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MC 5 w/Unity and Interplay vs FCP 7 w/Final Cut Server
I currently work in an AVID environment where we do a lot of media sharing along with media management, on 9-10 AVIDs, along with five DS bays. Currently our Managers are looking into switching the whole system over. I can’t seem to get any answers on what FCP 7 can do when it comes to Media Management and an Interplay-like atmosphere. All I hear from the Managers is it is better, but no one can tell me why it is better. If anyone out there has done comparisons and can tell me the differences and give me your opinions of the two systems, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Gail -
3 Replies
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When it comes to media management, Avid beats FCP hands down. No contest. Avid tracks the footage far better than FCP, and Interplay doesn’t compare to anything FCP or Server can offer. Different thing.
The way you can share projects in Avid also beats anything FCP can do. You put the main project on the server, and every Avid connected to that server can share THE SAME PROJECT. You can all open the same bins…just the person who opens it first has ownership. So if someone captures footage to a bin, when they save it, it is instantly available to everyone. Someone finishes with a cut, they save the bin, and anyone else can access it.
FCP…well… that’s another story.
You can’t all access the same project file at the same time. If you try, and someone saves…trouble. You have to devise a new system of having multiple projects and sending cuts back forth in other projects, or via XML. When new footage is captured, then someone updates a footage project, and redistributes it. You REALLY have to pay attention and have to have VERY METICULOUS workflows to keep things straight. SOmeone doesn’t, and issues can arise. Avid…editors don’t really have to work to hard, pay that much attention to managing the project file. FCP…you have to pay CLOSE attention.
If you get FCP and EDIT SHARE, then things are different. EditShare is very Avid-like in how it shares projects. Not saying that project sharing in FCP can’t be done…is impossibe. It is very possible. It’s just that the editors have to pay more attention to what they are doing than in Avid.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Shane,
Stop trying to scare him! Using FCP in a shared storage environment really isn’t that difficult.
Yes, it takes some discipline to keep things straight, but even on an Avid you need to organize your media into logical bins. The only difference with FCP is that those “bins” are file folders at the finder level, NOT in a single project. Imagine that your entire SAN is the project! This is similar to how Interplay approaches media organization. Your “project organization” is maintained using the basic Mac finder level. It’s really that simple. Everyone has access to the same media at the same time.
Sequences (timelines) are passed around using projects. With some minimal attention to a naming system, it’s quite easy to keep track of the current cut.
When Shane says, “I’m not saying it’s impossible”… the implication is that it’s difficult. In my opinion, it’s NOT THAT DIFFICULT! Period. In fact, the larger the team, the larger the media pool, I’d argue that FCP in a shared storage environment makes it EASIER!!!
Do a search. There’s been plenty written about this.
Mark
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The problem is Mark, that you have been doing this a LONG time. And I took the basics you showed me and have a good working system. And as long as the editors heed what we school them, then things are fine. But the simple truth is that it just isn’t as slick as it is in Avid. And I have seen more foul ups in FCP than in Avid. Because the editors weren’t paying attention.
So… I’m saying that it is doable, but you have to be more on the ball than you do with Avid.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def
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