Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Recommended Posts

Is Affinity (Serif) thinking about video editing?

I can't imagine this is a new request, though search hasn't turned up any results.  I was just watching the Live video again (Affinity Live: 19 June 2019 (serif.com)) and couldn't help but notice all the transitions and zooming in/out, which I imagine they made with Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro.

I understand each product -- Designer, Photo, Publisher -- has outstanding bugs and feature requests, but it would be nice to forego all these other price-gouging A-named companies and put full stock in Serif. 

Serif once had MoviePlus.  They were on the scene, though lacked some of the UI/UX elements that the Affinity suite has captured.  I hope Serif returns to the (more difficult?) video arena.  I imagine if executed well there is more potential to make money in add-ons and training than the other software products.

Praise

Serif's rebranding and relaunching of its traditional product lines has been something I've championed to friends & family ever since I first learned and purchased it back in 2014.  I wasn't at all surprised when it won the Apple Design Award in 2015 and since then I've bought multiple licenses (through Apple's app store and through Affinity's site) for many OS platforms, even duplicate licenses for the same platform.

I have advocated to use Affinity for work and production environments -- we're not a design studio --  though I would like the licensing process to be smoother.  Needless to say, I'm all for giving money back to a team that has "nailed it" and rightly deserves to profit, especially when that probably means standing firm against potential Adobe/Sony buyout offers. 

 

Best

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, supervolting said:

I can't imagine this is a new request, though search hasn't turned up any results.  

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/search/&q=video&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=56

Of course, that's just in Feature Requests, where Serif generally doesn't comment.

But from other discussions where they have commented, they have no active plans for additional applications such as animation or video editors.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/17/2021 at 4:16 PM, walt.farrell said:

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/search/&q=video&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=56

Of course, that's just in Feature Requests, where Serif generally doesn't comment.

But from other discussions where they have commented, they have no active plans for additional applications such as animation or video editors.

Walt, thanks for that.  So odd you see all those results.  I saw one or two, but nothing too descriptive.  I suppose the more the merrier when it comes to a feature request, but it is both perplexing that I didn't see most of those results and also encouraging that they exist. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're welcome.

Not sure why our results would differ....

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/17/2021 at 4:07 PM, supervolting said:

Is Affinity (Serif) thinking about video editing?

I can't imagine this is a new request, though search hasn't turned up any results.  I was just watching the Live video again (Affinity Live: 19 June 2019 (serif.com)) and couldn't help but notice all the transitions and zooming in/out, which I imagine they made with Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro.

I understand each product -- Designer, Photo, Publisher -- has outstanding bugs and feature requests, but it would be nice to forego all these other price-gouging A-named companies and put full stock in Serif. 

 

 

Best

What constitutes price gouging? The fact that you think it is too expensive or it is not affordable for what you want to use it for? There are plenty of video options out there for every budget. Final Cut and Premier are pro applications, not your hobbyist's software. A lot of work goes into these applications, not sure why you or anyone thinks they should be cheaper. I guess when you do not see the effort put into them and because it is all done on a computer it can be easy to devalue what they have done. If you make your living with Adobe or any other pro level application, the price is not all that prohibitive. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, supervolting said:

So odd you see all those results.

What search terms did you use? The more terms you include, the more you restrict the list of results (so, for example, a search for video will return about four times as many results as a search for video editing).

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/17/2021 at 9:07 PM, supervolting said:

Serif's rebranding and relaunching of its traditional product lines ...

Just to be pedantic, Serif didn't actually rebrand and relaunch it's previous (legacy) products; the Affinity range is a completely new range of products: "built from the ground up". 😉

Acer XC-895 : Core i5-10400 Hexa-core 2.90 GHz :  32GB RAM : Intel UHD Graphics 630 : Windows 10 Home
Affinity Publisher 2 : Affinity Photo 2 : Affinity Designer 2 : (latest release versions) on desktop and iPad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/20/2021 at 6:38 AM, walt.farrell said:

You're welcome.

Not sure why our results would differ....

On 7/20/2021 at 6:51 AM, Alfred said:

What search terms did you use? The more terms you include, the more you restrict the list of results (so, for example, a search for video will return about four times as many results as a search for video editing).

I think I used "affinity video" or "video editing" the results that appeared didn't seem related to Affinity Video feature request and I think were more related to "watch this video".  After Walt's initial recommendation I searched again and found the same results.  More than likely the error was on my end.

