Today I was going to release a video about a smart search strategy.
But something strange happened.
There’s no reason you would have noticed this unless you were in
that 53% of the professional post production industry that relied
on Apple’s Final Cut Pro software to grow your business. To make a
long story short, our industry was attacked from within by our
biggest ally.
To make a short story long, here’s what it would feel like if it
happened to you:
The Next iProduct
Imagine you’re a writer. Your livelihood depends on your ability to
spin words into wisdom, tears and laughter. All your professional
life you’ve merely tolerated computers, but you loved your Mac
because, well, just because it worked. It allowed you to express
your thoughts and get them out to the world with essentially no
friction.
For 20 years it was a fun and happy marriage.
Then one day a new video pops up on Apple’s homepage
“Hello” says the slight and handsome fellow in the black turtleneck
and horn-rimmed glasses set against a pure white background. “Apple
has done it again. We’ve replaced your Pages program with something
much more powerful. It’s awesome. It’s called iPages. It looks just
like the old typewriter you used to love, and even better, it only
has 13 keys. We’ve streamlined it so that you won’t potentially
hurt yourself by trying to type outdated words that no one uses
anymore. And we’ve expanded the iPad’s keyboard to make it easier
for you to hit all the keys.”
Your jaw drops to the floor and a little bee flies into your mouth,
but you don’t notice because the fight-or-flight impulse is
beginning to kick in.
He continues. “We’ve taken only the choicest letters of the
alphabet and organized them so that you don’t have to laboriously
shape them into fancy old-fashioned words. Just type a few
cool-looking random letters into our patented Pluto Language
Engine, and iPages combines them into hip words and sentences for
you. No more blank page headaches. iPages comes with dozens of
pre-written articles that we really like. And it plays our favorite
tunes while it’s working. So not only does it write for you, it
thinks and feels for you as well.”
“Oh, and all those words you typed before with all those obsolete
letters? I’m happy to say they won’t import into the new software
because with this cutting edge re-write there was no need to
include that sort of backward capability.”
At this point you’re pinching yourself because you’re sure you’re
in a nightmare and you want desperately to wake up.
“iPages. Sold exclusively on the App store.” And the screen goes as
black as your thoughts.
Say hello to the new Final Cut Pro X
Like the ad says, it changes everything in post. It might have been
more accurate to say it removes everything from post. This
ground-up rewrite ground up every feature we’ve ever loved and
replaced our program with a closed system of buggy bug bugs.
But this article is not meant to be a list of All Things Lost. I
will mention one, so you can see where I’m coming from. Eight years
worth of projects can no longer be imported into Final Cut Pro X.
Um, thanks, Apple.
So this is simply an article about how to lose your best customers
overnight. It’s about what happens when evangelists are betrayed.
It doesn’t happen often, so for me this has been a teachable moment.
As in most business issues, it isn’t just black and white. There
are some positives for you as a non-professional editor, and I
promise to weave those into my rant.
Let the rant begin!
Quite simply, Apple abandoned the professional market while we were
all waiting for Final Cut Pro’s much-needed upgrade. I’m just
thankful I can edit in both Avid and Adobe.
But this act seems more worthy of Dr. Evil than Mr. Jobs. Apple not
only birthed the Rosemary’s Baby of software, they strangled its
big sister simultaneously. They began buying up existing copies of
FCP 7 that were sitting on shelves so that horrified professionals
waking to the grim reality of this betrayal would not be able to
flee the burning dance floor. All support for our current version
of the program ended at the same time.
Breathtaking.
Like the spurned wife, it’s still hard to believe that Apple has
dumped me for a younger version of myself, for someone who doesn’t
have years of projects behind him that still need to be opened for
clients from time to time. It’s hard to believe I am no longer
considered one of “the rest of us”.
How the creative community has responded
Ever wonder what evangelists do when they’re betrayed? I’ve been
watching this brouhaha unfold worldwide over the last week and it
seems to hold true no matter your language, creed or color.
