Josh Mellicker on Final Cut Pro X

Josh Mellicker:

What I would have done (were I in charge), is continue to sell Final Cut Studio 3 and brand the new app simply as “Z”. A brand-new editing app. Think of the buzz! Think of the awesome logo!

Of course, people would immediately ask, “What’s the future of FCP7?”, and “Will there be an FCP8?” and Apple’s position would be, “We might add minor, incremental features to FCP7, but we feel FCP7 is a stable, full-featured app, and is working well for millions of people, so don’t expect major changes or a major new version anytime soon (or maybe ever). FCP is the standard for professional editing. We are focusing on developing Z until it has feature parity with FCP7 and is ready for professional use, and at that time we recommend pros look into switching to it.” Pulling the plug on FCS3 prematurely was a bad move — all downside, and what’s the upside?

Easier would have been to call this release “Final Cut Express X” — or even just “Final Cut X” — making it clear that right now, today, this is a replacement for the existing Final Cut Express, with the implicit or maybe even explicit understanding that while it’s not yet a replacement for Final Cut Pro, it will be.

★ Monday, 27 June 2011