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Why use FCPX if you plan on moving up in the industry?
There’s a lot of speculation on these boards as to what impact FCPX will have on the post-production industry. My thoughts right now are very mixed because the work that I do could very well be done on FCPX… but I don’t think I should.
I work full time as the lead editor for my company and do all post-production work for every project I’m giving from cutting, to motion graphics, to sound design. NOTE: I feel very unprofessional saying this, but… I never have to use XML or EDLs. I do all sound design and color grading in FCP7 (I love Color and would use that if I didn’t have such tight deadlines) and any serious motion graphics I do in After Effects by simply exporting a short section from my timeline, bringing that into AE and then exporting the resulting animation with transparency and brining it back into FCP. So being that I’m very much a one man show, I believe FCPX was built for me in mind but, as of right now, I don’t know if it would be in my best interest professionally to invest my time and energy in FCPX.
My apprehension to buying and working with FCPX comes not from the interface having been drastically changed (who knows, maybe it’s the future of editing?) but from the fact that there are NO broadcast professionals looking at this as a viable solution for their businesses. Eventually I want to cut broadcast material or work on feature films and if I’m leaving this job knowing only FCP7 and FCPX I feel like I’ll move from cutting every day at a smaller post-house to pushing tapes part-time at a big one.
I always try to stay on top of the latest technological improvements in editing so I got approval from my boss to move my editing team to FCPX, but that was back during NAB when hopes were sky high. Since the release I’ve held off buying even one copy because I’m very busy and, unfortunately, don’t have the time to learn Premiere Pro, Avid and FCPX and right now, I don’t know which one would afford me the most opportunities in my next line of work.
So I guess what I’m getting at is – if I’m looking to get hired as an editor, working for a studio or a large post-house, am I wrong in thinking that learning Avid or Premiere Pro is the only way to move up in the industry?
I guess I’m also afraid of, if I do accept FCPX as my new editing software and walking into some place like NBC/Universal for a job interview with that on my resume, am I going to look like one of those MacBook Pro coffee shop kids or someone with the experience and knowhow they’re looking for in an editor?
I know that the only dictator of how good an editor is should be based on their work alone and not the tools they they use, but in the real world everything gets factored into decision making and biases are hard to overcome.
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12 Replies
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In LA, mostly all the networks are still using Avids. So know matter how well you know FCP whatever the version, not knowing AVID to begin with is a severe oversight.
All broadcast work ive ever done wether for NBC/UNI, BBC, etc has been on Avids. These companies use FCP for there predators, and for sizzle reels.
Im not saying it cant be done on FCP because it can, but all these companies invested hundreds of thousands on Avids in the 90’s-2000’s and therefore wont even consider the switch, just like FCP7 house shouldnt be thinking about switching now, until they actually know the future ofr final cut, which nobody cept the dev team knows.
Neil Goodman: Editor of New Media Production – NBC/Universal
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Hi Dustin,
I’m in a very similar setup as yours, and carry basically the same responsibilities as you. I was given the green light to get FCPX when it comes out. I too have held off buying it, I’m going to prep a boot drive to devote to it and snow leopard as to not mess with our current FCP7 setup.
After some reading I found that Premiere would work with our Kona card, while Avid wouldn’t. Avid’s compatibility with AJA products is only starting to grow right now. I was able to get the approval to upgrade from CS5 to 5.5, and while I am continuing to cut on FCP7, I’ll be learning PP.
I learned Avid a while ago, and while it is robust, I always felt it was less efficient than FCP7. Still it is the industry standard. If you can convince your production house to dip in and purchase Avid, you might still be able to get it at the cut rate. If you can get that at what basically is half price, I’d encourage it.
PP and Adobe seem to be taking the steps to replace FCP7 in the industry, everything Adobe is doing and saying seems to point to the fact that they see their window to get PP in the door as a serious competitor to Avid. So if you can get that upgrade to 5.5, I’d go for that too. Cover all your bases.
Walter mentioned in his podcast with Richard Harrington that Turner had just bought 20,000 seats(or some crazy number) of Adobe’s PP. So take that with a grain of salt.
Unless something revolutionary happens, it feels like it’s going to boil down to PP and Avid, at the prices they’re at right now, it’s probably worth it to know how to work with both.
I’m going down the same road as you, and wish you the best of luck in this new journey that Apple has set us on.
Brand New Website UP! – scottkdouglas.com
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[Dustin Parsons] “My apprehension to buying and working with FCPX comes not from the interface having been drastically changed (who knows, maybe it’s the future of editing?) but from the fact that there are NO broadcast professionals looking at this as a viable solution for their businesses. Eventually I want to cut broadcast material or work on feature films and if I’m leaving this job knowing only FCP7 and FCPX I feel like I’ll move from cutting every day at a smaller post-house to pushing tapes part-time at a big one. “
It is entirely premature to say that FCP X has no future in the broadcast market.
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I, personally, wouldn’t get so hung up on the system. Quality of work can outshine whatever system you work on. So in other words, learn to tell your story visually though what ever means necessary. While I have seen editors proficient on several systems, it’s the ones who really know how to tell a story that capture my attention. I’ve see the highest end Avid editor turn out mediocre work and a low end imovie student do something inspiring. You can always learn a different platform… but TRUE storytellers know how to tell the story first.
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I agree with Neil. If you want to freelance in Hollywood, learn AVID.
Adam Duplay
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Why? It’s been out all of six days after all.
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A company that pays you well and has a crappy edit system, is a system you should know like the back of your hand. The last few years I’ve worked on:
Velocity
FCP
Avid
Grass Valley Aurora
DaletI only own FCP, so those other systems I learned were at the company. Dalet is the worst piece of crap I’ve ever worked with. But there are people making close to $100,000 using it. Why? Because the company pays them to use it.
The worst rates I ever get offered are for editing with FCP. That system has watered down the market considerably. I’m afraid FCPX will make it even worse.
In hindsight, Avid would have been the best system for me to stick with. I never see anyone asking for an Avid editor for $10 an hour, unlike FCP. BTW, I live in SoCal.
Macbook Pro 17
10.6.2
2.6 ghz
4 gigs ram
GeForce 8600 GT 512 mb
Caldigit HDOne Raid 5
QT 7.6.3 / QT 10.0
FCS, CS4 Production -
Knowing how to use one more NLE can only help you. $300 is a small price to pay to add one more asset to your resume. Even if your company doesn’t invest in FCP X right away or ever, who knows when a client is going to come in with an edit started in FCP X.
As others have said, if your ambition is to edit for broadcast and film, you must learn AVID. Depending on your local market, FCP might or might not have much market share in broadcast/film, but one thing is for sure: AVID is going to remain a major player for the foreseeable future. I’m an FCP freelancer who’s decided it’s time to jump into AVID.
As for Premiere, it’s pretty nice (though I haven’t used it in 2 years). The great thing is, it’s so similar to FCP that you can start editing right away, just learn the new shortcuts or change them to match FCP. For me it was the other way around: i jumped into FCP around 2005 after years of using Premiere. By the end of my first week, I had edited 4 short-form projects and I was helping other people with it. It’s that similar. But Premiere doesn’t have any significant market share in broadcast or film.
Both Media Composer and PPRO are available for 30-day trials, so trying them isn’t going to cost you a dime.
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[Jean-François Robichaud] “Both Media Composer and PPRO are available for 30-day trials, so trying them isn’t going to cost you a dime.”
Reminder: Videoguys.com also have the crossgrade offer for FCP users, deep discounts for both Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer using your FCP serial number.
Collect ’em all!
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