FCPX Adoption Rate Increasing

Thought y’all would be interested in my latest experiences as an Apple cert’d trainer.

My FCPX class this past week, I trained folks from a major, national convention center and a well known university. More and more my classes are 100% seasoned pros switching from FCP7 and PPro (a scant few Avid users) to FCPX. This has been the case for my last 4 classes both locally, and my last few out of state. Big operations, not tiny indie newbies, all switching to X. In part because when the accounting dept hears “pay outright vs pay a subscription”, they pay outright. Corporate environments don’t like paying subscriptions. Anyway, thought it was interested in see more and more large institutions are switching to FCPX. And every one of these old, seasoned pros, are loving X, hating the old 7 and PPro systems.

Thus, in the past few months, I've trained switchers from FCP 7, PPro, Media Composer, & ProTools, to FCPX, Motion, & LPX, for mega (and small) churches, universities, corporations, civil institutions, and broadcast stations. The adoption rate seems to be increasing in my personal experience, and folks are moving over to FCPX much faster, in much greater numbers, from larger more established institutions. Very nice to see training pick up, but encompass more old, seasoned pros.

My personal experience does in no way serve as any indicator for trends nationally or internationally. But I do train for quite a few AATC's across the US.

BenB wrote: .. More and more my classes are 100% seasoned pros switching from FCP7 and PPro (a scant few Avid users) to FCPX. … 

Thanks for sharing your insights.-
Can you elaborate a little... please ...

What are the common reservations to FCPX?
What are the common 'Aha!!"-moments in using FCPX in your courses?

I'm just knowing total beginners, would be interesting how everyday-users (of other NLEs) perceive FCPX .....

Hey Ben,

Thank you for this information, very interesting. I am seeing the same thing happening in Europe. The FCP X adoption rate has been growing substantially since the start of this year. And I agree it's not only among single users but also in large media enterprises.

This seems to be the story of legacy FCP all over again: in its first years everyone laughed at it, and over time it became an industry standard. If Apple keeps improving this application at the same rate they have been doing it until now we will see the same evolution, possibly in an even shorter period of time.

- Ronny

"What are the common reservations to FCPX?
What are the common 'Aha!!"-moments in using FCPX in your courses?"


Reservations are all based on untrue BS being spread around the Interweb by haters, period. I've yet to hear a reservation/complaint/problem in my class, user group, etc, based on anything true.

Aha moments come in droves through out the class. It all starts with the very first statement I make, "Everything you have every known about any NLE ever in your life, throw it out the window NOW, and NEVER ask if something in FCPX corresponds to anything else that is NOT FCPX. My answer will be 'nothing, don't do that'!" From that moment forward, we get along fine, things move forward slowly.

When I do get a "Oh, so compounds are like sequences!" I say "No! You can't create a new parent of a sequence. You can't export a Compound Clip only XML. You can't have a connected sequence, nor sequence that has magnetic properties when editing. Thus, no they are not like sequences at all."

So the aha moments are plenty, everything, all over the map. "What? You can over ride connected clip stems, and actually over ride the magnetic crap? Really? I was told you couldn't!"

It is so much fun to teach, we always have a great time. Especially since the newest version of the book came out (and was updated for free). Boykin knocked it out of the park.

It is so much fun to teach, we always have a great time. Especially since the newest version of the book came out (and was updated for free). Boykin knocked it out of the park.

Thanks, Ben, for chiming back... I'd like to be the fly on the wall in one of your courses LOL!

Slightly off-topic, but mentioning the APTS book:

Does it make sense to use the eBook version on a 'standard' Kindle?!
The screen-grabs are very detailed... I guess, my old Kindle will show only 'grey soup' ...?

anyone tried?

==edit==
Just noticed: Amazon offers a 'trial' .. I can test myself... silly me.. :S

What is this "Kindle" you speak of? I have once heard the Elders Of iPad whisper about it's evils.
:lol:

Now that the new book includes "hybrid" media, it's interesting. First time I taught it, I was freaking out. I knew folks would get really confused. But I walked through it just as Boykin presented it in the book (at the end), and it went really smoothly. Because we're hands on, actually moving stuff.

I'd say, for guys working in big operations, External media and Consolidate are both huge "aha" moments.

Things that get folks perked up: connected storylines (most are under the impression that can't happen), position tool (most think it doesn't exist), connection override, effect previews (mouse over, and see it, wow), expanding audio/video for L & J cuts, creating custom effects in Motion, editing titles in the viewer, sync clips, and the biggest and most wonderful moment of any class, Multicam Clips! Always saved until last. They freak out over how powerful that is. Great way to seal the deal. Everyone loves the angle editor. But mostly, when I show how each edit in a multicam has access to every channel of audio in the multicam, and how to re-configure them, THAT is the crowning glory.

Although auditions gets a lot of praise. The new voice recording also gets at least half of each class going, once I show individual takes (edit sections of each, combine them) and audition takes (pick a single best take), both. Most students like the audition take thing, but they all say that editing parts of individual takes to make one good one is the best way to work (I agree). Apple needs to do something to create a "multitake folder" like in Logic. Seriously. But I heard a lot of, "Man, if you knew the hoops we have to jump through to get voice work! This is GREAT!"

I also get emails for about two weeks after each class. Mostly about how much time folks are saving, and about how fast they pick it up after class. Seriously, you can't remember that much information in 3 days. So they go back to work, do 1-3 projects, and it all comes together, makes sense, and they love it. "I can pop stuff out in record time now!"

But mostly I love when they email me that editing is fun again. Yeah, for real, I get those.

I'll be brining all of this experience online soon. (No, I'm not with mPV any longer.) Maybe one day I'll write a book about what it was like during the peak of Apple pro app training. Lived in airports... those days are long gone...

I'll be brining all of this experience online soon.

Would be a nice read as a kind of 'blog'… "A Day in the Life of an FCPX Trainer"
Or, a 'Truth or dare' kind of thing ... :woohoo:

Mentioning Auditions: Have you seen what Steve mentions here , that 'placeholders are transparent'-trick for Auditions ...? THAT easy.-

What is this "Kindle" you speak of? I have once heard the Elders Of iPad whisper about it's evils.

har har :pinch:
… I bought it as a cheap 'reading plank' to motivate my son to read more 'books' instead of just watching silly YT-videos galore. ... but he's close in making those silly videos.. for sure in FCPX.-

looking forward to your "Dear Dairy, you won't believe what happened today..."-series of a FCPX-trainer ... LOL!

== addendum ==

meanwhile I had downloaded the free trial/probe of the APTS book (and Tom Wolsky's latest ), and had my test-read on an old Kindle:

The screen-shots from within FCPX are close to plain black; plus, zooming-in just blurs the pics; lack of detail & contrasts, at last on this old e-ink device. Menu- and Finder-grabs are ok.

… I need an iPad!!… or the dead-tree-version of the books ... :lol: