Final Cut Pro in 2024- Is It Time to Switch?

With apps like Davinci Resolve becoming more popular and Premiere gaining advanced “AI” features from other Adobe programs, where does Final Cut Pro fit in today’s editing landscape?
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⏱️Chapter Markers:
0:00 - The Final Cut Pro-blem
1:29 - The Big 3 Editing Apps
2:06 - Why I Prefer Final Cut Pro
4:26 - Who Should NOT Use Final Cut?
5:26 - How Apple Almost Killed Final Cut
10:01 - Final Cut vs. Resolve
11:55 - Editing App Pricing & Accessibility
15:32 - Conclusion
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Episode 416:

[@joshadams8761]

I spent 120 hours last year editing a video course with FCP and couldn’t have been happier with it.

[@tombuck]

This is one of the best things I could hope to hear! Thank you 🙏

[@juanlagos2125]

Final cut Pro is a software for 10 year olds.

[@joshadams8761]

@@juanlagos2125 🤡

[@california_ray]

I bid Adobe farewell years ago, and let's just say, our reunion is not on the calendar.

[@JeffreyTadlockPhotography]

I am still using Final Cut Pro for all my KZbin videos. Partially because I know how to make it do what I want it to do and it just stays out of my way. I don't need anything super fancy to get done what I do. The basics that are easy to use get me by.

[@tombuck]

Perfect reasons!

[@JamesMusicCo]

12:05 Also worth mentioning the Apple Pro Apps Bundle for Education is $199. It includes Final Cut, Logic, MainStage, Compressor, and Motion. Very worth it and Apple is very flexible for what it defines for “education”.

[@tombuck]

Yes! Their education discount is surprisingly great.

[@RyanKorea]

I use Final Cut, Resolve and Capcut. I pretty much cycle through them with every new video just to mix things up for fun. I really love Final Cut's magnetic timeline for cutting. Resolve is by far the most powerful and blows the others away with its capabilities but I often don't need most of them. Capcut is a good middle-ground because it has a magnetic timeline that can be turned on or off. It also has way better built-in effects than any other editing app and runs even better than Final Cut. The main issue I have with Final Cut is how they still have no way of adding proper captions in 2024.

[@MixiMera]

If you mean subtitles by captions I think it works in FCP. I export subtitles to approximately 25 languages for every video we create. BUT I sure miss some functions that could make it better like AI support and word corrections, auto translations and intelligent line handling as well as better timings with the voices.

[@RomaFedorov]

I switched from FCP to DR a couple of months ago, and honestly, from time to time, I miss editing in FCP, especially because of the magnetic timeline. But, I don't think I'll ever go back, as I find Resolve to be superior in so many different areas.

[@tombuck]

It's tough to move on from the magnetic timeline, and I'm honestly surprised Resolve hasn't added something similar.

[@JackieDElia]

@@tombuck I have no idea what the magnetic timeline is. Off to look that up.

[@TimelyAdventure]

@@tombuck to be fair, Resolve's cut page is somewhat similar

[@xilrowemedia]

Just switch over from Vegas pro, used for 20 years. It is very very stable, no issues so far. Happy I jumped over to a Mac, not an easy decision. Vegas is however, much more flexible with ingesting files. For crying out loud, I dragged a dvd disc file right onto the Vegas timeline.

[@N7DRONES]

Fcp IS still the boss of editing for the solo producer, easiest most open (non stealing of your data) best value for money

[@maxone007]

I agree that FCP was a bit grubby on the M silicone at the start, but after a few updates, it is rock solid again, and it is so fast and efficient.

[@tombuck]

Yeah, I can't really blame them for having a few bumps when transitioning processors and stuff.

[@AerialEmber]

As a note on Adobe's subscription practices: they are being sued by the federal government for being deceptive.

[@tombuck]

I sure hope something comes of that 🤞

[@EricDoggett]

I've been using Resolve for a few years. I'd like to give FCP a try again, but the fact that they have no audio mixer just baffles me. It's a lot easier to use automation and faders in resolve to control volume vs adding keyframes with a mouse all over the video. I never understood why they went with that approach!

[@tombuck]

Yeah, that is interesting. There are a lot of cool elements from Logic in FCP, but no full one audio "board"

[@michaelforrest]

For me it’s the combination of Final Cut Pro and Motion that really shines - I can create titles and generators in Motion and put them into my timeline, edit and tweak or replace with no intermediate rendering step.

[@tombuck]

Motion is criminally underrated. Real time rendering?! Yes please.

[@michaelforrest]

​@@tombuck I moved over from After Effects in like 2013 - real time AND built-in sound-reactive visuals which took extra plugins in AE! Makes producing stuff like this way easier: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWLZZ4utZ5KVqrs (a video about an app I make that I'd love to talk to you about!)

