Buying Final Cut Studio

Why buy software that people will be transitioning away from? People and companies that won't be going FCX (and in the high end broadcast world, no one will be transitioning to FCX)...they will be transitioning to Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro. That is the software you should be looking to buy. Not software that has been discontinued and End of Lifed (oh, that means the same thing).

Last I heard, you could still buy with a phone order.

Russ

EnglandJ wrote:

I already own Avid and the Adobe Master Collection but as Final Cut is still taught I want to purchase the Studio i already own X but just want the option of having it there if i need it.

You've got that much money to waste on video editors? Pick one.

bogiesan

Shane,

1. How certain are you that no one will be transitioning to FCX and will instead be using Avid and Premiere?

Is there no hope for Apple to release updates over the next year and win back editors?

2. Any idea how similar Premiere Pro is to FCP 6? Is the interface similar enough to make a semi-smooth transition to it?

Thanks.

Shane Ross wrote:

Why buy software that people will be transitioning away from? People and companies that won't be going FCX (and in the high end broadcast world, no one will be transitioning to FCX)...they will be transitioning to Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro. That is the software you should be looking to buy. Not software that has been discontinued and End of Lifed (oh, that means the same thing).

>1. How certain are you that no one will be transitioning to FCX and will instead be using Avid and Premiere?

In broadcast TV? I am VERY certain...at least for major TV networks and national broadcast cable. Because there are so many features missing that are essential to the workflows we use. NO OMF being amongst the biggest. This means no exporting of the audio (original audio clips...not ROLES where the mixer gets full tracks of MUSIC and DIALOG) for mix by an audio post house. The magnetic timeline, and lack of tracks is so profoundly un-professional...that alone makes using FCX an impossibility. That is the foundation of most everything wrong with the application.

No RED support, no Alexa support, no EDL support (you won't believe how much we still use this). Relying on third party vendors to do tape support (although the vendors are good...but still...Apple seems to think that tape is dead and can't be bothered dealing with it)

And other than that...the editing paradigm (how you edit...basics of editing) is so VASTLY different than what is currently out there, that getting people to transition to new ways of thinking...in Hollywood?...impossible. Our speed is based on muscle memory. Our ability to ignore the technical aspects of editing and just edit are based on knowing the basics of editing inside and out so that we only need to concentrate on telling the story.

Because this ball was dropped...and fixes won't be coming for a long time...but not fixes for everything we rely upon to deliver shows...you won't see FCX much at all in broadcast national television. The only people using it will be the fervent few. No major production/post houses or freelances will be using it.

Thanks for your explanation.

1.) If these issues are affecting broadcast TV editors, is it safe to assume that movie editors share this same opinion on FCX?

2.) Does it even make sense to consider Premiere and not just go with Avid Media Composer?

Thank you.

>is it safe to assume that movie editors share this same opinion on FCX?

Oh, FCX currently has NO way to deal with feature films. Lacking Cinema Tools there's no way to track the FILM footage, the keycode, and the audio timecode. So it is utterly useless for films shot on film. And then the other formats that features use...RED, ALEXA...there is also zero support. Dealing with Digital Intermediates? HA! Isn't even a thought in Apple's mind with this. It won't be used to edit the ZODIAK sequel, that's for sure. And again, because feature films require a lot of separate processes, like separate audio mixes, visual effects...and FCX doesn't do OMF exports, deal with tracking footage at all. It is squarely aimed at people editing for the web, for DVD, BluRay.

>2.) Does it even make sense to consider Premiere and not just go with Avid Media Composer?

Depends on what type of work you want to do, and which software allows you to accomplish what you need accomplished. Want to work in Hollywood on features or network TV...national broadcast? Avid would be the main app to look at. Premiere might fill in some of the void that FCP 7 will leave...so that might be an option too. But it isn't known if that will fill the gap, or if people will transition back to Avid now that it is cheaper, and will soon support all the hardware that FCP used (AJA, Decklink, Matrox capture cards).