Moving Away from the Mac Pro and Finding Multiple Ways to Replace FCP 7
Walter Biscardi, founder of Biscardi Creative Media in Buford, GA, was so turned off by the new approach to editing in Apple's Final Cut Pro X that he resolved to find a replacement for his former favorite NLE. While he was at it, he started looking at alternatives to the Mac Pros that have been his workhorses, including iMacs and even Windows workstations. We asked him about his research process, what he's learned so far, and his advice for other facilities with new pipelines on their mind.
1) When did you realize you were going to have to start investigating using NLEs other than Final Cut Pro?
The moment I saw FCP X demo'd at the SuperMeet 2011. It was obvious Apple was taking the consumer approach to the professional software. "We will tell you what you need to do your work and you will like it." That doesn't work for professionals and X also created an island that was incompatible with other software we used. I have no patience for a company that takes 11 years of workflow and throws it out with no input from the professional community.
At that moment too I decided I would never be dependent on one vendor for everything moving forward. So that led me to Avid and Adobe since they are cross platform.
2) How did you evaluate competing platforms? Have you standardized on one?
Testing, testing, testing and even there we got burned by not testing enough. An Avid-to-Resolve workflow that we never tested cost us 12 days of production on a current series. We didn't test that one particular workflow because we assumed that part works. You can read the entire story on the Creative Cow website: "A Cautionary Tale for the FCP Switcher."
Because of the FCPX fiasco and Apple toying with all of us in "will they won't they" with the Mac Pro I started testing Windows workstations. I really like what I'm seeing with the Dell we are playing with. I'm also impressed with the power of the iMacs, so my current thought is iMacs for all my main workstations and a couple of Windows "big iron" workstations for heavy lifting. Most importantly, whatever we use has to support my existing facility infrastructure, and especially our Small Tree shared-storage system. Without the ability to simply repurpose our shared-storage system for the new NLEs, we would have to make a major investment on our part to install a new system. So far, Avid, Adobe, Autodesk and FCP all play well on the Small Tree system, from both Mac and Windows workstations. That's huge and really makes it easy on the testing.
As a final note, the latest Mac Pros that Apple just announced at WWDC are just the same old two-year-old machines with a "New" sticker slapped on them. Rather insulting.
3) What kind of issues did you find with other NLEs during that evaluation process?
That nothing out there can replace FCP 7 by itself. To get most of the features of FCP 7 you need to get a suite of tools. Avid has amazing media management but is not nearly as flexible as FCP. Adobe is more flexible than FCP but lacks media management controls and lot of very basic media controls. Autodesk Smoke was pretty arcane to learn until now, with 2013. As we tested, we really liked Adobe CS6 but were leery of their lack of media management so we went with Avid 6 instead — but since then, we have reverted back to Adobe while Avid works out their issues with Resolve and opens up the back-end workflow. So that was the main issue — realizing how incredibly flexible FCP 7 was and how no single tool could replace it. It just made us even more upset with Apple for not just improving FCP 7 but throwing out 11 years of development for an industry that was not asking for dramatic change. My editors and I have zero interest on FCP X in any way except as a plug-in for specific tasks.
4) Are you optimistic about future revisions and upgrades to Final Cut Pro X?
I have zero faith in Apple moving forward because history speaks volumes. If Apple completely redesigned the tool for no apparent reason once, then they can and most likely will do it again. So why would I want to invest more years into their workflow and pipeline when they really don't even care about our needs when designing software? Avid, Adobe and Autodesk have to meet the needs of professionals to sell their products. FCP X is a loss leader for Apple, as their money comes from everything "i." So I have a hard time trusting my professional career and my living to a company that does not have to make the tools we need to survive. So at the moment I'm watching FCP X out of the corner of my eye, but front and center are the tools from Avid, Adobe and Autodesk for the immediate future of our company.
5) Do you have any words of advice for other facilities looking to make a similar switch?
