There’s a recent article by Scott Simmons at Pro Video Coalition that asks Are You… Defined By Your NLE? It’s quite good, check it out. In it he brings up the age old practice of NLE bashing, and uses examples from an FCP X-centric Facebook group where some people, who don’t use Premiere, love to denigrate it. I know there are plenty of examples of Adobe/Avid evangelists bashing FCP X, but I’d like to talk a bit about the FCP X evangelists.
Now, it’s probably obvious I’m a big fan of FCP X and it’s always my first choice, but it’s not the only NLE I use. One week I’ll be mostly in X, another in Premiere. Sometimes I still cut in 7, and I stay on top of Media Composer and Resolve. Hit Film and Lighworks are somewhere on my system as well. Not sure where, but I have ’em! Often I’ll be cutting different things at the same time in both X and Premiere. I prefer X, and I’d be lying if I said I was above a little NLE smack-talk myself. But, as I actually use the NLE’s I talk about, I try to be fair. I like to think I mostly succeed.
DOCK FIGHT!
There is a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) about FCP X being spread on the internets, generally by people who don’t use it. (see a pattern here?) I’ve said this before, if you actually use an NLE for real – meaning you cut and complete actual jobs in it – then I’ll listen to you. If you only use one NLE, and would like to put down another, I respectfully invite you to STFU. Which, finally, brings me to the point of this post…
There are a number of very vocal supporters of FCP X who fall into the latter category. People who love to pontificate on the superiority of FCP X without any real clue as to:
A-what they’re talking about, or
B-what other NLE’s are actually capable of.
I participate in a bunch of NLE related forums, some of which have a lot of anti-FCP X participants, and I’m happy to engage in spirited debates with these folks. My feeling is that informed discussion is way more likely to change minds than unchecked, and often misinformed, evangelism.
But more often than not, in the midst of a heated, yet (mostly) reasonable discussion, an FCP X evangelist will appear, post a paragraph or two of semi-insulting, generally misinformed bullshit, and completely ruin the discussion. If I was opening the door to someone accepting FCP X, the evangelism slams it shut.
These people do more harm than good to the adoption of FCP X by “professionals”. No NLE is perfect, and anyone who proclaims the one they prefer is perfect, is full of crap. There are many self-proclaimed Final Cut Pro “experts” on the web, but the folks you should listen to are those that have experience in multiple NLE’s. They can tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly, based on experience.
So, in closing, if you love a particular NLE, but have no experience with other NLE’s then please, try and keep the competition bashing and pontificating to a minimum. And if you are in that category of users, and FCP X is your love… Do all of us who are trying to help FCP X gain much deserved acceptance a favor. Shut up. All due respect of course.
Final Cut Pro X Babbling 
I have mostly used FCP legacy from the start. When FCPX came around I gave it a try and at first was confused how it worked. after a week or so sticking to it to learn it I loved it. At work they want us to use Premiere, so I started using it. When comparing the 2 NLEs I found that FCP X was much easier to use and the workflow was much faster and efficient. It is not perfect but for me it works better.
I forgot to say, “FCP X is just as powerful”
Well said!!
FCP 7: “I’m still the king!” 🙂 LOL
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what tools you use to get the job done…it’s all about what the end product turns out like. Of course changes in technology and applications influence the outcome, but the art of story-telling and editing should never be defined by software.
I’m a firm believer in refining your craft and learning a specific application to the best of your ability, but this is also relative to your circumstance and work environment.
I’m interested to see if history repeats and FCP X becomes the industry standard again….just like it’s predecessor (or “the king”) of Apple’s flagship editing software.
I totally agree. But, it helps a great deal if the application does not get in the way and lets you edit and be creative. FCP X does that better in my humble opinion. Yes you can get the job done in any NLE but it is much more pleasant when you can spend more time being creative instead of clicking.