Project Rush: Adobe's FCP X?
What are Professional Editors Saying About the All-in-One, Cross-Device Editing App?
In case you spent all of Wednesday in the edit cave and missed Adobe's sneak peek of Project Rush at VidCon 2018, here are the bullet points:
- Cross-device editing (desktop, tablet, phone, etc.)
- Compatible with both iOS and Android
- Syncs projects and media to the cloud
- Combines the technology of Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition into a single experience (think Lumetri Color, auto-ducking, etc.)
- CC Libraries and Adobe Stock are fully integrated
- Motion Graphics templates are supported
- Learn more in our Project Rush review with insights and quotes from Adobe's live demo.
Project Rush Poll
We asked Premiere Pro users what they thought of Project Rush. Seems like they're on the fence; our informal Twitter poll was almost a dead-even split.
'Rushing' to Conclusions
There's a lot of confusion surrounding Rush. Like with most news, people tend to only read the headlines and make runaway assumptions without understanding content or context. That said, Adobe is intentionally withholding information about Rush as some things are likely to change during the beta phase. Adobe called this a "sneak peek" after all.
Still, it's funny how some people jump to conclusions based on the headlines. Some are flat-out overstating Rush's capabilities right out of the gate. Like Mike Russell, a renown Adobe Audition master — is Rush really three professional apps put together? Nah.
Will Rush Replace Premiere Pro?
This is the money question. And the answers are intriguing.
Editing veteran and Premiere Pro trainer, Scott Simmons calls the idea "bunk." He blames the replacement idea on the "coverage" of Project Rush. He certainly isn't wrong. Some of the drive-by post-production sites are using words like "NLE" to describe Rush. Which may not be wrong, technically, but makes places Rush on the same level as Premiere Pro, FCPX, Avid, etc. This is not Rush's intended purpose, according to Scott.
Aharon Rabinowitz, Head of Marketing for Red Giant, expounds upon Rush's purpose saying it's intended use is implied in the name. It's meant for 'rushing' content from creators to their audiences. Aharon also picks up on the trend that audiences are more accepting of poor quality exchange for more regular content.
Why Project Rush?
Think about the problem Adobe is trying to solve with Rush: making content creation more simple for non-pro users. If Adobe develops Rush into Premiere Pro's replacement, they'll be right back where they started. Matt Christensen, part of the Premiere Pro team, says it best.
One of the best descriptions of Rush we've found comes from Streaming Media, they called Rush the "Goldilocks of video editors" because it's not too complicated, not too limiting.
Is Rush a Toy?
So, if Rush is designed to appeal to most users, does that mean Adobe is caving to the non-pro market? This is the question that Motion Array is asking.
This is where we categorize most of the complaints about Project Rush. Some pro users see it as a toy and Creative Cloud subscribers are concerned it's a waste of customer money.
Is Rush Adobe's FCP X?
Other pro editors are convinced Rush is anything but a toy. Instead, they see the future in Rush, comparing it to FCP X. Looking across the NLE isle at FCP.co, a terrific Final Cut Pro resource, they see something familiar in Rush.
Peter Wiggins, the author of FCP.co, believes Adobe's endgame is clear: a FCP X-like replacement for a buggy Premiere Pro. In his review of Rush, he sites a conversation with former Premiere Pro product manager, Al Mooney, as evidence for an overhaul of Premiere Pro. (Sure do miss Al. Have you met his successor, Patrick Palmer? We're big fans!) It's true that Rush's conception dates back long before Al left Adobe.
Peter goes on to say that, "Project Rush will start simple and then grow into the possible replacement for Premiere over a timespan. That means that editors can move over to Project Rush when they feel comfortable. If only Apple had done the same!"Click the link in the Tweet below to read Peter's full article on FCP.co.
In other words, Adobe is pulling the same stunt as Apple, but without forcing it on customers, at least in the beginning. Peter confirmed this opinion in a Tweet from his personal account.
And Peter's not the only one who see parity between Rush and FCP X.
Is Project Rush FCP X User Bait?
What if there's a more clever endgame with Project Rush? One of our favorite Tweets comes from Toronto Creative Pro Users Group, who proposed Project Rush is actually a decoy to lure FCP X users over to Creative Cloud. If this is true (and we kind of hope it is), Adobe is an evil genius!
3 Reasons Why Rush is Not Adobe's FCP X
We can't completely dismiss the possibility of Rush overtaking Premiere Pro anymore than we can predict the future of technology in general. Who knows how we will be editing video in 10 years!
Here are just a couple reasons to think, at this time, Rush is not a replacement for Premiere Pro:
- There's a tendency to think all video editors are YouTubers. They're not. It's weird to think, but the entire post-production community is not on social media. Just the loudest ones. There are thousands of professional editors within large media companies that rely on advanced post-production workflows supported in Premiere Pro. 'One-click' publishing to social is not for them. Not even close.
- Premiere Pro has established a beachhead in Hollywood. Introducing an alternative would jeopardize all the effort of getting Hollywood editors to switch to Premiere Pro. And we know Hollywood hates change.
- If Rush is a replacement for Premiere Pro, then, by the same logic, Rush is also the replacement for Audition. Do you think Rush will replace After Effects and Audition? Of course not. Those 'pro' applications are intended for highly specialized post-production tasks. How is Premiere Pro any different? As a matter of fact, Rush further delineates craft editors and video creators.
We are interested in what you think of Rush. Do you see it as Adobe's future NLE? Do you subscribe to the FCP X comparison? Let's chat it up in the comments below.
