Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Article: Barnes & Noble: ebooks outselling physical books three to one
Barnes & Noble: ebooks outselling physical books three to one
http://www.macworld.com/article/160658/2011/06/barnes_and_noble_ebooks_outsell_physical_books.html
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Response to David Pogue's piece in Times Defending Apple release of FInal Cut Pro X
created by Patrick Sheffield in Final Cut Studio - View the full discussion
This, btw, is the letter I sent to David Pogue:
Your article in the Times was aimed at the consumer, so I'll forgive your consumer bias. You're not an editor, nor do you play one on TV. I don't say that with disdain - professional editors are a minority.
However, as a member of that minority, I've cut award winning music videos, commercials, feature films, and documentaries, and I have to tell you - FCX is not a professional package. This is not bias against the user interface changes or having to learn a new system. It's about what Apple left behind in it's pursuit of the prosumer market place.
All those feature films you listed that were cut in Final Cut Pro could never be edited with FCX. Why? Because feature films, like most high end productions, are a collaboration. I'm sure FCX has the potential to be a fine tool, however right now, it's a closed system. It may be fine as an end-to-end solution if you use DSLR or AVCHD (but not the RED Camera yet).
Most importantly, though, is that "closed system" part. It is a program unto itself. With no ability to import or export EDLs, XML, OMF, or even FCP's old projects, and no ability to map audio or video tracks, there's no way to collaborate with others.
I just finished a Scion commercial in Final Cut Pro 7 - I didn't do the effects, they were done on a Flame. Guess what I gave the EFx house? EDLS - of all my elements that made up each effects shot split onto separate video tracks so the effects artist could pull those same elements in at high resolution and spend hours carefully assembling each shot in high end effects software. (If you do not know, an EDL or Edit Decision List is 30 year old technology that essentially is a text file consisting of a structured list of timecodes detailing the timecode of the start and stop of each shot. It's old technology, but it's the glue that allows the many elements that make up an edit to be dealt with by a wide variety of systems).
And I split all my audio and output OMFs (industry standard audio interchange file) and gave them to the audio mixer who cleaned up the audio and added effects and did a 5.1 surround sound mix, etc...
And this was just for a 30 second commercial. None of this is possible with FCX. You cannot assign video or audio to specific tracks, you cannot export your audio elements. This is very basic stuff for the broadcast professional.
Right now FCX feels crippled - closed off from the rest of broadcast post. Maybe with time it will learn how to play well with others, but as of now I don't think it's a broadcast pro product. And while FCX is "learning" how to become a professional, Apple have pulled all the copies of Final Cut Studio from their stores, as if they're saying "I don't care what you need, you'll use what we want you to or leave".
Understandably, many working post production professionals feel angry and betrayed by Apple's actions. One had this to say:
Sorry if I'm a bit flippant, but I'm a little angry today because I, along with a sizable minority of other editors, have spent nearly a decade in this city championing FCP--which for many years was for me the best promo editing machine on the planet--against a solid majority of Avid editors (of, which, I was one). Today, I fear that argument is over. What I saw today was a slick little prosumer package, that I can't use in any meaningful way. Final Cut Pro 4.5 was far more useful to me than this thing is.
And, I don't think this is a case of.. "Oh, this is a version one; it will get better when they find out what people need." They've had plenty of time to find out what people need. I think they know exactly what they are doing and know exactly where they want to go. That is what is for me so disheartening.
I just thought you'd like to know how Final Cut X is viewed from the Pro community.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Final Cut Pro X and Apple's New iCloud-ed "Professional" Approach
by Bryan Hudson
I bought into the hype and was seduced by the low price of Final Cut Pro X. I purchased and downloaded it on the first day. My initial impression (or rant!) of Final Cut Pro X is one shared by many long-time FCP users: FCPX looks like iMovie on steroids.
The Downside
One disappointing first revelation of FCPX is that it imports iMovie projects and not Final Cut Pro projects! Another disheartening revelation is the inclusion of iMovie titles like the amateurish looking "bubble clouds." (Think PowerPoint presentation with clip art that everyone uses).
I have been a user of FCP/Studio since version 1.5. All totaled, I have invested better than $4000+ on updates and plugins to support FCP workflows. FCPX seems to mock that investment by not supporting third party plugins and permitting the importing of FCP projects. Also FCPX changes/hides features and commands familiar to dedicated FCP users. We have to learn a whole new program, without the benefit of a printed user manual. The manual is in the “cloud.” (Of course!)
Apple should have called FCPX something different, since it is all new software with a whole new editing paradigm. In fact, iMovie users will have more of a leg up on using FCPX than FPC users.
Clearly, at $299 Apple will sell FCPX by the boatloads and Steve will most certainly brag about sales in his next keynote.
A hobbyist or enthusiast who dabbles in video editing and wants to add the caché of being a "Final Cut Pro" video editor to his/her credentials will likely want to buy FCPX.
On the other hand, in time, being a Final Cut Pro editor will carry no special distinction, since non-professionals will be able to produce decent video using the many presets, templates, and iMovie-like features of FCPX. Heck, users can create a video project in iMovie and simply import it into Final Cut Pro X and call it a Final Cut Pro production.
Consumer Apple products such as iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD have long offered professional looking results. Professionals also use these tools for so-called "quick and dirty" projects. However, until the arrival of FCPX, the distinction of "professionally" produced video seemed clear.
Avid and Adobe still retain the professional video editing caché that Apple has seemed to jettison in favor of mass appeal and sales volume. It is an interesting decision on the part of Steve Jobs who built an reputation on tightly focused professional products like Final Cut Pro. iCloud and the upcoming "Lion" operating system will further move Apple further towards an iCloud-ed world of simplistic looking products, at least superficially. Apple products will continue to be powerful and useful to professionals but we'll have to look harder to find and use that power.
Ultimately, the work of professionals will always be differentiated by their originality and technical excellence, regardless of software changes. So none of this presents a threat to how professionals go about their work. And we'll have Final Cut Pro "Classic” to rely on for a little while longer.
In Apple's new iCloud-ed world of cheaper, downloadable, easier-to-use products, the people who will have difficultly are clients looking for "professional" services. They will be wowed by template-born, preset-laden, demo reels produced on Apple computers. Many of these clients won't know that the video producer may possess little technical knowledge or creative skill. Many such projects will look the same as others.
The Upside
All that said, Final Cut Pro X has many very impressive features, especially in regards to speed, Real-time editing, and integration of nearly all forms of video footage and resolutions. Like many other currently unhappy FCP users, I'll become more accustomed to the new software and Apple will release improvements with every update. They may even restore some abandoned features such as support for multiple displays, plugins, multi-clip editing and many more.
Final Cut Pro X is a useful tool in its own right, along side of Final Cut Pro Classic and all the other tools that editors use.
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