Don't make the same mistakes I made. If you are expecting to replace FCP 7 with one application, it's not going to happen. Expect to use a suite of tools, choosing the right tool for the project at hand. At the moment we use Avid 6 and Premiere Pro CS6, and we will soon introduce Smoke 2013 to the pipeline. Be open to all workstations and don't just stick to Apple Macs because you are comfortable with them. Current PCs can give you more power for the same cost or less. So open your options to everything out there. The "New" Mac Pros are just refreshes of machines that are two years old. I'm sticking with my plan to go iMac, primarily because they work with the Small Tree shared-storage system, and probably use Windows PC for "heavy iron" lifting.
Crafts: Editing
Sections: Business Technology
Topics: Q&A adobe premiere pro cs6 avid media composer fcp x final cut pro Mac Pro walter biscardi
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At first I was very put off by Final Cut X and upset with Apple. But I decided to give their free trial of FCPX a try to play with. It was tricky relearning at first but with enough patience I started to see the logic in its new design.
I just began to work on my first paid project on the new FCPX and I am very happy with it. It is much faster than version 7 the tools are easy to get to and everything just feels perfect. I can actually say I am falling in love with Final Cut all over again.
I believe the hardest thing to learn was the simplicity of the new release. I recommend to anyone that is curious about Final Cut X to download a free demo and give it a try. I am sure glad I did.
Also the project I am working on, I estimated originally it would take me 3-4 days to complete but because Final Cut is doing most of the mundane tasks and the new tools and features have sped up my workflow, that estimate is now going down to 1-2 days and I am sure I will get even faster at editing with FCPX with practice. I am positive my client will be very pleased as well.
Thank you Apple 🙂
I agree with everything Deyson had to say. I think Mr. Biscardi and everyone else that has turned their back on FCPX is hurting no one but their self. FCPX may not yet be the one tool that can totally replace FCP7 but it will be, and it’s not going to take Apple 10 years to make that happen. FCPX totally Rocks!
Working on a 13 part series and an hour long documentary in fcpx as we speak (for broadcast, btw). I’m loving this nle. I trust that most of the things we all loved about fcp7 will return and be better then ever.
I don’t think anyone should chose a single workflow, but more importantly….don’t close doors on a workflow. Fcpx is amazing.
Hey Walter
Show me any editing system analog or digital that survived for 11 years without change.
Apple don’t owe you anything, you simply mis judged something and are looking to shift the blame. Yes Premiere is great and Avid are wising up but then hundreds of editors like Dale (above) really like FCPX so I don’t know why you get so much attention for your whining.
My first reaction was of annoyance also. I had stared editing on FCP in 2001 on an indie feature film. My first mac NLE editing system ran me about 8 grand. It was a struggle to even burn a DVD back then. 11 years later, I dove right into FCP X on a small project and yes I struggled to adapt that first day, but then suddenly a 3-4 day edit became a 3 day edit and then a 2 day edit. I’ve edited in AVID, I’ve taught Premiere. I’ve edited in NewsEdit. FCP X so far feels the most intuitive to me yet. Every complaint I’ve heard has always been misinformed. The fact that Radical Media in New York City switched to FCP X means that it has been adopted by real production companies, so I’m not looking back nor am I worried about the future.
Show me a post house that switched to FCPX and I’ll show a post house that gave up on FCPX.
How many feature films are being cut on FCPX so far? Why did bunim-murray switch from FCP to an all AVID setup? Will apple ever add RED raw support?
Even the post houses featured on apple website admit they use a plethora of 3rd party plugins to even get most of their assets in and out of FCPX.
I agree with all of the above comments. Sorry Walter, you’re missing out!
