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Advice for an editor switching from FCP7 to Premiere AND from Mac to PC
I’ve been editing on FCP7 on a mac for 5 years now, but for my next project the director, who’s also a close friend, ask if I could work with Premiere this time so that he would also be able to look at the projects for reviews and such. I haven’t used Premiere since CS3 when I was just starting out so I’m not sure whats all changed since and how to adjust myself. Also I just built a new PC because as much as I would like a mac pro it was a little out of my price range so I would like to start using that as my main machine, but I realize that things like ProRes and basic things I’ve come to rely on on a Mac doesn’t exist on a PC.
So i was wondering if anyone had some advice for an editor switching from FCP7 to Premiere or if theres anyone who also has some advice for an editor switching from a Mac to a PC. I would appreciate any help.
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4 Replies
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Hi David, DIY systems can be a bit tricky so I would do a test and see if your machine can handle the formats that you will be using for the edit.
Premiere is happy working with most formats natively and you probably won’t need Prores unless you need to deliver a Prores master. While there are 3rd party plugins available such Miraizon, ( https://www.miraizon.com/products/codecsoverview.html ), I would advise testing out the solution fully if you care about your delivery.
If you don’t require a Prores master, then you can directly export an XDCAM HD422 master or almost any one of the many output formats that Premiere supports. Native Prores export with Premiere is only available for Mac users as Apple owns the codec.
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Regarding switching to a PC, I use a keyboard mapper when I work on a PC as it will take me a while to switch between hitting cmd s and ctrl s.
For the switch to Premiere, I would suggest reading up on how Premiere handles audio tracks. It is a lot more sophisticated than FCP7 and a lot more powerful, but may take some getting used to.
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Biggest advantages of Premiere is working with AE, Photoshop, Flash directly within the timeline. Just a click and you can make changes anytime.
And you get hundreds of AE templates all around the internet.
Searching phrases within footages.
Captioning and titling is still a pain. Animated titles are a still a distant dream. Copying transition styles or customizing is still not possible.
Santanu B
The Swiss Army Knife for All Your Creative Needs -
[David Nguyen] “So i was wondering if anyone had some advice for an editor switching from FCP7 to Premiere or if theres anyone who also has some advice for an editor switching from a Mac to a PC. I would appreciate any help.”
First off, Premiere Pro is NOT FCP (or Avid or vice versa). That’s IMPORTANT to understand because there will be things you hate about PPro and things you love. But one is not the other. I went from 11 years on FCP to PPro about 2 years ago now and at first it was incredibly annoying, but now I could never go back. If you keep comparing PPro to whatever you used to use, you’ll drive yourself crazy.
Second: change the Keyboard Shortcuts to Final Cut Pro so you can continue to use your old muscle memory from FCP. Makes the transition much easier, especially for your first project. 2 years later I’m still doing that because I think FCP’s keyboard shortcuts make a lot more sense than Adobe’s arrangement.
Third: pick up “An Editor’s Guide to Adobe Premiere Pro” from Richard Harrington. Great book with good basic information for Editors to get into Adobe Premiere Pro. We’re starting up a lot of tutorials on WalterBiscardi.com for switchers and others getting into the tool, but right now, Richard’s book is the best way to introduce yourself to the interface.
In particular, read the section on media management for your project. Unlike FCP, PPro relies on the Editor to manage all the media. You need your media to be in the right place on your media array BEFORE you bring it into your project. I actually just created a new tutorial on this on WalterBiscardi.com after multiple requests from Members. https://walterbiscardi.com/portfolio-item/starting-a-new-project-in-adobe-premiere-pro/
For Mac to PC, all you need to know is the CNTL button takes the place of the Apple CMD button. Other than that, once you’re in the app, they both work the same. We run a Dell alongside all our Macs in the shop and as far as editing, they both work the same although the PC tends to render faster and run a bit faster.
With PPro CC it’s a much easier switch from FCP 7 than it was with CS6. Adobe made a LOT of changes to the interface and operation based on a ton of input from former FCP editors.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative MediaCraft and Career Advice & Training from real Working Creative Professionals
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