[@PatrickStirling]

great rundown. In general I think a lot of the Resolve and FCP community are right there with you with users finding the best tool that works for them and their ambitions. big fans of all the FCP-focused channels while I play in Resolve Land :p

[@JaylonDBZ]

As somebody who's bought all 3 softwares, I am really saddened by the missed potential of Final Cut Pro. Take Pixelmator Pro for example, it's a Photoshop alternative that I use instead of Photoshop (despite having), because it's so much cleaner, has a better UI, and is extremely easy to understand. A lot of users describe Pixelmator Pro as a Photoshop made by Apple, because it really does feel like it, and it's a SOLID replacement for most features that people would need from Photoshop. Now, Final Cut Pro compared to Davinci or Premiere Pro is completely lackluster. Not even bringing After Effects or Motion into the conversation. The amount of features and customization in Premiere Pro completely dwarfs Final Cut entirely. Don't like the way the interface looks? Just mix it around and you can make Premiere look and feel the way you like it. The simplicity of doing things like smoothing keyframes, working with texts and animations, and creating presets is so much more intuitive. And to be honest, the only thing Final Cut can really hide behind is it's scrubbing timeline, and maybe having the fastest playback. But Adobe and Davinci can probably change that with one update if they really wanted to and add a scrubbing timeline themselves. I really wish Final Cut was the clean and feature packed alternative to Davinci and Adobe that Pixelmator Pro is to Photoshop, but it just isn't. And the plugins that it would take to catch final cut pro up to just the BASE package of Davinci will cost you probably twice as much as the one time payment for the app. I really do hope Apple steps their game up sometime soon.

[@mikkoleivonen2905]

FCP for me is feature-packed enough and what is missing is available an almost always better than what is offered in the base software. The developers think things through and all the freebies thrown in with FCP and Davinici are not the best alternatives. Also, for normal people who have been using FCP, you just are not going to up and switch at the snap of a finger. You have already a heavy investment in plug ins and add ons that you are not interested in buying twice. I for one am sticking with FCP

[@missv7689]

@@mikkoleivonen2905that’s my main things with sticking with fcpx are my investments in their plugins. Do you know if resolve has plugins? And if so I’m sure they are not free

[@oldmanhendo7183]

You're forgetting one big thing. With Final Cut we actually own it. You NEVER own an adobe product. You're merely renting them and will be paying outlandish amounts of money for them for the rest of your life. Once you stop paying, poof no more software. I gave adobe the finger for that a long time ago when they started that bs. "You'll own nothing and be happy". Adobe took a page right outta Schwab's book

[@mreddieau]

I used FCP for 20 years but recently moved to Premiere and was happy I made the move.

[@tombuck]

I'm glad you found what works for you!

[@PhillipRPeck]

Adobe is being sued by the FTC for its deceptive subscription model. It's important for people to understand that a NEW subscription to Adobe is a one year commitment, even though it's advertised as a monthly subscription. Cancelling before the year incurs a penalty where you pay 50% of the remainder. Once you're past the year mark, you can cancel anytime. I'm sure this will change as the backlash against Adobe continues and the lawsuits move forward, but just something to be aware of

[@tombuck]

That's absolutely insane 🫠

[@NeelsWorld]

Adobe has now included a higher priced month on month subscription model as well, still the subscription model of Adobe is not much appreciated by most.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks, Tom. Great to hear your thoughts on this. I thought about switching away from FCP, especially as so many were taking about how it was falling behind Resolve. However, there’s a comfort level to it. Glad to hear you think it’s worth sticking with it.

[@ItsRyukin]

Final Cut Pro is like my second option if I have a MacBook for editing. I would still have to stick with Davinci Resolve in the future.

[@tombuck]

Resolve is absolutely fantastic.

[@viriconiustheengineer8354]

FCP: Magnetic timeline is great. Multicam editing is good. Favourite/used/role selection is good. Premier pro: keeping clips in channels makes audio dub easier (group for interview dialogue, fader for music, fader for effects). And the killer atm is the transcript AI - both for select/cut/paste editing and creating captions. Not perfect, but still a timesaver. Premier fails cf FCP in the pre-editing phase of highlighting favourite and marking when they’re used. Big missing feature I’d like in FCP is an archive option that keeps Favourite+used clips with handles and deletes all the unwanted bits for more compact archiving.

[@tombuck]

I really like the archiving idea! That's brilliant.

[@viriconiustheengineer8354]

@@tombuck It’s something I think Avid did alongside various professional proprietary audio dubbing systems formats around 25years ago - AMS Audiofile and the OMF standard spring to mind.

[@JET34568]

Great video as usual. I switched to Resolve about two years ago. FCP is definitely easier but I wanted the flexibility of using the same software on my Mac and PC. Great video and happy 4th to all!

[@danielschaller-digitalcrealab]

I'm using both Final Cut Pro and DaVinci and yes the later is more powerful in many aspects. But FCP is fun and super easy to use. Now... FCP also gives me some complexes... because when I see so many people complaining about it on KZbin or social media I can't prevent myself to think that I must be an extremely bad editor as I feel so far to be limited by my editing software... great video as always Tom, and (late) Happy Birthday to Heather.

