Well, here we are again.  Final Cut Studio 3  has been out long enough now for people to have had the chance to get their spoonful of Apple’s new post production package.  What are their thoughts?  Well, as we know, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e has an opinion (unfortunately) and rather than read the tumultuous ramblings of college students or editing wannabes  I thought it would be a breath of fresh air to hear what actual studio based editor’s and facilities had to say about it. 

Editor Jonathan Moser (www.flashcutproductions.com) recently purchased the new release and commented:  

“It’s not that there are any ‘knocking it out of the park’ features in the new FCP, it’s just well thought out enhancements and new features with increased dynamic interoperability between Studio’s different products. Again, Apple scores more in vision and image than Avid, whose new releases also incorporate increased functionality and versatility, but with much less fanfare…and that’s been Avid’s image problem vs. Apple’s the entire time. Avid was and is an editing company, Apple is more of an event creator, though FCP is and will remain a solid product that will continue to get increasing market share.”

LA-based television producer Tor Johansen also commented on the new release:

“Logistically, I’m excited to see Apple working off of their own timeline with this release. This whopper of an update comes out smack dab in the middle of…nothing. No NAB launch, no surprise announcement at the WWDC, and no ‘one last thing’ at the MacWorld keynote. It gives me more confidence in the shipping product, that it was put out when it was ready, not according to some fading industry calendar.”

Adam Luckwell, CEO of London’s Unit is also keeping close tabs on the new Final Cut package.

“We are obviously eager to use the latest upgrades and believe there will be great improvement to workflows. With the new Studio, Final Cut Pro brings improvements to some of the most frequently used tools and features, such as the powerful and easier to use speed tool, as well as the new ProRes codecs, offering the ability to create higher quality exports but at low file sizes.  As well as improvements to existing features it also has the addition of new functions that will make both an editor and client’s life more productive. The new easy export function is an example of one of these, allowing users to set exports rendering out in the background while they are able to carry on working. This could seem like such a small change but in the commercials and advertising sector where approval mpegs are common place it will be especially useful.”
 
He also commented on the much more streamlined integration between Final Cut Pro and Color, which he believes will cut down on the prep work previously needed between the two.

 “This will impact positively on prices as it means less man hours getting a project ready for the grade and will be especially useful in the case of long-form.”

It’s all interesting to hear, and although I haven’t officially commented yet since I’d prefer to take the full package for more than just a test drive before I way in, I did blog on my initial thoughts last month which were mixed.  However, to reiterate some of my feelings, I think Apple has certainly taken some good steps here, but more assertively I have agree with editor Jonathan Moser :

“…Apple scores more in vision and image than Avid, whose new releases also incorporate increased functionality and versatility, but with much less fanfare.  Avid was and is an editing company, Apple is more of an event creator, though FCP is and will remain (and I’ll ad in, ‘for the most part’ ) a solid product…”

I’ll leave it at that for now.