Walter sounds like a well-informed baby. Maybe a bitter divorcee is more apropos. He also speaks out of both sides of his mouth. He says he and his editors will never give FCPX a serious look, then he says he’ll maybe use it as a plug-in for specific tasks once in a while, then he says he’s watching it out of the corner of his eye. He is admitting a stubborn refusal to even follow his own advice: “Expect to use a suite of tools, choosing the right tool for the project at hand. At the moment we use Avid 6 and Premiere Pro CS6, and we will soon introduce Smoke 2013 to the pipeline.” He can’t use Avid 6 on projects he wants to send to Resolve. 12 days of lost time as a result of assuming it would work. Guess what, Walter: FCPX works perfectly with Resolve. He can’t fully rely on Premiere Pro CS6 because of its lack of media management. Guess what, Walter: FCPX is the future of media management with embedded metadata tagging and its integration with apps like CatDV & Atempo, and cameras like the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. FCPX is far from perfect and Apple launched it like an arrogant, abusive husband, but Walter has to get over it and quit acting like a scorned woman. That is all. I want my 5 minutes back that I wasted on this.
LOL… brilliant post. Thank you for that. You truly nail it. Just as I thought we could dismiss Walty as the go-to-hater for every troll in every FCP X related forum, this NEW hubristic drivel shows up. *sigh*
If he and others can’t swallow that FCP X is in fact being used by a huge number of shops, be it big or small, and redefining “pro” as they go, but still isn’t the tool for any and everyone (as if ANY NLE were?!), then so be it. Move on. Anyone capable of autonomous thought and at least a double-digit IQ should be able to make up their own mind… so give it a rest, Bacardi.
So much of his footage looks corrected. A great editor, you can’t see that as much – it should have more of a seamless look. In addition, who did some of the cinematography on his sample reel. The fact that correction was needed in some of those frames really comes down to whoever did camera settings and lighting – so much of the correction could have been avoided. I have a difficult time listening to his opinion or respecting it
Kinda Apple fanboy type mentality here with the FCPX’ers. I’d be curious to know how many of them are a one-man band editors versus a post house. If you do wedding videos from your iMac at home, then FCPX looks great for you. Some big post houses are using it, but are finishing with Resolve or another system so FCPX is basically an offline editing type system which is what I have with FCP7. FCPX is still weak sauce right now if you ask me. Add better I/O support, native RED support (stil waiting), and CUDA support and I’m in. Also get rid of that stupid import from imovie button when you first open it up. It’s insulting to have that as a main option when you open the app.
I agree with not trusting Apple for future professional products when they have a long list of EOL products (Shake, FC Server, Xserver, XRaid, DVD Studio, Cinema Tools) and now the Mac Pro) Apple wants you to import your iMovie project to FCPX using their macbooks. If you don’t fit in that ecosystem, you are going to have a bad time.
Walter is a little vague with how easy AVID works on his shared storage. He has to partition it into segments due to AVID’s weird read/write issues. He obviously get money from Small Tree every time he mentions there name. It’s a little overwhelming.
My two cents.
Partition what? I use my XRaid with Smoke 2012/2013, Avid Symphony 6, Davinci Resolve and Adobe CS6.
the days of Avid having Proprietary drives are long gone. so no, he’s not vague. and do you seriously think he gets money for mention Small Tree for every instance? what world are you in?
Mr. Biscardi is a highly respected practioner in this field and he’s usually pretty good at telling the wood from the trees. He is understandably frustrated, and for professional editors, people who make their living working in broadcast and film environments, his frustration is shared.
FCPX is very good and will get better, but it is too simplistic for high-end production. The bolt-on culture simply produces Frankenstein editing setups, many of which just won’t talk to each other. Messy. Avid is very powerful, but very demanding in it’s workflows. I’m working with it again and had forgotten how much of a bully it could be. Premier Pro is really getting there and the CS round-tripping is great, but my rating of it since well before the CS days is negative due to it’s persistent instability.
The most versatile editing software on the market is still Final Cut Pro 7.
Also, my bet is Apple will be greatly diminished within five years. Their last innovation was the iPad, they’re turning their backs on the power-users that kept them in business during the lean years, and Jobs is gone. A smart company would respect the small but key market that demands innovation, but Apple is now a lifestyle brand. I mean, they just got rid of 17″ Macbook Pro’s for crying out loud. Editors need real-estate no?