Here are just two creative responses from pros in the throes of
despair.
This first one is quite moving and one of the best screencast
videos I’ve seen. As you watch, imagine the skill it took to make
and the hubris it must take to turn your back on an industry you
helped to build:
And if you think I’m just some cranky old editor living under a
bridge, think again.
What about trust?
I wonder if this move will change the relationship between company
and customer. For a while anyway, people might wonder where all
those film and video folks who made it cool to like Macs wandered
off to. Then they might remember the howls of outrage when a
hundred thousand businesses that had built their livelihoods on
Final Cut Pro suddenly faced a scramble for survival. They might
remember and wonder “will Apple still be making phones when it’s
time for me to upgrade?”
How does this affect you right now?
Well, that’s actually the good news. This new program could be of
immense benefit to you. As a coach for video marketers it’s been
plain to me for some time that there simply was no appropriate
editing program for the serious marketer who was not also a serious
editor. But this one has it covered on a Mac. For your videos, this
software could be a good match. It makes simple those things that
used to require more careful attention to detail.
So for awhile anyway, Final Cut X might help you make videos in an
easier way than before. And I’ll even show you how to use it. After
all, editing is a valuable skill you need to learn to reach your
tribe. So just call me Mr. Cognitive Dissonance. I can be happy for
you even though I’ve lost trust in the company.
I just wonder how long Apple will support FCX before they decide
that actually editing video is too much work for you, you poor
dear, so why don’t you just relax and watch “Hangover 3” on your
iPad, streamed from the iCloud?
What’s our future with Apple (Formerly Apple Computer)?
I’ve read that we were only ever about .5% of their sales. They’ve now simply
accelerated their transformation from a company that helped us create things
to one that helps us consume them. I suppose their future as a maker of gadgets
we don’t need is assured, as long as consumers can afford it.
However, if you’re a creative in a field like graphics, web design
or music, I would keep a weather eye on Apple’s hardware strategy
going forward. They are now officially out of the market that
required their most powerful workstations. Final Cut X is clearly
destined for the iPad. Will you be happy doing all your work on an
iPad?
But even if I’m wrong about this, I have to wonder. Can a phone
company inspire the kind of crazy passion and even joy among
creatives that the old Apple Computer once did? Only time will tell.
Time to turn the page
I’ve been thinking. It’s time for someone to re-create the Ideal of
Apple Computer. I don’t make computers, but I’d sure love to help
my clients succeed beyond their wildest dreams and make sure that
they’re surprised and delighted along the way. You know, like what
Apple Computer used to do.
Has the Ideal Company already been born?
This all reminds me of the legend of King Arthur. When Camelot lay
in ruins after the final battle with Mordred, Tennyson reports that
a mortally wounded Arthur is laid on a barge and sent to Avalon,
there to be healed of his wounds and return someday when his people
need him again. Do you see it? At the very moment of death, the
Ideal is reborn.
Let’s face it. Apple’s reputation in the video production industry
is wrecked. It will never again be the beloved company that enabled
us to grow as creative professionals. It has metastasized into Big
Brother, walling in all of its systems, regardless of our needs. So
professionals will leave it very shortly. Apple is now just a phone
vendor and from now on will be judged solely by its manipulation of
digits and (evidently) increasing level of arrogance.
But…somewhere out there, somewhere in the hazy mist of tomorrow’s
dawn, I believe there’s another company stirring from the ashes
created by the inferno of Apple’s “Sherman’s March” through the
world of pro production. A company that will inspire passion,
unrestrained creativity and pure joy.
Every great enterprise starts with an inspiring vision. Could the
next one be yours?
To borrow a phrase from a once and future company: Think Different.
(coda: as of this writing, Final Cut Pro X, in only 2 weeks, has
dropped off the App Store top 10 seller list, and slipped 14 spots
behind the children’s game Max and the Magic Marker.)
