Apple Adds Multicam Support (And a Way to Open Final Cut 7 Projects) to Final Cut Pro X

Before I used FCPX I used PPro and FCP7, 6 was before that and good ol’ windows movie maker before that. Now, before the wonderful world of NLEs came along, we used to edit movies with two VCRs, and a playstation for the soundtrack, this method, believe it or not, was a refined workflow for kids making movies at ages 10 and 11. Of course, that was a vast improvement over rewinding and re-recording over each scene every time something didn’t go as planned, but I digress.

My point is, we all have different experiences as editors, and we all utilize the platforms that best serve our needs. Personally, for editing narrative film, especially if I were to endeavor to make a feature film, I may use PPro in conjunction with AE and try to set up a workflow similar to the one Koo demonstrated a few months ago for The Social Network, it seems like a brilliant, seamless way to do it.

However, for the work that I do that actually pays the bills, FCPX is the best thing that could have ever happened to my virtual world. The efficiency it offers saves my up to twenty hours per project, and it’s a very conducive set up to trying things out, rearranging and re-cutting in seconds, (which I realize an experienced editor can do on any platform, so hold onto that Molotov!)

The tragedy here is that people get so caught up with the “I’m a pro, you’re an amateur” or, “I’m a creative, next generation genius, you’re a dinosaur” arguments, or any other mentality displayed in some (definitely not all, but it’s a common trend running through every FCPX thread ever posted since it came into existence) comments.

So Linux, all I can tell you is that for me, FCPX offers a workflow that is intuitive, efficient, and after using it for awhile now, it’s very hard for me to go back to the traditional way of doing things. So if my answer seems vague and completely lacking a compelling reason to you, it’s because it’s not a single feature that makes me like editing with it, it’s just different, and for me, it’s different in a really good way.

But, then again, I’d probably be happy to go back to editing with some ancient VHS equipment and my trusty old PS1, because making movies makes me happy…and that’s what it’s all about people!

Re: what makes FCPX so great? Don’t bother asking this question, because all you will get is an emotional response rather than factual reasons, or a feature vs feature against PPro or Avid.

“I love FCP” – Joe Ray Skrha
“it’s just different” – George Simon

This new update only confirms Apple was dead wrong and professional editors were justified in moving away from FCPX to PPro / Avid. Even with this new update, the problem is that pro editors still won’t trust Apple to risk any further investment. Apple’s interests are vested in the larger market share of simple-minded consumers, not the smaller market share of intelligent professionals.

Its Lion that’s your problem.

Re: Anyone else having the same problems? No. CS5.5 runs great on Win 7 64 and even Vista 64. Mac is no longer a platform for serious editing; hobby editing… yes, professional editing… no.

PS, you can throw pretty much anything at it and it will play without all this ridiculous rendering rubbish!

Yes, this pretty much does what PluralEyes did (syncing cameras that stop and start using audio), except it allows multiple frame rates and multiple frame sizes in a multiclip. PluralEyes does work on FCP X, though I haven’t compared the two since the update to 10.0.3.

Apple’s version has a much simpler workflow, but PluralEyes may be better for a big job, like syncing up an entire shoot’s worth of clips. Right now their workflow is messy (export, process, import, etc. vs “just do it”.)

I suspect Singular Software will be updating PluralEyes to directly support the new multicam ASAP, if they can.