Final Cut Pro X - It'll never be as good as it used to be, but it's enough
November 07, 2019
Final Cut Pro X - It'll never be as good as it used to be, but it's enough
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Final Cut Pro X
We use Final Cut Pro X to create videos for marketing, fundraising, donor engagement, and grant applications, but the software is used by only one employee (me) for all those different purposes. Final Cut Pro X allows us to create professional-quality videos to showcase our work, convey our impact, and attract new funders.
- I really like the color correction capabilities within Final Cut Pro X. I think, even if you were new to it, that tool would feel pretty intuitive.
- Sorting through and filtering different types of clips, photos, etc. is simple and straightforward. I especially love being able to hide things that have already been used in my timeline.
- For my current purposes, being able to export straight to YouTube is surprisingly helpful. I can set privacy settings from Final Cut Pro X so a video can upload and be available only to the intended viewers, OR to any supporter looking at our YouTube channel.
- I am NOT a fan of the text tools. I find the options oddly and unnecessarily restrictive, and not every title tool works the same or offers the same setting choices as others. It's sometimes easier to generate titles elsewhere and import them.
- I don't love the library/project/event structure. It has always felt like a weird mashup of iMovie and prior versions of FCP, and it just feels needlessly complicated. I'd like to have more flexibility in my content management structures.
- Coming from older Final Cut Pro versions, Final Cut Pro X has a way of making me feel kind of dumb. Keyboard short cuts aren't what my fingers expect them to be, tools aren't where I think they should be, and other similar mismatches. Some of this can be customized, and much of it is just an old dog needing to re-learn tricks.
- We are regularly lauded for our high-quality videos by donors and prospects, which greatly improves our standing in their eyes.
- Our Final Cut Pro X-created videos have contributed to our receiving large grant awards.
- Our videos have been shared and promoted by similar organizations, which has improved our standing in our field and adjacent fields.
I have hated iMovie since its inception. This probably says more about me, but I've never been able to figure out how such a simple piece of software can make me feel like such a dope! It's certainly improved over the years, and I have even used it in a pinch when I didn't have my own laptop handy, but it still feels clunky and low-quality when I compare it to Final Cut Pro X.
I used to work in Premiere but I had no interest in (and my organization wouldn't support) moving to a cloud-based editing tool.
I used to work in Premiere but I had no interest in (and my organization wouldn't support) moving to a cloud-based editing tool.
Do you think Final Cut Pro delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Final Cut Pro's feature set?
Yes
Did Final Cut Pro live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Final Cut Pro go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Final Cut Pro again?
Yes