[@tombuck]

I feel the same- "I must be doing something wrong since I don't feel the need to switch." But I just enjoy FCP too much! I'll pass your wishes along to Heather!

[@niceviewstudios]

Final Cut Pro (FCP):** Intuitive, easy to use, clean interface, and user-friendly. DaVinci Resolve:** Powerful, intelligent, fantastic for color grading, and great for multicam editing. However, the nodes can be a bit annoying. Adobe Premiere:** Very comprehensive, with templates available everywhere, but I find the interface messy and applying effects boring (for me).

[@missv7689]

This was soooo informative and refreshing to see someone still talking good about Final Cut Pro. I have both but I’m still Final Cut Pro user mainly because of my investment of plugins, I’m not sure if Davinci has plugins but I sure don’t want to go down the lane of buying new ones. Much respect to you mentioning about Davinci training courses. Great video

[@tombuck]

Thank you! I have noting but good things to say about Resolve, but I definitely feel the urge to stick up for Final Cut!

[@matthewpateofficial]

I love Final Cut. I also appreciate what Blackmagic Design is doing so I purchased Davinci Resolve Studio. I would definitely love to see some text based/search features and autocaptions in FCP. I don’t expect any crazy advanced audio features anytime soon. The nice thing is I own both so no crazy premiere subscription. But FCP is my favorite.

[@tombuck]

It seems like captioning is one of the most requested features, so hopefully they deliver something cool in the near future!

[@theudopantograph]

My DR auto save is very seamless. My app in the last 4 years has never crashed and in the rare occasion that my computer does, I just reopen the app and pick back up where I left off.

[@tombuck]

This is good to hear!

[@jrennickemd]

I think it just comes down to your use case. Right now I use OBS, then edit it in FCPX (with Dylan Bate aka Final Cut Bro’s plugin) and it’s just an streamlined process that learning a new piece of software for *possibly* some improvement just isn’t worth it for me. It works great for me and love FCPX.

[@generationgeek]

Adobe tried to get something developed on a newer codebase; it then turned into Premiere Rush and they were trying to scrap that and make another ‘new video editor’ that never made it out of beta. The biggest thing holding some people back from going to FCP or DVR is that they don’t have solid Enterprise or SMB licensing/management workflows. I used to do that for Adobe and can help them get that set up, lol

[@tombuck]

Ahh, thank you for this! I remember Rush and then wondered what happened to it...

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I had so many problem with resolve on mac and final cut pro, imovie and filmora are my options

[@swissheartydogs]

Aperture then Final CP. Same story… I bought these softwares but no serious support, then dead end. As I switched to Capture One, I really enjoy DaVinci Resolve. Both future-proofed. With a cost effective Copilot+PC laptop, OLED touchscreen…

[@PhilipCutting]

Thanks for this video. I’ve watched a few videos criticizing FCP compared with Resolve, but it’s unreasonable to do so. Maybe it’s like comparing a limousine to a formula one car. One might be faster but it is more complex to drive, while the other is just so easy to use. But neither is bad; they’re just different…!

[@tombuck]

A hammer makes a terrible screwdriver but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad tool 👍

[@TedMattos]

Thanks for this insight, Tom. It's much appreciated. The fact I just learned you're a retired teacher (like me) earned you a new subscriber! God bless!

[@tombuck]

Hey always nice to meet another teacher!

[@onocoffee]

I'm a Mac user and a Resolve editor who is concerned about the spate of videos over the past year or so of the "I'm Switching Editors!" genre - as though Resolve is "better" for all people. A few of my friends are real Hollywood editors and they have mastery mainly over Adobe Premiere and Avid Media Composer. Why? Because that's the editors their productions demand of them. Some also use Resolve or FCP because they want to be well-rounded for those other productions who may use them for specific purposes, but they don't really express heavy preference for one editor over the other because they're all very capable of delivering professional results. FCP is an excellent editor and we should encourage the KZbin editor to work in whichever editor they have access to that fits their workflow - whether that's FCP, CapCut or any of the slate of editors on the market today.

[@tombuck]

Avid definitely crushes the competition when it comes to collaborative editing (or needing to share timelines between an editing company and production company), but I honestly think one of the reasons it's still so popular is because so many companies invested so much in Avid infrastructure in the early 2000's and are a bit stuck, even if they and their editors would prefer something else. You definitely get forced into whichever ecosystem your employer uses sometimes.

[@PigTownSports]

Tom , I don’t even use Mac , I like it but don’t use it . But I’m here to just tell you .. that thumbnail is damn good .. colorful . And pops compared to everyone else’s on my timeline

[@tombuck]

Thank you! Thumbnails are so hard to design and they get even tougher when talking about something like software that's not a tangible thing. Glad it stands out!

