How to Install Final Cut Studio 3

  1. July, 2009: Find out through twitter that Apple released a new version of Final Cut Studio with the softest launch ever, a tiny box in the lower left of the homepage.
  2. Read over the “What’s New” page, and see that, actually, there are lots of decent bugfixes and even some new features!
  3. Wait until some other sucker gets a copy.
  4. Keep waiting as they discover new bugs, problems, and technical headaches introduced by Apple’s “What, me worry?” backwards- and standards-compatibility policy.
  5. Pour over Stu’s inevitable updated post on Final Cut / Quicktime gamma issues. Understand nothing.
  6. Read over John’s inevitable post on the new version of Color, and how it’s still worse for color correction than using a highlighting marker on the monitor.
  7. Read Avid editor bloggers dissing FCP, feel better about not using it yet.
  8. December, 2009: A point release is made that actually works. Purchase it and install on cloned version of hard drive you call “FCS3(?) QUARANTINE”.
  9. Gingerly boot cloned drive and launch FCP.
  10. Oooh new splash screen.
  11. Spend a few minutes reconnecting all your media. Ah well, you’d be suspicious if nothing was offline.
  12. What’d’ya know, not so bad.
  13. Announce to your clients that you support the new version of Final Cut.
  14. Tell them no, not version 6, there’s a new one after that. … It’s been out for, like, 6 months now. … I know you’ve been editing for 2 years, I don’t upgrade in the middle of a project either … No, I can’t online your cut made on version 5 on Panther!
  15. Wait for projects cut on the new version to work through their edit schedule.
  16. Finally switch over to the cloned “Quarantine” drive as your new default boot drive.
  17. July, 2010: do your first online in Final Cut 7 — discover some stupid missing feature or bug.
  18. Sign inevitable petitions to Apple. Geez, when is the new Final Cut coming out??

5 thoughts on “How to Install Final Cut Studio 3”

  1. This was brilliant! thank you so much 🙂 I've been thinking do I really need this new version? I mean I just started using a video camera... and iMovie'09 works just fine. FCP 6 is quite ok though, gotta learn it first!!

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