Re: FCPX metadata--how significant is it? And why?

[Bill Davis] "My contention, Walter is that since metadata is actually nothing more or less than TEXT with positional data in the form of OTHER text elements (Tabs, CR's et al) in a simple serial stream, it just stands to reason that the data will be accessible in the long run. Even if someone has to write a small script or program to extract it. After all, what would be the point of making it INACCESSIBLE?"

I have argued for openness in FCPX every chance I've gotten. There is no point in making the system closed, but opening it up does require some intention and expenditure of development resources by Apple.

As shown by maybe dozens of small examples throughout FCPX, just because a feature may be both important to users and relatively easy for developers doesn't mean it will be implemented any time soon (or maybe ever).

It's also not in Apple's interest to make it easy for you to move to another DAM or NLE. Apple's other database-driven pro app, Aperture, doesn't have an "export database" feature.

My original question was this: is the metadata open? Of course I think it should be, and of course it could be, but it seems at the moment that the answer is no.

Walter Soyka
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