Final Cut Pro X 10 Year Roadmap [Foundation]
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During the 2024 FCP Creative Summit FCP/Pro Apps Team Q&A session, I asked if Final Cut Pro 11 had a similar 10 year "roadmap" as was mentioned by Apple originally referencing Final Cut Pro X.
The following summary is the question that I asked and the Team's answer at the Q&A from my notes and what I subsequently found out about that original statement from Apple.
Q&A (from my notes)
RT: First off, I'd like to say thank you for Final Cut Pro 11.
And thank you for that great presentation in the theater this time. It was the best!
(Applause)
So when Final Cut Pro 10 was announced, there was a 10-year roadmap mentioned that turned into 13-plus years.
Is there a similar roadmap for Final Cut Pro 11?
Or are we going to see Final Cut Pro 12 in six months?
(Laughter)
Bill Davis Product Marketing Manager, Pro Video Apps:
The short answer is, one of the big messages that we wanted to share, going from Final Cut Pro 10 to Final Cut Pro 11, was yes, this was a very significant update in terms of features. But we really are signifying that this is the beginning of the next chapter of Final Cut Pro.
And as you know, we don't talk about future plans. And I wasn't here when we mentioned the 10-year roadmap!
Peter Steinauer Senior Director - Video Applications Engineering:
I'm trying to remember the 10 year roadmap. I was on the stage. Did I say that?
Audience member next to me: Yes, you did!
(Laughter) (Applause)
(Note. In the FCP Team Q&A I did not say anyone specific said “10 year roadmap”. I just said that it was mentioned by someone at Apple.)
As it turns out, Peter was not the person from Apple that said there was a 10 year "roadmap" for FCPX and it was not actually a roadmap but a 10 year foundation for FCPX that was mentioned.
And it also was not at the introduction of FCPX in April 2011 at that year's NAB Supermeet. It was during an interview with Apple's Richard Townhill upon the release of the first FCPX update, 10.0.1 in September 2011.
Here's the rundown.
Posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 8:02 am. PT
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple on Tuesday released a major new version of Final Cut Pro X, the first update to the company’s professional video application since it was released in late June.
Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 focuses on implementing the top user requested features into the application to help professionals get their work done more efficiently.
“We got a lot of feedback from our professional users,” Richard Townhill, Apple’s senior director applications marketing, told The Loop. “We listened to the pros and have taken their top feature requests and put them in this update.”
Then someone said:
We're going to be doing our best to continue to roll the product forward as aggressively as we can. And It's much better than a 10-year roadmap.
"Final Cut Pro X introduced many new features like a Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas; Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media and people; and background rendering."
“We’ve got a modern architecture, and
this is the foundation for the next 10 years,” said Townhill.
And there you have it! The original mention of a 10 year roadmap/foundation for FCPX was from an interview Jim Dalrimple conducted with Apple's Richard Townhill in September 2011 upon the first update for FCPX, 10.0.1.