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I wish i had a computer teacher teaching me editing. I did have a class on photoshop in middle school but I had problems learning it cause i missed the beginning portion of that class

[@TheBikeFather]

I guess depends what you need. I do a lot of speed ramping videos and I find Final Cut superior in this area compared to DaVinci. I also edit 360 videos, and once again, you can do it directly in Final Cut quite easily whilst with DaVinci you need a plugin like KartaVR and even then it doesn’t work as well as Final Cut. And yes I also have DaVinci Studio version yet I still find myself using Final Cut more. If DaVinci improves in the areas mentioned above, I might consider it again.

[@tombuck]

It's definitely about finding the right tool! The best hammer in the world doesn't help when you need a screwdriver.

[@PrestonJensen]

I never knew you got a Resolve license with some of the hardware. That’s awesome! I chose Final Cut strictly because I don’t like subscriptions! You would think that Adobes history of crashing would be the #1 reason that a person wouldn’t choose it, but for me subscriptions are nasty!

[@tombuck]

Yes, it's super cool! I know some people end up with multiple unneeded licenses because they use all Blackmagic gear 😅

[@HomesickMac]

Buying every second of this video 🎉🙌🤗, also because I've now invested at least several times the FCPX price into plugins for editing. It's a good environment with welcoming bunch of users and companies making a living by making creative stuff for creative people (sic! Not me yet). 😅

[@tombuck]

Yes you! 😁

[@missv7689]

That’s my issue of not leaving fcpx my investments into the plugins😅

[@SamFigueroa]

I've switched to FCP late last year. I'm finally able to have fun editing video again. Premiere Pro is a dumpster fire. Used it for 7 years and it was constantly just crashing or freezing up. Didn't matter if I used it on Windows 10(This was on a dedicated beefy AMD Threadripper custom built PC) or Mac(i9 MacBook Pro and M1 Max MBP). It has a lot of features and a ton of plugin support, but in the end it wasn't worth it. Tried Resolve too, was better on stability but not as easy to transition too.

[@SamFigueroa]

And yes the magnetic timeline is a really nice feature. It makes it so much quicker to get the rough cut done. Just set a custom keyboard shortcut to trim start and trim end and it's so quick

[@tombuck]

Really glad you're enjoying FCP and that I'm not the only one who has had crashing issues with Premiere. I've tried it on SO MANY different computers over the year, and have never made it through a project without a crash.

[@iamericlenz]

Great video, Tom! FCP getting out of my way is probably one of the main points I use it. Also, we need to stop criticising FCP for something it isn't meant to be. Large portions of the current discourse feel like people shouting at fish and how it should be able to climb trees. That being said, there surely are valid talking points. Might sit down and make a video on that. Thank you for the inspiration!

[@tombuck]

Great analogy! I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on it- definitely make that video!

[@williamwillis1309]

I’ve tried resolve and well…it’s just too complicated for me and I’m someone who is in IT. FC is just intuitive and easy for me to navigate for the small projects that I make.

[@Jamminn555]

What a fantastic video, Tom. Thank you for talking us through your thoughts on Final Cut vs Premiere and Resolve. Entertaining but also very informative. Cheers man. Benjamin

[@tombuck]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Flinx68]

For me supporting Adobe is definetly out of the question at this point, and with Final Cut not being on Windows, we kind of have only one good option here, thankfully that one option of Davinci Resolve has been amazing so far

[@tombuck]

Resolve really saves the day in situations like that. Even though I prefer FCP, I can't say anything negative about Resolve. It's great!

[@ArminSteiner]

The one thing I hope FC gets is a easy way to remove a background like most editors do today.

[@JackieDElia]

Great discussion. I switched to DaVinci Resolve because I remember when Apple dropped Aperture (their catalog app). I do think they will keep FCP going as they going all in on recording RAW videos with the iPhone Pro. (Based on WWDC 2024). I wonder if FCP would be easier to use than DR? P.S. I’m done with Adobe.

[@tombuck]

I think the basics of FCP are definitely easier than Resolve, but Blackmagic's free training resources are phenomenal.

[@misterknocker123]

Hi. I saw the link to your Final Cut course. Looks great but a little expensive for me. Is there a discount code I can use to lower the price?

[@tombuck]

I DEFINITELY recommend rewatching the part at 14:56 😉

[@AnnoyinglyCharming]

Problem with Resolve is fairlight sucks compared to audition. When I record a voice over and cut out the pauses and mistakes and retakes its just so easy to do on audition.

[@tombuck]

I genuinely enjoy using Audition a lot for spoken word stuff.

