Apple promises changes in Final Cut Pro after video editor complaints

Apple has responded to an open letter from video editors and filmmaking professionals, pledging to incorporate requested features into Final Cut Pro.

Back in April, a collection of Final Cut Pro users penned an open letter to Apple asking the company to do more to promote the video editing platform to the TV and film industry, as well as incorporate new features. On Thursday, Apple officially responded.

"To the authors of the recent open letter regarding Final Cut Pro in the TV and film industry: the creative community has always been so important to us at Apple, and we're grateful for your feedback," Apple wrote.

The company added that it "has plans in place" to address some of the feature requests. It also added that it recognizes the need to work alongside video editors to support film and TV projects.

Apple says it will begin offering certifications for professional video editing in May. It will also establish a panel of industry experts in the summer and expand the content and frequency of Final Cut Pro workshops for film and television events.

The original open letter back in April aired a handful of grievances about Final Cut Pro, including the fact that its usage in the professional TV and film industries had died off since the 2000s. It also argued for Apple to add the "few remaining features our industry has consistently stated are needed."

18 Comments

CluntBaby92 25 comments · 4 Years

About 2 years ago

I just want FCPX to work on my machine again. Ever since I updated to the new MacOS FCPX decided to stop working, no matter what I do, and it’s damn near ruined my productivity. I could honestly care less about new features right now - I just want my editing program back. Ive used it for nearly a decade and have never come across this issue. I’ve now been forced to use the alternative since this all happened… Premiere Pro *shivers*.

M68000 886 comments · 7 Years

CluntBaby92 said:

I just want FCPX to work on my machine again. Ever since I updated to the new MacOS FCPX decided to stop working, no matter what I do, and it’s damn near ruined my productivity. I could honestly care less about new features right now - I just want my editing program back. Ive used it for nearly a decade and have never come across this issue. I’ve now been forced to use the alternative since this all happened… Premiere Pro *shivers*.

Did you run the latest final cut update? I saw one pop up a few days ago but have not installed myself yet.

killroy 286 comments · 17 Years

CluntBaby92 said:

I just want FCPX to work on my machine again. Ever since I updated to the new MacOS FCPX decided to stop working, no matter what I do, and it’s damn near ruined my productivity. I could honestly care less about new features right now - I just want my editing program back. Ive used it for nearly a decade and have never come across this issue. I’ve now been forced to use the alternative since this all happened… Premiere Pro *shivers*.

Sounds like a corrupt or missing file or codec. Does it not work at all or just crashes at some point on the time line.

avon b7 8044 comments · 20 Years

One of Apple's biggest problems has always been commitment to projects and communication so it is good to see them giving a public reply.

It's about time though that they began making communication with pro users a priority in their pro software approach.

An open letter should never have been necessary. Nor the headaches caused by file format and missing features in the move to FCPX. That was a huge disaster for many.

elijahg 2841 comments · 18 Years

avon b7 said:

One of Apple's biggest problems has always been commitment to projects and communication so it is good to see them giving a public reply.

It's about time though that they began making communication with pro users a priority in their pro software approach.

An open letter should never have been necessary. Nor the headaches caused by file format and missing features in the move to FCPX. That was a huge disaster for many.

Apple has a habit of being rather "courageous" in the pro space when that is the last thing people who have highly optimised workflows tuned over many years want. When Apple abandoned the original FCP for FCPX there was uproar because half the features were missing and none of the plugins worked. Many, many places abandoned it for Avid or Premiere (notably the BBC made a wholesale switch). A similar thing happened way back in 2002 with Shake. It was the industry standard for SFX. Apple bought it, then left it to wither and die. Professionals need to know what's going on so they can plan. No one wants to spend $10k on a program (nor hardware) that has no future. Apple's secrecy is pretty pointless these days anyway since everything gets leaked. So much for Cook's "doubling down" on secrecy.