Final Cut Pro X debuted in 2011 to groans from many in the professional video editing community, and now Apple is planning a marketing push to win those users back from its competitors' software.
Apple on Thursday is set to launch a campaign aimed at getting pro video editors to take another look at Final Cut Pro, according to The Los Angeles Times. That campaign will feature users like Julian Liurette, video editor for Toronto's Globe and Mail. Liurette says that, having used the software a year after its release — with the benefit of multiple Apple updates — he was satisfied enough with its performance that he began moving his publication's video operations to the new version.
"Its interface is 100 times more interesting," Liurette said. "And it's much, much faster."
Apple's campaign is timed to coincide with the National Association of Broadcasters convention, beginning April 6 in Las Vegas. It will include testimonials from professionals like Luriette on the Final Cut Pro X website. In addition to Luriette, the site will feature famed Hong Kong cinematographer Tsui Hark and editors from telenovela production company TV Azteca.
Final Cut Pro X has seen seven updates in the two years since its release, as Apple has attempted to address complaints from pro users that Apple's changes to the suite's features watered down what had been a professional-level software offering.
Apple's subsequent updates to the software added features that pro users had been requesting, but the effectiveness of those additions is questionable. No marketing company reliably tracks video editing software market share, but Apple's competitors, Avid and Adobe, say they saw increased usage in the wake of Final Cut Pro X's release.