[@DieOnThisHill]

I’m taking the recommendation and downloading Final Cut Pro. Thanks Tom appreciate your opinion and content

[@tombuck]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@schultzeworks]

I hate to jump off the “Adobe sucks” bandwagon, but I like their apps. Another HUGE factor very few consider: job prospects! I teach Adobe apps at college because that’s the current industry standard. The idea that you should use ‘what works best for you,’ is NOT a strong case if ‘what works’ is you need a job from the maximum number of employers. This is not a binary situation; if you’ve got the time, then by all means learn other apps as well. Or, learn Premiere Pro for employment, and use Final Cut for everything else. Personally, I prefer to get insanely good at one specific app for each use case. My brain is not big enough (nor do I have the time!) to master multiple apps that all do the same thing. 😀

[@tombuck]

Oh I LOVE their apps (aside from Premiere 😬), I just hate their whole marketing/subscription model.

[@schultzeworks]

@@tombuck I was not a fan of their subscription at first, but financially it’s a better deal IF you have to upgrade every year like me. For example, to buy the entire CS it was around $2,500, (and about $650 for educators.) The good part of the one-time fee is that is your software works forever. For subscriptions you pay $50 a month, you get lots of updates, and you save $1,850 that first year. The bad part is REALLY bad; you can’t use anything if your subscription expires. I guess the buy vs. subscribe all depends on how often you need to upgrade. All of this is irrelevant… Adobe does not give you a choice!

[@jakefelzien]

Great video Tom :) Would LOVE to chat more about this with you. 🤓

[@markfirth1681]

CapCut desktop deserves a mention too

[@ToniMazzotti]

The "on/off" for magnetic timeline is the P shortcut. That changes to Position tool.

[@tombuck]

That's definitely a great sort of compromise between the two!

[@GrishTech]

I love resolve!

[@MarcLewis2023]

Yep yep yep!!! People look at me with disgust when I say that I use Final Cut… so many “premier snobs” out there… but most are using it because they have adobe suites… the time it takes to render is INSANE!

[@thetangierc]

I just don’t want to go back to tracks. I prefer roles. Going to Premiere is like going back to FCP 7 (which I loved) in many ways and I wouldn’t even want to go back to FCP 7. Resolve makes a compelling case with its features, but I still prefer FCP and like you, my students prefer it. Though for free and moving between Mac/Windows they choose Resolve (excepted for those who are increasingly using CapCut).

[@tombuck]

Resolve was such a lifesaver when I was teaching since it was something students could access at home for free on any OS (if they had their own computer).

[@ekphotography]

Hey thanks, Does anybody know why make project icons always show as black when opening my library? FCPX 10.7.2 ? After I open the project it thens makes an icon, but mostly all have black icons and are not "previewing" what is in that project? Is there a fix for this by any chance? Thank you!!

[@tombuck]

That’s definitely very strange and I’m honestly not sure what would cause it. Maybe someone else will chip in with a solution?

[@ekphotography]

@@tombuck Ah so I hope I am not the only one. The icon previews only show once I have double clicked the project and brought it to the timeline. Otherwise they do not show up. Weird.

[@AerialEmber]

I was around for the FCP jump to X. It was quite jarring. It truly was a completely different application. One of the reasons people stay with a certain application is they are familiar with the workflow, shortcuts, and "feel," of it all. With FCP X, it was a clean slate. Users now had to learn a new program no matter what, so the "home court advantage" was lost for FCP, making it easy to go elsewhere.

[@tombuck]

Yep. I think Apple definitely could've handled it differently somehow.

[@AerialEmber]

@@tombuck Although I wonder if it also had the effect of brining up iMovie users to the Pro level with a familiar interface.

[@ericgrayphoto]

This is kind of random and not related, but do you have a video of your lighting setup? Or could you share what light(s) and modifier you use?

[@tombuck]

I do have a recent "studio tour" video that shows where things are currently: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jV6sY6etncafnas But there's also this older video specifically about lighting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4HRc2qvqbR3gq8 The setup has changed, but the basic lights are pretty much the same.

[@JaredHoyman]

Thanks Tom! I may have to get your Final Cut Pro course. I’m a Davinci Resolve guy but unfortunately Resolve doesn’t support pro res raw. Even if I can do basic edit on the ProRes raw file and export to resolve for final edit would be nice. Final Cut Pro is so foreign to me compared to resolve and premiere.

[@tombuck]

I haven't dabbled in it too much, but I do believe there are ways to import FCP files to Resolve. 👍

[@filipmichalsaffray441]

Hi I have the same problem but I transcode prores raw with assimilate to cdng and it is working fine but sure one more step kind of... I transcribe it when I import my files to my raid array...depending of your resolution fps and your PC MAC it can take some time...

[@tomcourtney3153]

Very well presented and informative and a very fair account. Thank you.

[@tombuck]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@markfirth1681]

I used FCP for a long time and moved to premiere. I love it, wish I’d done it earlier

[@GuilDormeus]

Fantastic video Tom! I still use FCP even though there are other options. I can get in and out of a video edit on FCP fast and that’s because I’m used to it. Lol I’m no master of it but I’m extremely pro at how I personally use it 😅 I still haven’t updated yet but I’m going to soon. Adobe has a fantastic ecosystem when it works but it’s so heavy and clunky to use in my experience to the point where I want to scream because of the crashing. If I started using Resolve 12yrs ago, I’d be use it today.

