Most recently it seems that the Mac team have been distracted by the task of making Final Cut Pro for iPad. Given the vast potential of what Final Cut could do, Apple’s disinterest speaks loudly by saying nothing.įor over eight years, the Final Cut team have been instructed to develop it to support the needs of Apple – not editors of any constituency. Three or four major features over three years is not a sign of committment. But, when we look back over the last three years, Apple may be listening, but they aren’t doing anything with what they’re being told. But, compared to the competition, what it does is not that impressive anymore.Īpple says they listen to the user community. It’s still the fastest editing platform available on the Mac. Should you give up on Final Cut? That depends. What software were they using? Premiere Pro. UPDATE: A reader pointed this out: When Apple introduced the new M2 Mac Studio, they showed a photo of Saturday Night Live editing on a Mac Studio. Bug fixes and new features will continue to be released, albeit more slowly. Apple will continue to support and extend it. I just look at what’s been said and done in the past. So, what’s the future of Final Cut? I have no inside knowledge. Adding features to the Mac version that support the more limited form of FCP on the iPad is not the same as improving the Mac version. Apple trots out FCP when it wants to brag about how many 8K streams of video a new piece of hardware supports. There is no driving force at Apple that wants to make Final Cut better on the Mac. UPDATE: To me, this is the most important point. It feels like there is no one with the power to effect change inside Apple that really believes in Final Cut Pro for the Mac. It’s just that, at the same time, it feels like Apple is abandoning an older tool that was very successful for a long time. The iPad version of FCP is an example of that. They have different needs, require easier to use software because their teams may not be as well-trained, but they, too, like telling stories.Īpple, I think, realizes that this new social media cohort needs different tools. Their work is skilled, entertaining, and just as deadline driven as any network broadcast. But, the audiences in social media are vast and, often, larger than traditional media. It’s easy for “old-timers” to dismiss the rise of social media as amateurs and neophytes. Equally, it is significant that Apple says nothing about this. The power of saying “This popular show was edited in Final Cut.” would be significant. NOTE: It surprises me that, with the growth of stellar productions on Apple TV, Apple hasn’t added more professional features to FCP to support those high-end productions. Long-time users of Final Cut, though, work in more traditional, more demanding, media tasks like feature films, broadcast television, documentaries, streaming – industries with tighter standards, higher budgets and larger teams than social media. Apple looks at the market, I think, and says: “Where can our hardware and software benefit the most people today?” Clearly, in media, that’s the world of social media, influencers, mobile devices and simple, yet capable, tools. I think part of the problem is that Apple views the market differently from the traditional user of Final Cut. And, for the last three years, that isn’t a lot. Now, it may be that Apple has great plans for the future, but, since Apple doesn’t publicly discuss its roadmap, all we can judge of the future is what’s happened in the past. When you compare the feature evolution of Final Cut to either Adobe Premiere Pro or Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut is left behind in the dust. The occasional new feature gets released.īut implementing long-standing user requests or fixing age-old bugs? Not so much. To Apple’s credit, engineering has continued to support the software. The problem is that Apple does not have a history of developing high-end software unless it also supports sales of high-end hardware. But, with the release of Apple silicon systems – and their embedded Media Engine – even entry-level systems handle video editing with ease. In the past, Apple used Final Cut Pro to drive high-end hardware sales. Nor does it know what to do with the high-end video market or the video creatives that work there. Personally, I don’t think Apple knows what to do with Final Cut. I think that’s precisely the right word.Īfter all of Apple’s talk about listening to users and their pride in the future roadmap of Final Cut, the best they could do was Color Conform? used to describe the 10.6.6 update to Final Cut Pro on the Mac. Maybe something will happen there that changes my opinion. [NOTE: This commentary was written before WWDC 2023.
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