On Feb 4, Apple released updates to FCP X, other Pro Apps, and Pro Video Formats.
Lots of info on the internets about it… It’s a bug-fix update with a nice new default effect feature. Right click an effect to set it. It will show up as a command with KB Shortcut in the “Edit” menu. If you’ve modified your KB Commands you may need to manually assign the shortcuts.
All good right? Fixed the TC dashboard graphic glitch and other bugs, improved SAN performance, added support for more codecs, and who knows what else they tweaked under the hood. For many of us who use X, a solid update making an already stable app more stable. For many others… well, here’s a sample:
“This is just another lame bug fix update with virtually no new features.”
“…the updates are just bug fixes and tiny winny inovations.”
“But multiple YT accounts? Really?”
“Does anyone else think it is time to get worried about the FCPX update situation?”
And of course… the new refrain, mostly from disillusioned FCP 7 users dabbling in FCP X (news flash! FCP 7 is never coming back, get over it!):
“X does indeed need to start trying to keep up with Premiere.”
I’d like to respectfully (lol hahaha) address these comments in general. First of all, if you just don’t like FCP X, that’s fine. And if you use FCP X but for some odd reason think Premiere is better and more feature rich (it isn’t) then there’s one simple solution… Stop using FCP X and switch to Premiere.🙂
I use Premiere and FCP X every day. I know them both in and out. Premiere is fine, but for me, FCP X runs circles around it. I actually keep X open with a mirror of what I’m cutting in Premiere just so I can find things quicker, audition sfx easier, make better titles, etc etc… Yes, there are more random features bolted onto Premiere. And, if you absolutely need those features, then use Premiere or whatever NLE has the stuff you need.
I’m not implying that asking for additional FCP X features is a bad thing, it isn’t. There are lots of ways in which X could be improved. What I really don’t understand is this widespread perception that Apple doesn’t care about FCP X because… There’s no mixer! It doesn’t do OMF! (really? OMF?!? from the 90’s?), or [INSERT ARCANE FEATURE FROM FCP 7 HERE] isn’t built in! Things change, if you want everything to stay just as it was you have plenty of options.
There is virtually nothing that I, as a “high end professional editor” (and I use that term very loosely) can’t do in X, or bolt on with an awesome 3’rd party plugin. Apple sells X into a lot of markets, how many people you think need EDL’s? How many need AAF export? Why should Apple waste their time with that stuff for a tiny percentage of users when 3’rd parties do it better than the built in solutions in other NLE’s? If you’re a “pro” and need things, you pay for them. Boo Hoo.
If you like FCP X, and want it to be “taken seriously” in [LA, NY, LONDON etc] then stop apologizing for it. Use it. Show people what it can do. Like everyone who uses X at the “high end”, I’m in the minority. I need to use other NLE’s, so I do, but I don’t apologize or make excuses for the fact that I think X is better. I try to demonstrate why I feel that way.
And then, inevitably… every time there’s an update to X, some people who use it find more things to complain about than the people who don’t use it. It’s like they’re saying “I really like X!, why is Premiere so much better?” [Ed. Note: it’s not.] Huh?!? Insanity.
Look, if there’s a feature you need for a gig that X lacks, request it. If it’s really a deal breaker, don’t complain about it, just use whatever NLE works.
If you want X to do things just like you used to do in FCP 7… then please, switch to Premiere or MC, they’re everything you’ve ever dreamed of.
Apple is kicking ass with X, many of the “new features” in other NLE’s are just lame attempts at copying Apple anyway. Hover Scrub?? Live transparent waveforms?? Optical flow?? Auto-shift overlaps in Trim Mode?? All basic FCP X functions. You want the half baked copy? Use it. But whatever you do… stop fucking whining. It’s really annoying and counterproductive.
Me, I’ll just keep using X, requesting improvements, and looking forward to the next feature update. It should be a good one!
Final Cut Pro X Babbling 
As somebody who uses FCPX everyday in a professional environment this is exactly what I wanted to see. I knew El Cap introduced changes to Core Image and other things that were evident with the timecode display bug. We also work in a shared environment and seeing that SAN feature was HUGE! The team has their head on straight and is working to to make things work in a reliable way. Fine tune this version before bolting on new big new features. Yes. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if the lack of OMF export has something to do with royalties etc… Just speculating.
Totally agree. And the OMF/AAF thing is probably a combination of the royalty issue, as well as the fact that, in the grand scheme of things, the number of users that need it is tiny. Also combined with the power of Roles, X2Pro does a way better job of it than anything out of 7, MC, Pr or anything else. At least in my experience…
What Charlie said. Right as usual.
