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Avid vs. FCP: The eternal question or not. I’ll take Avid!
I am a production professional and long time Avid user in all its variations. I am working on a DVD project and using Apple Studio Pro. I thought I would try and cosy up to FCP again. Use it to edit my segments that are going into the DVD, instead of adding a step of bringing it over by tape from my Avid workstation.
What I want to know is: Is there anybody out there like me who just finds FCP to be one of the worst intuitve things they have ever seen?! The interface is terrible. Icons small and not designed well. You can’t adjust it well, track size seems to be it. Purple and bushed metal and gray, yick. At least Avid lets you option out of the purple and gray look if you want and be more fliexible with the interface overall. The whole tab thing, ugh. Editing seems to be a chore and no fun at all. Seems like it was designed by a computer engineer rather than an editor.
I understand it seems to be a powerful tool, it’s doesnt’ seem worth the hassle. Ok, vent over! I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time. LOL!
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5 Replies
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Use whatever you want, man. Use what makes you feel better. No need to trash an app over its color-schemes though. I mean, other than colors, the “tab thing”, and small icons (you’d prefer less screen space for timeline, etc?) was there anything related to video editing that you didn’t like?
I use both Avid (Symphony) and FCP every day. They are both great apps and do different things better than the other, but the color-scheme rant is a first for me.
-Todd Beabout
Vazda Studios -
I find that most people prefer what they started with. I started with FCP and found just the opposite of what you are saying. I found the Avid interface horrible. Then I used Avid only for a few projects (since I wanted to be proficient with both programs), and when I went back to FCP, my opinion changed. Then I played around with FCP and, well, you get the point.
What it all comes down to is this… use whatever floats your boat. They’re both great products, and by competiting for our usage, they should continue to improve on a regular basis. Though if you read my earlier posting, I hope Avid comes out with HD for Mac PDQ (Pretty-Darn-Quick).
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You started by saying that FCP is the most unintuative interface you have used. Then you go on to explain what you dont like about it, and really didnt state ONE thing that had to do with intuativeness. FCP in actuality is very intuative, just ask anyone who knows nothing about editing what is the easier program to get on and actually start doing what you want, I think FCP wins that hands down. Avid is a great and powerful interface for cutting, but it is old, and IMHO showing its age, DS however has a nicer much more updatged feel to the interface…again IMHO.
Having said all this, it comes down again as has been said to death on both this and the FCP boards, to user preference, either way, you can get the job done. I wonder what the “real” point of your post was, are you just trying to fling poop?
Paul
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I too prefer Avid over FCP, but as someone mentioned earlier, that is what I learned on. And FCP is a great tool, I just know I personally prefer Avid.
The color scheme argument holds more water than it is given credit for. I have 3 or 4 diferent timline presets, all with different colors for most of the tracks. This is very helpful, especially with audio. It’s not a deal breaker, but it is something I wish FCP would incorporate sooner than later.
I agree the drag and drop nature of FCP is “more intuitive.” That doesn’t mean better. In a professional environment, with a short deadline, my money is on AVID to get the job done faster. And as far as finishing goes, FCP falls FAR short. It’s an aggravating tool for that. Great for offline cutting, but the onlining process still has a loooooong way to go.
Still, overall, for the money, it’s a great tool.
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5 years ago, I purchased an Avid Media Composer for around $90,000.00. 1:1 was a $10,000.00 option. Then, this clunky little program called Final Cut Pro started showing up here and there . . .Long story short – 5 years later, Xpress Pro and Mojo, at about 3 grand, do just about everything my $90,000.00 system does, with a few exceptions. Why? Because Avid was forced to react to FCP. Media Composer Adrenaline at about a third of the price of my meridian system does it all, and more . .
Now, in the professional world, you should be at least familiar with FCP. They’re cutting features and TV shows with it. I like Avid better, myself. But I have FCP loaded on one of my machines. So if I’m ever in a situation where they sit me down at a FCP workstation, I won’t look like a bumbling idiot.
FCP is here to stary, like it or not. Healthy competition makes for higher quality, lower cost products. I like that a lot.
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