Re: Steve Kanter: What FCPX CAN Do

[Gary Huff] "Despite the fancy bells and whistles with FCPX's timeline, it's still, as Chris said:

It is still in-points, out-points, timecode, etc

That would be like Apple releasing a new version of Pages and that it couldn't import documents from Pages '09 because the new Pages uses auto correct."

Gary, I'd agree that it's a shame that Apple has chosen not support any sort of legacy compatibility, and I certainly understand the consequences for shops like mine with years of FCP legacy. However, an FCPX edit it is not just in-points, out-points, timecode, etc., and that is the root of the problem here.

FCPX needs more data about the edit that is available in the FCP7 timeline in order to make the magnetic timeline work. If FCPX were to open an FCP7 timeline, it would have to lose storylines, clip connections, and trackless magic.

You cannot automatically magnetize a legacy timeline, because the information about the relationships between clips that FCPX relies on is not expressed. If you tried automatic magnetization, the first time that the computer or editor guesses wrong about a storyline or clip connection, it would totally break the FCPX editorial experience. The tools just wouldn't seem to be working right.

Apple made a huge design decision with FCPX, and legacy compatibility is one of the things they were willing to trade for it.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
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