Adobe to Acquire Frame.io

"...remember that when Blackmagic originally purchased the assets of DaVinci..."
Or like how Apple killed off Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Server (top sellers and industry dominants of their kind) in the blink of an eye without warning?

We are aware how things work and don't, but still a person can still have wishful thinking. Right?
Regarding your comments on Blackmagic and cancelling support. Let's not forget what Adobe has done in the past and is still does, as well Apple has done. So yes this does worry me and others.

To real I think frame.io was in a much better place as neutral company that was offering a cross-platform service.

But back to my wishful thinking, let's not forget that Blackmagic has somewhat a hardware backbone that could have been very useful.

Sure, all companies change and adjust acquired assets, companies, and products all the time. No one is immune. I don't think Frame ever intended to be a separate company for its entire existence. Otherwise it wouldn't have sought venture capital funding at the start.

From the very beginning, they have had ambitions to become something more than what they are, which is slick review-and-approval service. I'm extremely skeptical about the whole C2C workflow. But Adobe shares this cloud philosophy (BMD most definitely does not), so going with Adobe could make this vision become realized.

"let's not forget that Blackmagic has somewhat a hardware backbone that could have been very useful."

I don't understand this comment. Did you mean for Frame? If so, I don't see how that's a factor at all.

NDI has support for FCP, but very minimal. So saying you'll support FCP really doesn't mean much until we see exactly how deep, or how horribly shallow that support will be. The station I work for is changing ownership, changing programming, etc, etc, etc. We are investing in long-term solutions and Frame.io just doesn't seem to be where the new owners want to put their money, and I don't blame them. I'm moving my personal R&A to another solution. "Trust me" is not really something consumers should buy in to, but then, Apple says "trust us" and fails and we still use FCP.

Frame.io guys are posting on Twitter that they are aware it is up to them to prove they will continue to equally support all NLEs, and the promise to do it.  BUT, being owned by Adobe means it is no longer their decision to do so, it is up to Adobe.  We will see what the future brings, for both Frame.io and FCP.  Fulfill the needs of professionals across the board, or only a few select platforms, or simply target YouTubers?  We will see...

Just thinking for a second:
The moment, Apple adds collaboration, annotation etc. as a built-in feature to FCP, Frame.io is worthless.
Smart move to sell it to Adobe, as long as you get some bucks....

What's wrong in targeting FCP as a YouTuber tool?

Nothing wrong with developing FCP as a non-professional tool, but don't claim it is a professional tool if it's not.

Karsten Schlüter: "The moment, Apple adds collaboration, annotation etc. as a built-in feature to FCP, Frame.io is worthless."

How do you figure that? Frame has far more functionality than its integrations with NLEs. For example, the majority of users simply upload files, comment on them, and an NLE is never involved. Even for FCP. So If I send a link to a client for review, their interface for comments is simply through the web portal. Even if Apple added features into FCP, it still wouldn't address this need.

I'm not being critical, but I feel like comments in this thread imply that Frame somehow revolves around FCP. It doesn't. If FCP went away today, Frame would hardly be affected. So I doubt that Frame's decision to be acquired by Adobe was based on any fear that Apple might replicate some capabilities.

JoeEditor wrote:

Nothing wrong with developing FCP as a non-professional tool, but don't claim it is a professional tool if it's not.

well since it supports professional formats and has tools. It is easy to say it is a professional tool!

Why is YouTube not professional? We Name allot of money for clients that use the YouTube platform?

Their was never difference between, Cinema, Home Video, Television Production or Broadcast? 

The beauty of Final Cut Pro is that it is very easy to learn for people who just start producing or editing, and it can handle very long and very complex projects as well.

Over the years, we have published tons of case studies about skilled professionals and international production companies who use FCP as their preferred NLE to create highly professional productions. And that number is still growing every day, it has become impossible to write about all of them anymore. Just two recent examples:

A weekly 2-hour program for national television made by Schnittchen in Germany



The popular tv-show Lego Wars, edited at Metronome/Banijay in Denmark



Is that "Pro" enough for you?

We will soon publish the case study about "Blood Red Sky", a Netflix Original movie that was edited in FCP by my friend Knut Hake. The movie has broken many records on Netflix, reaching over 50 million household views worldwide and getting number 1 ranking in 57 countries including the U.S. Furthermore, I know about more than a dozen other major Netflix, Movistar and Amazon Prime productions that will be cut in Final Cut Pro in the next months.

All these highly skilled pros use exactly the same version of Final Cut Pro as you and I. And FCP is indeed very popular among smaller and professional Youtube creators as well. So, where's the problem? It's not only the features that make an app "pro", it's before anything else the people who use it. 

- Ronny

Well said, Ronny. The claims of FCP not being professional border on the absurd for all the reasons that you cite (and more). Personally, I am not a fan of Adobe or Premiere but that doesn't make "unprofessional." Its a tool with strengths and weaknesses. Same with Resolve, Avid, etc. Why this argument continues to be fomented by self-proclaimed "professionals" is a mystery. Perhaps just an extension of the "disinformation" world in which we seem to live? 🤷🏼

As for the fate and future of Frame i/o - we will see if they continue to support FCP. I am not putting my money on it. I am hopeful, however, that Apple might add more collaboration features going forward. There are plenty of folks inside Apple whose jobs are focused on continued development of FCP. We'll see. 

tverhaar: "Why this argument continues to be fomented by self-proclaimed "professionals" is a mystery. Perhaps just an extension of the "disinformation" world in which we seem to live?"

It has raged a long time. Most of these complaints/concerns would go away if Apple were simply more open and transparent with its user community.

Anyone in the industry knows that the Pro Apps team regularly holds private meetings with professionals, previews under NDA, and informal chats during major industry events In the U.S. and in Europe. There are very good reasons why they don't publicly promote their software themselves like other companies do. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why.

No matter what Apple does or doesn't do, it is still utterly unacceptable for anyone to call Final Cut Pro "unprofessional" when so many highly skilled professionals in the industry successfully use it. People who spread such superficial nonsense are not only denying the facts, they are being disrespectful to those professionals who do use FCP.

I agree with Terry that it's a sign of the times. It can take a lot of skills to create something, it doesn't take any skills at all to comment on what others have created. Especially on the internet.

- Ronny

ronny courtens wrote:

Is that "Pro" enough for you?

- Ronny

Well Zhou did forget our documentary that did get price from Cannes! 😊

 

Oliver Peters wrote:

"let's not forget that Blackmagic has somewhat a hardware backbone that could have been very useful."

I don't understand this comment. Did you mean for Frame? If so, I don't see how that's a factor at all.

It was taget for frame.io C2C workflow which hardware is required.
We will see how things will go. Let’s not forget usually one door close two will open. 😝

Scrubelicious wrote: Well Zhou did forget our documentary that did get price from Cannes! 😊

Hahaha, good point! As I said, so many Final Cut Pro success stories to talk about. I may start writing FCP case studies again very soon (-:

Grüss dich,

- Ronny

ronny courtens: " I may start writing FCP case studies again very soon (-: "

Looking forward to that!

some bitter people, always critical and grumpy, should really enjoy their retirememt (and any little job they have on the side) and... beat it !

and thank you FcpX for being the most efficient tool I ever had ... hence the more professional

(just a film director and editor speaking. Some bitter retired video tech may not feel he same)