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What Do we Do now? How Do you Feel?
Okay So, THis program has been out for awhile now and SOME questions have been answered, I was very angry when this was released and I vented on the iMovie X Forums, But what I realize now is that I was angry at the wrong thing. iMovie X Pro is a cool useful NLE system, its not a bad program, what sent me in a blinding rage was that apple thought it was good enough to replace the whole FCS2, witch BTW it still isn’t, and they continue to make stupid statements such as telling us the 3rd Party developers will handle all the missing gaps multi-cam, etc. Im 26 and I’ve been ripping my hair out trying to wrap my head around avid these last few weeks, right now I think avid is a horribly overcomplicated NLE system, but people use it and I;ll have to suck it up and learn it. My question is I’ve been using Final Cut since 1999, what do I do now? It took me 11 years to master all the programs in Final Cut Studio, and now there all Dead? Im afraid it will take me another 11 years to MASTER Avid/Premiere Pro, will it? I also don’t know how I should feel, should I be angry? If so at who/what? should I be afraid because the 1 skill set I had mastered has been taken away? I’m Torn, But I now Know That is wasn’t fair to insult and Bash on iMovie X Pro, Its a great little simple NLE program, but is not Final Cut, not Media Composer and Not Adobe Premiere. Im young and take advice from any seasoned Post Production Guru I can, SO I’m asking this forum what I should now? what steps should i take? I’m well aware I can still use FCP7 but I see it as a Crutch, because it will be a relic in 2 years. ANy Advice or options any Seasoned vet can give me would be great. I do wanna continue a Career in Post Production wether it be web,Broadcast,or Film.
I wear many hats.
http://www.gregburkepost.com -
44 Replies
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Avid’s really not that hard to learn. Remember, you have the experience of knowing one NLE, and they all basically do the same thing.
I think the key to understanding Avid is thinking that they have two large needs: the interface needs to appear essentially the same in the Windows OS and the Mac OS, which means they don’t utilize either OS to the best potential.
The other is that there is a legacy base, which means they can’t drastically change the interface. There is a lot of early 90’s quirks about the program.
But they have some tutorials online, and it is the big elephant for feature films and a lot of TV.
It’s clumsy, but you can get used to it.
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If I could also add, these are all just tools, some more difficult to master than others, but isn’t the most difficult part of an editors job, if not the hardest part to master, the actual art and craft of arranging a series of shots into a coherent narrative? Many of us started with flatbeds and moviolas progressing up through linear editing systems (ecs-super 90’s anyone?) and cmx systems, and into the world of NLE. Each system had to be wrestled with in order to get what was in our heads unto the work print, or work tapes, or whatever you called it at the time. If I eventually end up have to wrestle with some future (and better?) version of FCPX – so be it.
Of course that won’t stop me from bitching about Apple’s botched roll out of this silly program.
Jim Carey
Director of Video, Radical Entertainment
linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jcarey256
mobygames: https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,17212/ -
If you can use FCP you can use Avid or any other NLE for that matter. The concepts are the same.
The biggest difference is probably that there are many different ways to achieve the same result
in FCP. Not so much in other NLE’s. This business is in a constant state of change. Nothing to be done about that but sit back and enjoy the ride.bigpine
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I’m 27 and feel your pain.
I started on avid and i do agree that it is a pain. My question is, if you have learnt how to use the FCS apps then have you looked at Adobe’s production premium?
After effects is a few floors above motion. Premiere has a keyboard layout setting that is almost similar to FCP. Encoder works like Compressor but gives better results (IMHO. To my eyes) And adobe audition is like soundtrack pro although i prefer soundtrack pro.
If you have used FCS and need to use something similar but gives better renders then I advise on getting the production premium.
If you have to use avid because the places or suites you are using are Avid suites then I suggest on getting an avid layout keyboard or source for the layout skin. The thing is, once you master Avid then you can probably be a super cutter on other NLEs.
The super cutter meaning that you could probably work faster on other NLEs as their learning curve is not so steep. If you feel like a master fcp cutter then i say look at Ppro at least but if you are concerned about putting food on the table then learn Avid but use other NLEs once in a while so in case anything happens, you will not be jobless.
Ewan
Avid, FCS3, Premiere Pro, After Effects -
To add: or at least feel like a super cutter.
Ewan
Avid, FCS3, Premiere Pro, After Effects -
Decent argument, except the interface is largely unchanged since it was a Mac only program until 1996 or 1997.
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All this about Avid’s interface and workflow may well be the reason why Apple decided to rethink the GUI (for better or worse).
I’d been in Post nearly a decade before Avid existed. I’ve been through enough NLEs to personally believe it’s time to rethink the GUI. I started using Avid in 1989 and by 2001 I was very happy that FCP was on the scene and developing well. If there’s one think Apple specializes in is GUI so I do think they’ll straighten out the FCPX issues over the next year.
That said it can’t hurt to be fluent in the NLEs used in the facilities if you’re freelance. If you’re designing your own place then you get to specialize.
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Hey Greg.
Here’s my story. I’m a promo producer/editor working in Los Angeles, mainly in domestic/foreign television. I work for Studios, Networks, Cable Channels, both large and boutique entertainment advertising firms, or for shows, themselves. I most often work on my own equipment, but frequently work on workstations provided for me. I’ve worked professionally on six different NLE’s, and have played with many others.
For what it is worth, here is my advice:
1) Look around you and see what your environment is, and where you want to be.
I am interdependent with many, many people. My very first concern is where they will all be in just a few years. So ask yourself, who do you need to be working with? Who is going to hire you to sit for a day at their keyboard while they are at their cousin’s wedding? Who are you going to hire to help you out when you end up with 60 hours of worth of work in a three day slot? What Post houses are you going to work with? What will you delivery requirements be? Then, talk with them and decide where you need your muscle memory to be.
For me, the answer is Avid. Not so much because it puts Premiere to shame, but because the consensus of people around me is that that is the answer. I like Premiere, own it, and will use it from time to time. Some Boutique design houses here in LA may even move to it because of its relationship to AE, but the general feeling here is that the gains made by FCP over the last six or seven years, especially in the boutique advertising world, will revert to Media Composer, which has improved a great deal since 2.8, when many people here slid into the FCP world.
If I were an island, I would continue with FCP7 as my main NLE, but I need to begin transfer muscle memory now. I figure FCS 3 has two to three serious years left here. On my system, I will begin cutting more and more with Media Composer even though I might prefer FCP 7. I will also continue to watch X to see if evolves into something I can use in my work flow. I will play with every NLE that comes along. But I need my fingers to know one thing particularly well, and Hollywood has pretty much decided that that should be Avid.
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“That said it can’t hurt to be fluent in the NLEs used in the facilities if you’re freelance. If you’re designing your own place then you get to specialize.”
Agreed. The more important factor is the art of storytelling.
Ewan
Avid, FCS3, Premiere Pro, After Effects -
It does have that OS 8 vibe, don’t it?!
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