[@tombuck]

The speed of FCP is just not comparable to anything else. Sometimes I feel like I hear people talking about how they "should" switch because they see so many others doing it, but that doesn't mean it's the right choice. I've learned that "shoulds" should usually be looked at pretty critically 😉

[@edificandolafe8176]

Tom, how are you, I hope you are well... I want to know what Interface I can use with iPhone, my daughter wants to record live with me but I don't know what to buy. Well my friend, thank you for your support.

[@tombuck]

Hey! Apple recently added a feature that lets you use an iPhone as a webcam pretty easily, so if you have a Mac you can get by with just that! I do have a "streaming basics" video that covers a bit more about what's needed to get started: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKu1gqWVfKuYfNk

[@codeandcomponents]

Good comparison Tom, I like the single creator viewpoint. I don’t think I’ll need fancy colour correction etc yet. So clean workflow helps a lot. Do you know of a similar speed editor type gadget for Final Cut Pro? Years ago I had a wheel from contour, but it’s long since not supported. Or do you find trackpad and keyboard sufficient?

[@tombuck]

Thanks for the kind words! I know some people have set up Loupedeck controllers to work with FCP, but I haven't done that yet myself. Unfortunately I don't know of anything quite as robust and seamless as the Speed Editor.

[@jrennickemd]

I use the elgato stream deck+ and can use the buttons for macros and dials for finer tune editing but there are other consoles too!

[@DroseMr]

Great show🎉I been using fcp since fcp7 and still have issues. I dont think its smart for me to switch. Im still on a intel mac i bought a few weeks before the m1 came out. Hopefully i have support till i make a dime. 7500 bucks sucks. Guess i can trade it in 😂.i could go on w issues. My main issue is i edit 3 hrs of 4k 60raw not sure if thats the issue but if i drop stabilization or rolling shutter on it doesnt seem to render or playback smooth enough. Ripple is badazz! Glad you mentioned you have videos on FCP. Thanks Tom

[@tombuck]

Sometimes making a change would cause more trouble/work than it's worth! Super cool you've been such a longtime user. Whenever the time comes that you're able to jump to an M series Mac, it'll be a huge difference too! (as someone who also spent to much money on an Intel Mac, I feel your pain)

[@mastermindproductions4719]

Can u please inform me which latest versions of Fcpx support to mac os monterey 12.7.6 because it’s my last os update mac mini 2014

[@ronyedin]

Adobes claw on me is that, not only I edit videos, but I am also a graphic designer and photographer. So I can’t live without Illustrator, photoshop and Lightroom. 😢

[@missv7689]

There’s alternatives like affinity photo n designer. I do graphic design as well

[@tombuck]

It's tough for sure! And I genuinely enjoy Audition. Most of their software is great! Their licensing is just a mess.

[@mattwruff]

Back when I did most of my editing I was in the PC world I was a user of Sony Vegas. I have a long history with Adobe and NEVER will use Adobe. When I sold that company I decided to ditch Windows and just use Apple. The Buy once and not have to buy again was a NO brainer so now I got used to FCP I'm to old to change now. I think if I was starting from scratch I may go with Davinci.

[@tombuck]

Yep, subscriptions are a nightmare. A huge chunk of my teaching job ended up being just managing Adobe accounts and I absolutely hated it.

[@martinowong]

I like Final Cut Pro and it's so fast, but honestly as time passes I'm kinda losing my hopes for FCP; 10.8 wasn't enough of a bump for me tbh

[@tombuck]

I would submit some feedback to Apple! Who knows what makes it into a final release, but I do know that the FCP team does take the feedback seriously and they don't actually get too much of it.

[@Voo_on_Two]

shocking how difficult apple made it to use 360 cameras in FCP. Watched days of videos on importing and editing and it still sux.

[@NOHOLOCO]

During the Recession years in the late 00s- I could only afford a HP laptop with Sony Vegas as a “NLE” for editing news and “PR” videos for freelance work. I couldn’t afford Final Cut Pro anymore, and Adobe Premiere (!!) … they put these WATERMARKS on the video to make them absolutely USELESS!! I couldn’t afford a new MacBook at all, and an HP or a Compaq laptop was it for me! The Sony Vegas was an LOL DISASTER for me! But can you tell anybody that you had ACTUAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE with Sony Vegas?!

[@tombuck]

Oh I remember the watermarks! 🫠

[@ryejack]

Adobe adding AI popups on nearly every screen on most of their software, not to mention their shady practices with trying to cancel a subscription, were the final nail in the coffin for me. I spent a considerable amount to time researching alternatives to every piece of their software, and can happily say I'm officially free of Adobe. They really burned a bridge with me. I'm now using Affinity / ON1 / DaVinci Resolve and a few other programs. I'm so happy I made the switch. I'm still on the free version of DaVinci Resolve, but I'm curious about that portable editing keyboard. I didn't know it came with a full version of the software. That's very tempting.

