Re: FCPX You May Hate but You Still Come Here to Congregate!

[Shawn Miller] "I've felt for a long time that FCP users (and Mac users in general) have needed to 'get out' a bit more and understand the wider world of post production. Apple certainly is innovative, but no moreso than Autodesk, Avid, Adobe, Pixologic, Nextlimit, Maxon, Triple Squid Software Design, Anderson Technologies or any of the few thousand other hardware and software vendors that service the creative community. "

I will quietly and respectfully note that this is *you're* definition of what Mac users need. Mine is decidedly different.

I actually think that for most working editors, all they really want to do is decide the platform - then start down the long, long road to gaining mastery of it.

The central truth of editing, is that it really doesn't start to pay off until your tools disappear from your conscious thought and you can work instinctively - paying careful attention to the flow of your program and hardly any to "how do I make the software do function A."

The people who need to fully understand all the editing programs you note above are the decision makers in the shop/workflow/hardware managerial class - and system integrators.

This thinking brings to mind another thing that's always surprised me...

I've known quite a few professional writers in my time. A fact that's alwsy surprised me is that someone who's superb at writing advertising copy, or screenplays, or novels, or technical manuals - is hardly ever at that same level writing in any other genres. They can be competent - but very seldom are they really excellent.

A few outliers can do really well in multiple even somewhat closely associated areas of professional work - but just a few.

I think it's the same with editing software operation.

You can certainly be competent with with quite a few. But it's hard to excel above the pack if you're always trying to be a "jack of all trades."

Those who disagree, feel free to make your case.

"Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions."-Justice O'Connor