Apple’s release of Final Cut Pro X earlier this year was controversial, to say the least. While the update finally brought 64-bit support to the flagship video editing application, it left behind loads of functionality that users of Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro 8 had come to depend upon.
In fact, the debacle was so bad that except for the speed increases that came from Final Cut Pro X’s 64-bit support, many video professionals thought the update was effectively a downgrade from FCP8. Which makes today’s report even more incredible, because a prominent Final Cut expert is now asserting that Apple killed off a completed 64-bit version of Final Cut Pro 8 at the last minute. What?
The remark was made by Richard Harrington, founder of RHED Pixel, at a recent talk he gave alongside Larry Engel, American University’s Filmmaker in Residence, about Engel’s decision to train the university’s film students in Final Cut Pro X.
During this talk, Harrington said:
“There was a Final Cut 8 and it was 64bit and it was done and they looked at it and said ‘This is not what we want to do, this is evolutionary, this is not revolutionary’ and they killed it.”
It’s not clear where Harrington is getting his information, but if he’s right, that’s got to smart for the many film editors who have felt burned by the transition from FCP8 to FCPX. “Revolutionary” isn’t always what you want in an update to the software you earn your bread and butter on.
[via FCP.co]