Thanks Mike… I figure someone needed to say it out loud…
I can’t agree more.
I’m a low-end video editor–an in-house creative who makes several videos a year when the project isn’t high end enough to merit a production company. I like trying new things, and gave the Surface Pro 4 a shot, since most of what I use regularly is Adobe anyway–InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. FCPX was the one thing holding me back, but I welcomed the challenge of learning Premiere Pro, and figured the integration with Audition and After Effects would be a bonus.
I received some footage that needed to be cut together to be shown at an event. Extremely straightforward, shot on a consumer Sony 4K camcorder. I fired up PP on the Surface Pro 4 (i5, 16 / 500), and started to scrub through the footage. The Surface couldn’t play it. The audio was fine, but no matter what playback setting I used, including 1/16 resolution, software only, etc (I spent hours researching, reaching out to PP User Group leaders, and the PP community at large) it could only muster about 2 frames per second after initial smooth-ish playback for about 1 second. This was a 24 minute clip that included multiple takes of a recorded message. But the machine itself could play the clip perfectly in the built-in Windows Movies and TV app. So it’s not that a lowly Surface Pro 4 couldn’t handle it, it’s more like Premiere Pro on a Surface Pro 4 couldn’t handle it.
To compare, I pulled out my 2013 i7 MacBook Air that I was hoping the Surface could replace. Maybe a 2 gen old i7 is better than a Skylake i5? Exactly the same unusable performance in Premiere Pro on the Mac. It was unwatchable, which made it impossible to edit. I opened FCPX and loaded the clip. Immediate, perfect playback at full quality. I didn’t have to adjust anything, nor render anything.
Okay, FCPX can work wonders on lower-end hardware. But I still wanted to give PP a fair shake. So I rendered the full clip, a nearly 4-hour process. Now I was able to watch the clip, see what take was best, etc. The picture needed some adjustment, though–it was overexposed and of course the color was off. But if I made even a single adjustment, and I had to do another 4-hour render.
At this point I called it. I’m still open to it being user error, but most people, snobbishly or not, just said unilaterally that a Surface Pro 4 can’t handle 4K footage (in Premiere Pro). But it’s not really the machine, it’s the software, which seems wildly inefficient compared to FCPX.
Maybe I’m “holding it wrong,” and I’ll probably get flamed one way or another, but the fact that FCPX can edit 4K as easily as 480p on a 2013 11″ i7 MacBook Air (with external 1080p monitor), is nothing short of remarkable, when Premiere Pro is seemingly completely unable to. All of this to say, I continue to be amazed by FCPX. I’m not bashing PP, I’m sure it does work well on a high-end machine. But even so, I can only imagine that FCPX only gains speed from a high-end rig, too.
Horses for courses and all that, and I agree with your point that it’s not bad to request more features from FCPX, but in my experience, compared to Premiere Pro, FCPX is worlds ahead.
Just wanted to share my very recent experience comparing the two.
Thanks. 🙂 I hate to fall into the NLE bashing realm, and that really wasn’t the point of my post. As I said, I use Premiere and it’s fine. I also own and try to keep my chops up on Media Composer and Resolve, and I just downloaded Lightworks again to play around with it. 🙂 For me, X is just more efficient and, honestly, fun to work in. that counts a lot when you’re staring at it 8+ hours a day 5 days a week.
I’ve noticed a huge speed increase on our SAN network opening and closing multiple libraries. We have two docs in the loop 3 to 5 TB each. They opened in about a third the time they normally do. Even my 2011 mac pro running off USB 3 raid 5 is running faster. Nice under the hood update for sure!
Great to hear, I’m just using old skool NAS so not able to see how this fix helped. Thanks for the info!
We have tested the release on an X-San and I have noticed considerable speed increase. Nothing more to say, you said it all (-:
Thanks Ronny… If you look a couple comments up you’ll see you’re not the only person reporting improved SAN performance. 🙂
One thing I figured out is that everyone who says FCPX is not a professional NLE and its features and philosophy doesn’t make any sense, it’s iMovie Pro, it’s for kids, etc., etc., are the ones who never tried it. I don’t hear this BS from who tried it. That proof something. 😉
The people against FCPX are those who never really tried it.
You’re my kinda guy sir, love your blog
Glenn Ficarra
Thanks Glenn, really appreciate it… I’m tryin’. 🙂