Sunday 30 December 2012

Final Cut X – Apple's Black Sheep

This is just a short account of my recent experience with Final Cut X. Having used Final Cut over the last few years (only recently converting to Premiere), I was looking forward to use their latest installment in editing software: Final Cut X. Upon opening the program, my initial surprise came from the difference in the appearance of the console. There were rumours before it came out that Apple was moving away from professional editing and towards the consumer sector. This was evident within a few minutes of using Final Cut X, which began to feel more like a glorified iMovie than a professional editing package. The simplest of tasks that are the work of a second in Premiere are either missing, require plugins that have not been released or require a convoluted process using a host of other software. Editing titles, image control, colour mattes...WHERE ARE THEY??? The most annoying aspect for me was the inability to create save files, making the project to appear in your movies folder, and forcing you to follow an overly complicated procedure if you want to share a project on two computers. Other letdowns are the backwards compatibility issue, the limited export options and the lack of audio control. This is the most disappointing technological release that I can remember and I have immediately switched back to Premiere and After Effects.