 

On 7/20/2021 at 6:46 AM, wonderings said:

What constitutes price gouging? The fact that you think it is too expensive or it is not affordable for what you want to use it for? There are plenty of video options out there for every budget. Final Cut and Premier are pro applications, not your hobbyist's software. A lot of work goes into these applications, not sure why you or anyone thinks they should be cheaper. I guess when you do not see the effort put into them and because it is all done on a computer it can be easy to devalue what they have done. If you make your living with Adobe or any other pro level application, the price is not all that prohibitive. 

I've heard this argument.  I've made this argument.  I've changed my stance and I'm not sure if I struck a nerve with you or not.  You started off with questions but turned aggressive and accusatory as if offended by the term.  Why do I consider it gouging?

  1. Adobe has bought up competing software companies in order to artificially inflate their price.  This does not suggest that Adobe is surviving by featureset alone, but by simply manipulating what's economically available.  This also contradicts/discredits(?) the point you made about effort.  Undoubtedly, there was effort invested, but a college student was able to make a comparable product that satisfied 85% of what Photoshop accomplished, suggesting that effort alone doesn't justify the price after -- 15 years!?
     
  2. The subscription model of Creative Cloud is designed to eek out every penny from a customer without offending them.  
     
  3. There are ways to charge big studios and professional creatives without having to charge the common user or passive creator.  Adobe simply seeks not to.  That's their prerogative but it doesn't mean what they're doing with their pricing strategy isn't ludicrous.
     
  4. I used to use Adobe.  I used Photoshop, I used Infopath, I used Illustrator, and still sometimes use them through corporate accounts.  The quality of their software isn't in question; it's the value.  You asked, "what constitutes price gouging?" Simple. Price gouging is when a seller increases the price higher than considered reasonable or fair.  Who considers what's reasonable/fair?  Well, since I made the comment, me in this scenario.  I don't consider what they charge reasonable nor fair.  You're fine to dispute.

    A statement I've made time and time again: I'm willing to pay for people's work, even as a passive user/hobbyist.  I think I stated that above as I've purchased multiple Affinity licenses just "because".  I've begrudgingly paid thousands on Adobe software in the past for the same reasons you've stated above. Back then, Creative Suites (CS2-CS6) were priced high and I made the same assertion that it's pennies to professionals.  That was 16 years ago.

    The R&D should have already paid for itself.  The upgrades, tweaks, design, and innovation doesn't justify the increase in price.  By your measure, the software should be getting cheaper and cheaper each year.  It hasn't.  Photoshop alone is ~$21/mo (~$250/yr or ~$750/3yr).  That's ridiculous.  And if you need all the apps I listed above, you need the All Products package $53/mo (~$1900/3yr) on annual plan.  Don't get me wrong, by comparison to old pricing, that seems a fair rate if you're a professional, but that's the sucker you in price.  Don't forget that's comparing rental price to ownership price.  If after 3 years you stop payment, under the old model you still had access to dated software you could do something with, under the new model you have nothing. It's not a 1:1 price comparison.  Where they're really gouging you is year 4-6.

    You see, in the past, people would pay for upgrades after 2-3 years.  Those upgrades weren't pennies, but they also weren't super expensive, but Adobe lacks the concept entirely now.  Your monthly rental fee doesn't decline.  In 6 years, you are doubling your costs.  Why?  It's not because the software became just as essential.  It's nickel-and-diming and you're renting something you used to own with a DVD.

    And if you dispute this, what are you doing here?  Affinity (Serif) has shown they created software with a low entrance fee that people love.  IMHO Affinity deserves more money, but I also think they don't need to go to extreme measures to get it.  They can get that $$ by being smarter and not by saying "well professionals... yada yada yada... so everyone".

 

On 7/20/2021 at 7:18 AM, PaulEC said:

Just to be pedantic, Serif didn't actually rebrand and relaunch it's previous (legacy) products; the Affinity range is a completely new range of products: "built from the ground up". 😉

Pedants welcomed :) And that's fair.  I guess I was looking at it from the consumer's perspective.  Serif had a line of products (DrawPlus, PhotoPlus, MoviePlus) that they then discontinued, and then in a short few years after offered products that accomplished the same or very similar functionality, with a better engine/design under the hood, and better packaging on screen -- overall better execution that they called Affinity.  To the consumer, this looks like an overhaul and rebranding of the same product line, regardless of how they re-engineered it.  I don't know what it is similar to; maybe generational differences of cars, like the Ford Mustang v Mustang Mach E? 