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Steve
Really perceptive article that I loved – both in the analysis that Apple might be moving from being providers of serious computers to providers of high cost phones and tablets, and that somewhere they may have laid the seeds of the new Apple in someone’s head.
Great article.
Paul
Thanks, Paul. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. But life goes on. We’re still going to tell stories, though now we’ll do it with an unfruity toolset…
The Gutenberg press gave way to typewritersand then to PCs and word processors.
For any company to solely depend on their functioning on a specific piece of technology is foolish. Every one on PCs lamented Windows Vista, Adobe’s Primiere once abandoned the Mac platform.
Video literacy is going the way of the printing press and word processing. There was a panic when print design arrived to computers. This too shall pass. Not pass, but evolve and move on.
This FCPX debate has become far too emotional. Audio engineers have been using 10 plus year old equipment to deliver their products. We shall soon see the end of who has the shiniest, most expensive equipment and who has the skills to tell the story.
Shakespeare only has a quill and some ink.
Shakespeare told his stories with only a quill and some ink.
Nicely said, Otto! Technological progress happens. The only difference between us and Shakespeare (OK, well not the ONLY difference :)) is that he was never prevented from re-writing his work if he chose. In this case technology helped us build a backlog of material that has now been orphaned.
This is really more about being left high and dry with unhappy clients. This is no longer a debate about technology. It’s about millions invested in infrastructures that will no longer be supported. And that’s just for today.
Maybe this debate has become too emotional overall. But if someone ripped Shakespeare’s quill out of his hand in the middle of a sentence, I can easily imagine some emotion…perhaps even leading to an action sequence 😉
Wow, great post Steve. I’m not an avid video editor myself, but the iPages metaphor hit right at home.
To not even make Final Cut X compatible with the older versions of Final Cut Pro is pretty inconceivable to me. And you bring up a good point about trust… it seems only natural that even die hard Apple fans (like me!) will be more wary about buying Apple products in the future.
If only I could read Steve Jobs’ mind and see what his real intention was behind this latest move…
PS. I was sent here via Paul Wolfe’s latest post, and told to tell you ‘Hi.’
Thanks for your insider’s perspective. I believe you’ve identified a cultural shift at Apple that’s been brewing for several years, somewhat stalled when Jobs returned. His influence and the mindset of innovation with which he inculcated the organization appears to be the victim of an overwrite. And yes, from these ashes a new crusader will arise.
Also, thanks for the journey down metaphor lane.
“the journey down metaphor lane” You nailed me. I love it! 🙂
I don’t see this as a bad thing.
A lot of people will have more skill. A lot of people will learn editing and start to value the work that’s required to create things that are amazing and true to life.
I see that as a good thing. People understanding craft become our customers as they “get” what makes one of our videos special.
You raise an excellent point that doesn’t get brought up enough. I think a lot of people will turn to your work as a result of this because yes, they’ll plainly see what’s involved. And I wish that could address our main issue; namely backward compatibility and trust. For example, I see you work in After Effects (gorgeous work!). If Adobe decided that their next version would be a stand-alone application with walls to keep out all previous projects, you would immediately go…where?
Yes, you would find a way to re-construct all of your projects. But at what kind of expense and how long would that take? And would you ever be able to trust this company again?
I know, Krista. To quote from one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride, “it’s inconceivable!!”
Of course, this was no mistake. Apple’s marketing was quite intentional. They’ve signaled their new direction. It’s just a little easier to see than usual because they managed to strand so many people in the process.
Oh, and tell Paul to have a pint on me!
I don’t trust Adobe now.
Why should I?
A place like Video Co Pilot is full of enthusiast. Adobe is a monolith that exists now to sustain itself. When it becomes a drag to support the fickle strangers that are part of the AE community, we’re gone. There will be a motion graphics package always (and oddly, Motion is worth a look for people doing midgrade work in a production environment)
Chris, your comment really made me think about this and I felt compelled to respond to your notion about trust. Of course this is just my opinion and part of my belief system.