[@tombuck]

It's like you've overcome an illness! I hope to cure myself fully one day...

[@TC_Conner]

Great (as usual) video Tom! I’m a solo small channel KZbin creator using Resolve (free version for 3 or 4 years now). In your honest and humble opinion (using your best word play 😎) do you think it would be a good decision if I switched to FCP? I’m pretty deep into the Apple ecosystem and do all my photo and video editing on an M3 iMac. I’ve not had any major issues using Resolve, but as you mentioned in your video, some of the premium features I like aren’t in the free version. And I’ve noticed that as my YT channel has grown (albeit very slowly) I’ve been wanting to polish my act so to speak (my word play is childish compared to yours). Thanks for any advice you can offer and also thanks for your permission to use your code of ethics statement that I’ve edited to suit mine. 😎💜😎

[@alanjones4333]

Thank You, can you do a video on CapCut vs Final Cut Pro please?

[@tombuck]

I've actually never used CapCut, but my wife said it's pretty nifty.

[@RRHSKnightVision]

I notice you have Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Audition on your dock. Do you export your video from FCP to Audition to edit audio?

[@tombuck]

Sometimes. I actually like Audition quite a bit for podcast editing (and sometimes if I REALLY flub my audio it can help save the day), but most of the time I do all my audio editing in FCP.

[@trendyboymx]

Have you considered using their new cut pro camera app to do multi cam streaming from iPhones?

[@hotlineoperator]

Never ever wait future features, makes selection base what features there already is.

[@tombuck]

100% yes

[@BrianTheCameraGuy]

Very nice video Tom. I use Resolve and feel stuck with Adobe because of Lightroom and Photoshop. What do you use as an alternative for those programs?

[@tombuck]

I haven't really found great ones yet. I have Affinity, but haven't been able to fully move over yet.

[@Yiro.]

any of the afinity products there one time payments

[@DannyTheBarGod]

I love Final Cut Pro

[@seecraig]

I think FCP is at the beginning of a major (good) transition. Apple learned from their original introduction fiasco and has figured out a palatable transition. I think that the FCP iPad is a big part of that and it's why they entered a market that already had LumaFusion, Resolve, and others. I also think that's why M4 went to iPad first. For Apple AI is very much part of the OS which is why so much of WWDC focused on that and eventually AI (we're already starting to see it) will play a major role in FCP and the iPad features will eventually make their way over to FCP Desktop. Although tangential I think Final Cut Camera is part of that. Again Apple enters a market where Blackmagic Camera is already there. Apple is building a new and improved ecosystem. It'll take a couple of years but will present a powerful professional alternative. They're just starting their new 10-year plan transition, which they said they'd do when FCPX was introduced.

[@tombuck]

I've only used the iPad app a bit, but it definitely gives me hope for the program as a whole. They've put A LOT of resources into it and it's a good testing ground for new features and stuff.

[@missv7689]

I so agree! You made good points

[@seantewillis]

I just switched from Primer to DaVinci Resolve this week. Primer crashes too much.

[@tombuck]

Hope you're enjoying Resolve!

[@Ernesto_MyFavTech]

I’ve been wanting to try resolve

[@tombuck]

Their training is great! It's definitely worth dipping a toe into.

[@mrelmoresmusiclab]

I started using FCP but it kept freezing up and telling me it was using all of my RAM. Never could figure it why? It drove me nuts, so I jumped ship to Resolve Studio and haven’t looked back. I still love FCP and would like to use it here and there. Maybe I need to open it up again. If anyone knows anything about that issue of it using up all of my RAM, I would love to know the solution.

[@missv7689]

What are settings set in fcpx? How are you saving and rending videos in your background.? I believe the rendering in background could be what is eating your ram

[@mrelmoresmusiclab]

@@missv7689 That is a great question. I will definitely check that out when I am home later. The rendering in background makes a lot of sense.

[@tombuck]

Yes, this can be an issue depending on your computer!

[@mrelmoresmusiclab]

@@tombuck yes, I’m running a Mac studio in one though. So it has plenty of power 64 gigs of ram too. it’s all good though. I’m doing so well with resolve right now. I still love Final Cut Pro. Have a great one, my man. I just bought another guitar today too. Ha ha.

[@postpros-de]

Final Cut Pro (v10) has had machine learning in it *_since day one_* i.e. for *_12+ years_* …

[@chrisw443]

After the switch from 7 to 10 I will always be scared of using it. Most tv is migrating to Adobe, resolve, or final cut if they are mac based. because Avid is such a pain in the a... rear. I will say if your on those window computer things, they have Vegas, its a one time purchase, cheap, and extremely powerful. More powerful than premiere honestly. Edius is out there, and easy to use, but eh, not worth buying. But yeah the main issue I had with avid is everything is based in 1995 whereas the other 3 big ones are much more modern. Adobe and resolve do it the way a pro editor would like, apple...... is apple.

