After a rocky launch, Final Cut Pro X kept improving. Editor and teacher Bart Weiss looks at how FCP X evolved and why it suits filmmakers and students.
It has been a bit over three years now, from one of the worst launches of an application from Apple. The anger and sense of betrayal was beyond rational thought. So many editors came to the conclusion that Apple had turned their primary tool into a toy for consumers. The irony of course is that this was the same reception Final Cut Pro version one got from the Avid users. Nobody would use that for anything serious, then Walter Murch used it to edit Cold Mountain and suddenly FCP was everywhere doing everything.
So as we know some haters are going to Premiere, Avid, or staying with 7, or as we say, “legacy versions of FCP”. Their loss.
When you look and read around, there is not as much written just for Final Cut X users. Many of the users groups around the country which used to be FCP users groups are now just editing groups, as witness by the former FCP centric supermeet in Vegas during NAB, which seemed like everything but X.
Well, it is time to stand up and say it. I love FCP X. This column will be a regular reminder that this new tool is the evolution of editing, not a toy for the masses.
While the interface of X looks deceptively simple, you can move deeply into it, and with skill and talent you can have full control of your media.
Take out your iPhone and look at it. How simple of a device it looks, just a few buttons and some icons. But, this is a computer that has a high level of sophistication that can take you as deep as you want to go. X has an interface that looks simple, and can be used simply, or deeply once you get into it.
I was on a panel recently where a colleague called the X interface like an automatic transmission, while Avid was a stick. I countered that it is more like my Mini Cooper that does has an automatic but allows you to downshift manually when you want.
In this column, I will give you some tips and tricks, let you in on what I know, and just make you feel better about what you are using.
So, why do I love FCP X? X helps me be a better editor. So what does an editor do?
On a dramatic film, we find the best performances (use Audition), interpret the director’s vision (well, no, software can help you get in the head of the director), and place the best parts of the best shots next to each other. For docs, we need to go through miles of footage to sculpt and build the film.
I find for all these X is quicker. In my estimation, 20% faster, and I have been working with FCP since version 1.1.
In general, I like to say that editing with X is like gliding. It reminds me of driving in an old Lincoln Continental or a Citroen. Those cars seemed to glide above the road. This is how I feel working in X. A few weeks ago, I had to fix something in an old 7 project, and I felt like someone nailed my feet to the ground.
But more than anything else FCP X brings back the joy of editing. I find I smile more and spend time making something work better because I have a tool that helps me be more creative.
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