend at the school involved in the evaluation process.
I tried to like FCP X. It is too much like the current version of iMovie to be useful. My studio will stay on FCP 7 for another year, then switch to Avid.
Apple seems to doing all they can to drive away professionals.
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Apple had it’s CHANCE to slowly work out of FCP 7 into ver. 8 while they dazzled us with glimpses of FCP X. They could have hyped FCP X until editors rioted to see more and then probably had lines wrapping around city blocks to be a beta user for FCP X. All this time people would salivate while they used FCP 8 (a minor revision).
The problem? No imagination:
Steve: “What IS this? (holding a box set of FCP 7) What is this? I mean WHAT is FCP?”
Mark: “A professional editing suite”
Steve: “Then WTF is this?” (throwing the box of FCP X at Mark) That’s a true story and the further truth is that the prophet is gone. Do not expect miracles from Apple anymore. They don’t care directly about FCP. They care that you keep buying computers, they figure there’s a good chance you’ll buy a phone too and maybe an iPad. If you ARE happy with FCP X then you also might upgrade your computer someday. But like I said do not expect miracles from Apple. FCP X will continue to attract a few die-hards but it will not be what most professional editors need.
After checking out 10.0.9 all I can say from my own direct experience is that I would not recommend a working unit or individual to put it in their workflow. Crashes, inability to import and who cares how fast it is if it doesn’t do many of the things we need done. It’s like FCP Express for $299
I was an optimistic fanboy since day one of OSX and FCP2
but feeling very discouraged about Apple and especially FCP