[@tombuck]

It's frustrating because it's almost like Apple doesn't realize what they have with FCP. Heck, mack it super cheap or even free! Then show you're committed to supporting it and people will buy Macs specifically to use FCP.

[@chrisw443]

@@tombuck If apple really went like FULL into FCP they would sell mac pros and minis like hotcakes. When I cut news everything was and is usually pulled down from websites and put into a regular folder. The hard part is getting FCP to dump to a server easily. If you can then I know alot of people still using FCP7, as HDTV is still only HD would upgrade, and the 10 edit bays they have would immediately go back to mac pros. Instantly. Video pros love stuff that just works. But they have to prove it wont be killed, it wont be wholly overhauled in one update, and give us a button to toggle magnetic snapping. I like FCP now. I learned originally on FCP and it feels homey. But the main niggle is these damn raw video standards. Apple has to play along with Black magic and Black magic has to play along with Apple so we can all just cut the raw the way we want to. Apple has a huge market if they just put effort in. I really want them too as well! We all miss the mac pro days. I dunno why tim cook doesnt see that. All the window machines we use are windows 7 lol.

[@Ernesto_MyFavTech]

I have adobe premiere pro with a school email at a discount for $19.99 per month for the full suite. Once my 12 months are done, I’ll try davinci

[@hellolau]

Where’s the lowdown on the great Shure MV7+ & the denoise feature, bro? Did you lose it while chowing down on a burrito? 😝

[@tombuck]

It's tomorrow's video! No burritos to be found though, sadly.

[@shato29yt]

Why final cut still hard to copy imagen or take out object in the imagen

[@PritishBharti]

Do you record yourself in S-Log3 or the default picture profile on Sony cameras? The colours look amazing!

[@tombuck]

It's funny you say this because I HAVE been playing with S-Log3 more lately, but for the first time in a while I went back to the default "PPOFF" profile for this video 😅

[@ac1320]

Maybe I missed it but did you bring up the new multicam features in Final Cut Pro? Peta Pixel and Tyler Stalman recorded a podcast on a iPad and some iPhones to test it out. Very interesting for a solo producer of interviews or podcasts.

[@tombuck]

The new stuff is definitely cool! FCP has always had some nice multicam options and now the ability to use mobile devices just makes it all easier!

[@ac1320]

@@tombuck btw, crazy jump in views after posting! I found your channel around the time of the black and white video about wedding shoots. I think? Enthusiasm Project will be always in my heart! 🤣

[@mparves3530]

sound cool thanks brother

[@TechTroublemaker]

My only real complaint is I wish FCP had captioning.

[@tombuck]

Hopefully soon! It is strange that it's taken this long.

[@jrennickemd]

The app “captionator” (which is paid unfortunately) does a pretty darn nice job on auto sub titles!

[@Shadow_Li]

Davinci Resolve is the King

[@HerveMaas]

Just learn Resolve.... platform independent. Usefull on any machine that can run it.

[@NHDICKSON]

wow awesome explanation also I was wondering is your background really ?? or AI generated

[@tombuck]

It's just a spare bedroom 😁

[@acertainsound]

Glad I found your channel, question how can I create shorts with fcp?

[@tombuck]

When you create a project you can select "vertical" and then your resolution. 👍

[@acertainsound]

@@tombuck Thanks doc where do we send donations

[@WARMKOP]

Just a quick one... how do you do your thumbnails if you dont use photoshop(adobe creative cloud)?

[@tombuck]

I do use Photoshop, but when the times comes that I’m free of Adobe I’d log with Affinity. Canva is also becoming a much more viable alternative too, especially for thumbnails.

[@juanlagos2125]

Forever AVID💪

[@alisheikh1582]

Hey tom, Which did you used on this video color grading??

[@tombuck]

I edit everything with Final Cut 👍

[@curiousminds7245]

bro can i install external plugins in FCPX free trial , PLZ. answer this as i am unable to do it otherwise the software is working fine on my intel i5 8th gen MacBook Pro

[@tombuck]

I believe you should be able to, although every plugin can work a bit differently. As long as you follow the directions for your specific plugin it should work.

[@curiousminds7245]

@@tombuck please guide me and provide the solution to this problem

[@NoManchesMarcos]

I'd like to move to FCP but I need ai subtitles rnnnnn so much like Premiere pro

[@tombuck]

This seems to be the #1 thing people are asking for at the moment- hopefully Apple listens.

[@aroncontinuousconversation]

Hola Tom. Do you know any good Adobe Camera Raw/ Lightroom/Photoshop alternatives?

[@tombuck]

I think Affinity is the main one? It's a one time purchase for I think like $50? I have it, but haven't been able to fully move over.

[@missv7689]

Capture one is a good Lightroom replacement