Trust is the basis upon which all hard-headed business decisions are made. Profitable partnerships used to be forged on the basis of nothing more than a handshake, simply because trust was present. When a person commits their future and their resources on the basis of a promise made by another, they deserve to have that trust honored.
To trust is to spend some of your risk capital to be sure, but what real choice do you have? To decide not to trust dooms you to a life where the walls slowly close in on you.
Adobe has proven by their actions that they are more committed to the pro market than Apple. Avid as well. Shall we not trust them because they might turn on us as Apple did? In 20 years neither of them have shown any likelihood of doing that. Yes, Adobe stopped serving Apple for a while on Premiere. But in hindsight, that may have been a prescient decision. The difference is that they could be moved to come back through customer request. This has never happened and will never happen with Apple.
I have a friend who has a company that could create an editing program for the new “rest of us.” But the years it would take and the tens of millions of development dollars make that a distant solution, if at all. Our present choices may be fewer now, but for now at least, they are our choices and for better or worse they’ll be made on the basis of trust.
Steve-
I can trust you. You can trust me.
But it’s absurd to believe that an unequally yolked company would be “trustworthy”. Meaning this: if you want to trust something it like Adobe, it shows that you don’t understand the nature of your relationship.
Adobe has many options, and supporting professional designers is one of them. They might learn that their survival depends on making firm ware for prosumer equipment – at the expense of us.
Why would we expect them to do something that is not in their best interest?
Why would we threaten them if they don’t?
We can’t force a business with many complicated relationships to exist for our convenience. Yes, it’s a bummer that Apple neutered iWork and changed the nature of much of what they do. Yes, it’s a bummer that they are going after thge SUMER part of the prosumer equation.
But, to say that this isn’t expected…well, that’s goofy.
You and I are peers.
Apple and I are not.
Depending on Apple to cater to my whim is foolhardy.
Absolutely. I just didn’t consider that expecting standard functionality from a promised upgrade was a whim. Or goofy.
If your premise is that trust needs the possibility of being reciprocal to be valid, I agree that’s a pretty fair point.
Steve Kobs got bored with that particular toy, and decided to let someone else play with it, but not in his toy box.
Neil
I wish they would let someone else play with it (as in sell the code off to someone who will support it!)
This will probably be a great product for me, since my needs are fairly basic.
That said, I definitely understand how you feel: I’m still mad at Apple for dumbing-down iLife several versions ago. I edited and authored two commercial releases in version 5, and have been praying that my ancient MacBook Pro doesn’t croak before I finish #3. They removed several features that I can’t get by without.
I would feel much more positively about X if they hadn’t lost my trust by hobbling a perfectly good tool for no apparent reason.
Jess, I wasn’t aware they had done this with iLife. I’d be quite upset if they did this with iWork. Keynote is a must for so many applications. Now I’m wondering. Keynote is on the iPad. I hope they don’t start stripping features out of the main program.
Superbly written newsletter, Steve!
When I was a pre-teen, and dare I say, a teenager, I used to read a lot of science fiction. I even subscribed to Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Digest (please don’t tell anybody). The story below reminds me so much of the many stories I would read of society becoming waaaay too dependent on machines, and then one day, the machines decide they don’t need society, or humanity, at all. Cross out machines in that sentence, and insert Apple.
But you’ve made a great observation, in that it seems to be designed for the ipad. I truly believe that Apple believes that PCs and laptops will soon be obsolete, and everything will be moving to tablets… they may just see FCPX as being a little ahead of its time.
I see an opportunity for you here, though, because you said your audience is a perfect buyer for the new software – and you’re the perfect person to teach it to them. And good for you that you will quickly become the subject matter expert with FCPX. It’s like they made it just for you! Cheers!
@Tammy
Thanks for the kind words (about me) and the scary (though hopefully not prophetic) words about Apple!
Tastefully written, Steve. You make your points eloquently and cogently.
As the official hitman for A**le Computers, I am going to hate to have to kill you.
All Kidding and threatening language aside, a great article.