I think you're right, but I don't really care.  I praise the Affinity suite.  When I ran Affinity Designer on an old Macbook Pro 2011 with 8GB RAM and had a fluid experience w/ multi-layers and no hiccups, I recognized greatness.  Even Safari browser encountered the beachball time and again and Photoshop stalled on renders. Hats off (still) in amazement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bottom line is that using Adobe products is a love/HATE relationship. I have NEVER met a professional designer that doesn't echo this sentiment. Adobe bought and killed Macro Media products (I miss Fireworks) - We all were hoping they would incorporate some of the great stuff, but noooooo. Every revision of Photoshop/Illustrator we hope they are going to listen to the users and make stuff better, but noooooooo. My mentor is a top end designer at Nike - and to this day keeps a computer configured for the sole purpose of having Fireworks on it for certain work.

Sooooo, while I agree with the comment :

Quote

'if one make a living on adobe products then they shouldn't mind paying'

I still totally agree with the flavor of this post by Supervolting - AND YES  Hey Affinity, I've just tried Photo and Designer for the first time over past couple weeks after being in the Adobe camp for years - - NOW I vote for adding Affinity Video to the suite!!!

Very nice work!

Edited by Doug_Dev
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Brian_J said:

In this 2018 interview with Ashley Hewson, Managing Director of Serif, Ashley mentions that Affinity apps have "pretty much the same backend" and that adding video editing to Affinity would be a "monumental task."

https://youtu.be/ABM60-0fbuM?t=146 (2:50)

Cool video!  It touches on:

  • Serif's branding, construction, redevelopment of Affinity
  • potential for Affinity Video
  • pricing model
  • single app or seamless handoff

Video

As a programmer, my thoughts are lots of the code from MoviePlus could be reused, but to his point, even developing with recycled code would be a monumental task.  No small feat indeed.  He also said, "never say never" (video posted 2018). 

If I had to guess, they already have engineers working on it either as a skunk works project or with the idea that it would take more time.  The video suggested the Affinity overhaul had taken 5 years.  I would also think that everything part of the Photo/Design engine that he suggests is the core to their product line, could sit on top of their video engine.

There is still a need for vector and pixel editing (text, gradients, etc.) on top of the keyframes. Modifying colors and adding text that scales.  The harder aspect is working in the 3-dimensional and time-oriented space.  The idea is the current rendering engine is the main rocket, and the video engine/product would be booster rockets.  They're different but are used together.  My guess is there might be some spillover when they do this to create animated gifs in the Affinity products.

 

Pricing Model

It is so heartwarming to know that the customers have been heard.  Ashley's mentality is right in line with me and many others regarding the feeling of ownership and at what price.  I also share the exact same sentiment if they do have recurring costs that a subscription makes sense; like if they offer online storage. 

This kind of approach and practicality at his level in the company is how you achieve success.  Too many C-suite professionals are too greedy that their eyes on money overlook the spirit of their consumers. Consumers are loyal to a point.  Apple is a good example of how even at their lowest, certain consumers kept them afloat due to such loyalty.  That loyalty isn't everything but should not be ignored.

 

App Handoff

He mentioned one positive was the shared file hand-off, but also pointed out one thing he would change (that he didn't mention earlier in the interview) and that's the transition between apps and programs.  It sounds like he's either envisioning one monolith app/interface, or that the working format can be kept in memory, which the other apps can access (no need to save), just a seamless handoff. 

---

My only hope is that they stay the course and hopefully continue to love what they're doing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, supervolting said:

He mentioned one positive was the shared file hand-off, but also pointed out one thing he would change (that he didn't mention earlier in the interview) and that's the transition between apps and programs.  It sounds like he's either envisioning one monolith app/interface, or that the working format can be kept in memory,

I think he was probably referring to "Studio Link"! (But without saying too much, so as not to spoil the impact when it was finally unveiled.)

Acer XC-895 : Core i5-10400 Hexa-core 2.90 GHz :  32GB RAM : Intel UHD Graphics 630 : Windows 10 Home
Affinity Publisher 2 : Affinity Photo 2 : Affinity Designer 2 : (latest release versions) on desktop and iPad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.