If you've been reading our site for a while, you will know we think that there will be big changes in training once FCPX has been released. There will be winners, but there will be a lot more losers. Have VASST taken a long hard look at FCPX and decided that it's just not worth producing FCP training products?
We are currently in the shadow of the upcoming release of FCPX. Beta copies are few and far between so what happens if your business included producing FCP training videos? The new Final Cut Pro is going to be as new to you as everybody else on the day of release.
Take a look at Vasst's range of FCP training videos. If you've ever made a tutorial you will understand that you can't make something as in depth as those DVDs overnight. So what happens on the day FCPX gets released? Two things.
1) Those who had the beta will probably post a range of tutorials for free and then a link to buy or download a complete training series on FCPX. They are probably working on it as you read this.
2) Every Tom, Dick, Harry, dog & grandmother will be posting free tutorials onto YouTube in a mass upload frenzy. Forums, Facebook and Twitter will be awash with "I just found out how to do this in FCPX" links.
Put together it's not an ideal starting point for an existing training company who has put a lot of hard work and money into the FCP ecosystem.
So why are we talking about Vasst? We came across this interesting blog from Hydrapinion.
"I got in touch with a good mate, known expert and video ‘evangelist’, Douglas Spotted Eagle. Douglas runs VASST in the US which produces video training DVDs worldwide, and he tells me that they are discontinuing their range of Final Cut titles because of lack of interest. (Auscam is their Australian distributor)"
I think they will be the first of many to think that FCPX training is going to be a tough market to crack.
I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.
I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.
Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.
I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!
Current Editing
2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.
BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.
Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.
As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.
Plugin Design & Development
I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.
I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.
FCP.co
Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook.
The Future
I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!
