FCPX: Didn't We Ask for This?

Creative COW by Jeremy Garchow

Here it is. I like FCPX.

I'll be honest; I have been looking for something similar but not equal to FCPX for a very long time...Something that's fast, accessible, deep, modern and most of all usable. Something that allows me to search for my footage by text, by sight and sound, or by physical location within the software, and perhaps some combination of all of those methods. A tool that keeps better track of my footage, that allows my footage to be everywhere and nowhere, or both. Where a shot can mean this and that, not just this or that, or perhaps this and that and those. Where I don't have to make a physical duplicate and move it to another location when I want to express my description of that shot. I have a huge pool of data, why would I want to walk down the hall to get a snippet of it when I can jump right in the pool and grab the exact piece that I want? I guess, I was searching for the existentialist NLE.

FCPX is not quite there, and we as users don't know if it ever will be quite there. Nonetheless, I like a lot of what I see today.

When talking about FCPX, the greater topics of philosophy, ethics, religion, personal well-being, the time space continuum, the consequence of true and real change, the past, the present, the future and, of course, our collective video careers, are often touched upon. I invite you to read the FCPX forums here at the COW to gain a greater sense of how people might feel about it if you have not frequented them lately. Yes, there is a lot of work to be done, and there are many holes to fill, but I want FCPX to succeed. I really do. It is with this in mind, I want to spend some time focusing on what I like about FCPX, today.

I'm sure you have heard it before. The speed of FCPX is remarkable, particularly in comparison to FCP Legacy, and for that matter other NLEs. Here are a couple of ways that FCPX has some serious speed and it's not all about rendering:

• Effects- I have had stacks of layers, FX, filters, text and dissolves. Previewing effects, transitions and text is done on a scrub, not even a click of a button. Multiple layers are stacked each with their own filters, and X seems to play right through them. This is truly refreshing since FCP Legacy has always been extremely slow in this regard. It is extremely creative, and at times feels like I am sketching. It is very enjoyable. read more...