OUCH. Your post puts Bacardi’s drivel to shame.
I think Walter is right on the money. I too have switched from 8-9 years on Final Cut, now working with Adobe CS 6, and while not perfect, is a better path for me going forward.
I’ve also ditched the Mac Pro and am moving toward Windows workstations with Mac laptops.
This quote says it all:
“I have a hard time trusting my professional career and my living to a
company that does not have to make the tools we need to survive.”
Thanks for sharing your process with us Walter.
Film at 11
Do yourselves a favor. Simply compare Bacardi’s web site with that of e.g. radical media. The quality and style of each speaks VOLUMES. And I’ll even ignore the fact that at Bacardi’s they actually wear MATCHING SHIRTS… :facepalm:… WTF??! LOL!
Then check and see which of the two have Academy Awards and Golden Globes in their name.
THEN guess which of the two use FCP X on a daily basis in production.
Nuff said.
Well, at my project studio, Final Cut 7 began getting buggy, so I “sidegraded” to Final Cut X, which, at first, did not work at all on my somewhat hotrodded (killer video card) Mac Pro. By version 10.1.3, those issues had been resolved.
I do scribing videos for the Internet quite a bit, compressing 3-5 hours of drawing to 3-5 minutes of show where the ultrafast drawings exactly match the scripted audio. In Final Cut 7, these edits are arduous and ate a lot of time. Final Cut X shaves a full day or more off these edits. While the interface seems somewhat less than professional, there are hidden gems of capability, including background rendering, which, with a powerful GPU, makes the up to many hours of rendering I used to expect with Final Cut 7 on HD projects into just a few minutes or seconds in Final Cut X.
I am currently completing a 2 hour, 12 minute, 12 second HD Stage Musical edit in Final Cut X which was plagued with problems (none of four cameras could hold sync) which was compounded by the master audio, a multitrack recording of mic’d singers from Logic Pro which was mixed to a pair of stereo files, one for the first half before intermission, and one post intermission.
So, the cameras did not record sync audio (maybe the PLL circuit was set to OFF, and nothing was genlocked) and then, a non slave or master, non timecode wild track mix… all had to be made to sync, perfectly.
It was quite a bit of tweaking (hundreds of shifts) but the whole thing came together in dead sync on Final Cut X at least as fast as Final Cut 7. The audio scrubbing in Final Cut X is nothing short of sensational, vastly advanced from Final Cut 7. I just wish the production could have afforded a technical director and Clear Coms. The footage often forced the edit due to lack of shots, even with four cameras.
Apple has a menu item to Provide Final Cut Pro Feedback in Final Cut X. I comment a LOT on things which could use improvement, and I know they actually read the comments as my intensive efforts resulted in a denial of service (it’s a long story,) killing Final Cut X every time I tried to launch the application. This issue went up the flagpole at Apple high enough that both the App Store and the Final Cut team had to look into the issue and re-code. I resorted to using Little Snitch to keep Final Cut X from phoning home so I could continue to edit.
Were Final Cut X massaged by enough pro user feedback, it will not take long for Final Cut to once again be an Adobe and Avid killer. For my work, I find it already is.
For editors that want the best NLE available on Windows – it is Grass Valley EDIUS. Version 6.5 which now includes support for 3D stereoscopic workflows. EDIUS runs circles around Adobe and Avid on sooooo many levels. It’s faster for any type of work involving mixing multiple video formats on the same timeline and much more powerful than any other NLE when it comes to layering and compositing. EDIUS offers sheer speed that is NOT available elsewhere. EDIUS imports from every type of professional camera format (including all Sony, Panasonic, Canon and RED cameras) and offers a HUGE variety of export formats for anything from smartphones to Blu-Ray thru 2K and 4K. Give it a try. Free 30 fully functional version available. There is also a family of hardware boards from Grass Valley specifically for EDIUS.