Final Cut Studio + 11 trends in 2011

Filmmaker magazine notes a rumor from Hardmac that a new version of Final Cut Studio “should” come out in March or April. A comment by mainline Final Cut trainer Larry Jordan adds credence to this rumor:

Apple will update Final Cut Studio in 2011 — probably early in 2011. Apple is not abandoning the platform. This is not the apocalypse. The world will not end. I’ll have more news on this when I’m allowed to talk about it.

That's good news to FCP users -- even LAFCPUG is changing with Autodesk as the new sponsor and a change of focus to the "craft of editing" rather than mostly FCP tips. 2010 was filled with rumors and frustrations for FCP users; see Final Cut Studio 4: a double scoop, Wohl on Final Cut & the future of editing, and What should Apple do with Final Cut Pro? on AE Portal for background.

[update: a wag on FCP-L noted that even if Apple decided to end Final Cut, the goal was achieved -- Avid, Premiere, Smoke, DaVinci, and more are all on the Mac]

Jordan's comment is from his Looking Back to Look Ahead, which discusses 11 trends for 2011 that showed up in 2010:

1. Budgets will never go back to where they were.


2. The increasing expectation that one person should "do it all."


3. Media technology is ubiquitous.


4. There is a total disconnect between production and distribution, and neither side respects the other.


5. Tapeless media is a fact of life.


6. "The Cloud" is absolutely a two-edged sword.


7. Our audience is impatient.


8. It’s become a "download world."


9. Audiences expect everything to be free, or, at least, really, REALLY cheap.


10. The demise of traditional media means that marketing is more diversified, more complex, and more critical than ever before.


11. "Good enough" is good enough.

Update: also check out the recent Oliver Peters article Improving your FCP chops.