Final Cut Pro X's new layout

So I downloaded the 30 day free trial of Final Cut Pro X and wanted to see what all the bad buzz was about.  First impression:  opened it up – and it looks like iMovie……with a lot more buttons.

It’s a complete different beast than the Final Cut Pro that I have edited on for 8 years.  It looks cool and has some cool new features – but it lacks a professional feel.  I couldn’t imagine editing a major project on it.

Pros:

• Built in color correcting and drag & drop ‘looks’ are improved and very straight forward.
• Slow motion with optical flow is an awesome addition.  It means you don’t need Twixtor or to export to Motion, After Effects, etc. and from what I can see the results are pretty darn good.

Cons:

•  Poor media management.  They got rid of the bins.  Have no idea how you would handle a whole bunch of media.  The new ‘timeline’ also doesn’t allow multiple sequences and nesting.
• It’s clunky.  I’ve been only trying to edit basic clips and the whole thing is super slow.  I think it may have something to do with the background rendering.
• The interface is really cluttered.  Does it need so many buttons on the main screen?  The old Final Cut is simple.  Should be kept that way.
• No AAF or OMF export of audio.  Makes it hard to send your project to an audio post house.

Overall I’d give it a 4/10.  Who’s it for?  Hobbyist filmmakers who won’t be collaborating with post houses and are stepping up from iMovie.

If you’re used to the Final Cut Pro 7 workflow then you’ll probably hate this version.  Best to wait until an update comes out.