-f-
@Trisha,
The good news is that FCPX doesn’t overwrite 7. In some cases they can co-exist on the same drive. One huge problem right now is the inability to open previous projects in the new program. The reason this is a problem is that though we can still use FCP 7, it’s been EOL’d. There’s no more support. So, yes, now we have the program that was a bit overdue for an update being thrown in trash instead, and a new program that requires one to be a brand spanking new editor.
The only way to keep using the old program now is to wall off a new computer and refrain from making further updates, including Lion. That’s not a workable solution, especially going forward. So no, this is not a matter of being miffed at the new kid. It’s a matter of having your archiving system ripped to shreds. It’s also having your personal and professional timeline obliterated. You have no past, your present is a big headache and your future is quite uncertain.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. I didn’t go into the myriad other reasons that others are upset with this new direction. Sure, I agree with you. A company can drop a million people as customers anytime they want to. As Chris points out above, Adobe may decide someday to drop Premiere and After Effects. I kind of doubt that, but it could happen.
It’s just hard to be one of the million and have your business disrupted in this way. It wastes time, costs money and creates headaches galore before it’s over and even then it isn’t quite the happy ending.
Dear Steve,
I’m sorry that you are feeling so hurt by something that you loved so much (and took for granted).
I also, can’t believe that Apple chose to do this. At least they should have called it “iMovie X” so that there was no confusion as to their intentions.
At least they could have given the Pros a heads up that Final Cut Pro wouldn’t be supported in the future.
Coming from the school of “care, protection, and guidance”, I’m quite disappointed in Apple’s LACK of “care, protection, and guidance”. 🙁
((hugs))
Thanks, Marina. That’s it. You expect this kind of stuff from Microsoft or the DMV, but not Apple.
Oh, and hugs much appreciated! 🙂
Well, from someone who retired from the company that used to “Think,” none of this is any surprise. All empires rise and fall and leave their rotting remains on the sands of time. The change for writers will come as well, when printed pages are also buried under the beach. Creatives of the past needn’t have worried about such rapid changes, as the tools of their trade morphed much slower then they do these days. When in the past it took generations to re-invent tools, now it just takes a few releases. But I too look forward to the next Apple, whatever that may look like. It’s a great time to be alive and to witness the birth of great innovative companies, and to also be around when they die.
Amen, and Amen. 🙂
Excellent.article Steve,
I recall this is not the first time Apple has abandoned its customer base. OS/X was a revolutionary change from OS9. The Mac was a revolutionary change from the Apple II (dating myself here).
So, here we are at another revolutionary change with Apple.
I personally think Apple is on its way out if they continue to operate in their own little world as they have for so long. They insist we play by their rules. With Android on the market, the iPhone and iPad aren’t nearly as kewl as they used to be.
Let’s look at it from a personal perspective. We all make revolutionary and evolutionary changes. How do these changes impact our customers? The ramifications of evolutionary changes are always different than dealing with revolutionary changes.
Look at what happened when a couple of people in Australia wrote a program making global commerce so simple. I, in Shanghai can purchase a product from Steve in the US or Paul in the UK or any one of the fine people who have written here.
The social media revolution will help Apple decide if they choose to continue its path. Will they listen to their customers? When Microsoft realized their mistake on the Internet, they became a dominate force with IE.
Enjoy!
Morris,
Fascinating point about social media! So yes. While Apple tries harder and harder to wall in resources and control our actions, other companies are enabling us to extend our reach and become more than we are.
Mark Mian turned me on to a book called The Inventor’s Dilemma. It basically posits that companies are done in by the very thing that initially brings them success. And because it’s in their best interest to keep things as they are, their innovations tend toward more of the same.
Apple’s triumph was taming the intimidating nature of the PC for “the rest of us”. But there comes a time when incessant simplifying reaches a ridiculous extreme as it has now with FCPX.
And I don’t think they’ll survive indefinitely as a toymaker, unless they become a much smaller company.