Edible Apple

Apple in June completely overhauled Final Cut Pro with the release of Final Cut Pro X. Though the new app brought with it a fresh take on video editing along with a string of innovative features, the update was lambasted by video pros upset by the fact that Apple removed a lot of the core functionality they grew to love and rely on in Final Cut Pro 7.

In many ways, the FCP 7 to FCP X update mirrored the iMovie HD to iMovie 8 transition to the extent that Apple stunted functionality in the interest of making video editing more accessible to the masses. Apple, to its credit, acknowledged many of the  features FCP X was missing out of the gate and promised to listen closely to video professionals and work to improve the product via relatively frequent upgrades. Nevertheless, the backlash to FCP X was so loud that Apple subsequently made FCP 7 available once again via a reissue of Final Cut Studio that users can only purchase by calling 1-800-My-Apple.

And here’s where things get interesting.

It appears that Apple had actually completed a 64-bit version of Final Cut Pro 8 before deciding to scrap the entire product altogether. This comes via RHED Pixel founder Richard Harrington who made the remarks while giving a talk with Larry Engel about American University’s decision to use FCP X in the school’s film courses.

According to Harrington, Apple looked at Final Cut Pro 8 and thought, “This is not what we want to do. This is evolutionary, this is not revolutionary.” And so, FCP X was born.

Once the news began to spread, Harrington backtracked a bit via Twitter saying that his comment was misunderstood. Instead, Harrington claims to have heard that FCP 8 efforts “were well underway then killed.”

via fcp.co

Related: Shake product designer opines on FCP X and the demise of Shake