Will Apple Continue to Support the Pro Filmmaking Community?

Dare Dreamer by Ron Dawson

The FCPX series I posted a couple of weeks got a lot of people talking. One issue that came up frequently is Apple’s apparent lack of interest in continuing their support of the pro filmmaking community. This is indeed a valid concern worth taking seriously.

In one way, the writing does seem to be on the wall. Shake was discontinued. Color was discontinued. FCPX “seems” to have been redesigned with the pro-sumer in mind (I put “seems” in quotes because as I noted before, the feature set of FCPX is now right on par with the other major NLEs, so I don’t buy that it’s a “prosumer” NLE). It’s no secret that these pro apps are but mere blips on the radar of Apple’s yearly revenue take. I like how Chris Fenwick put it, “On the revenue graph of Apple Computer, Final Cut is like a drop shadow.”

This was indeed one of the concerns that kept me from switching to FCPX at first. I didn’t want to adopt this new program, learn a new paradigm, then be left at the proverbial altar, standing alone. I think it’s a fair challenge to any proponent or user of FCPX. Will Apple continue to support the pro filmmaking community?

But I think this is the wrong question to ask. The right question to ask is, “Will Apple continue to support the products I need to tell the stories I want to tell?” I think the answer for professional 3D artists and color graders was obviously “no.” But is it a concern that other filmmakers should have? Is it a concern YOU should have? read more...