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deciding on Video software, I’m new to the industry (Mac)
I am an Art Director at a small publishing company. I’ve been building magazines for 8 years now on a G4 with OS 10.4.11, Quark 6.5, and CS2. Now we’re transitioning from print publishing to more websites and videos such as small ads, video tours, etc. I’m in the process of upgrading to a new Mac Pro or refurb. My question is as follows:
Asside from any tech/computer purchasing/HD and processor tips you can give me, what is the video software I should purchase to do these short films? I hear that Apple Final Cut Pro is the industry standard but from what I read about the latest iMovie it can do pretty much everything FC Pro can do? What about Adobe Premier? Please help?!
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13 Replies
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[Craig Robinson] “I read about the latest iMovie it can do pretty much everything FC Pro can do?”
If would be like that, we would have here an iMovie Forum, instead of an FC forum.
iMovie is great for home made videos, but has only one export option. In SD you can only export in DV, and when in HD you can only export to the Apple Intermediate codec. Those codecs are in the lower end of the quality scale.
Premier Pro, AVID and FC are your options for Mac. Which one to choose? All of them are very good and have their pros and cons. Try to find out with which one you would feel more comfortable and fit better your needs in terms of media managing, real time performance, rendering speed etc.
Rafael -
There is no industry standard, FCP has a big slice of the piece but an Avid user would disagree with what is the standard.
iMovie doesn’t even come close to FCP. FCP comes in a suite that offers all the tools that most people need. (but there are always plugins to buy).
If you are working in a professional arena get professional tools, 1K for this software is cheap. AVID and Adobe on the same level but a little more money to get into them. If you can working with a lot of outside editors FCP would probably the most common software being used.
On a Mac your options are
FCP (Final Cut Studio)
Adobe Premiere Pro
Avid -
Thanks, Rafael, for your response. what you said about iMovie makes perfect sense. The “codec” you refer to is something I know nothing about but have read a little about them on this site. While looking for ease of production I also want multiple exporting options and, of course, quality. I watched an FC tutorial and an Adobe Premier tutorial on this site since my original post but neither were enough to determine one way or the other. Maybe price can help me decide. Any opinion on FC Express?
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Hi Michael. Thanks for your post. I’m sure you’re correct about no industry standard. As far as Avid, until I found this site I had never heard of Avid. I’ll have to check it out.
“If you are working in a professional arena get professional tools, 1K for this software is cheap. AVID and Adobe on the same level but a little more money to get into them.” This is great information, exactly what I’m looking for. Your first reference to professional arena/tools hold true in everything.
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You\’re really going to need training. FCP is a professional editing app that does require at least some knowledge of basic video. If you don\\\’t know what a codec is you will struggle from the very start, as you must be very definitive about codecs and other settings when starting every project as well as when outputting for the Web.
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Well, you gotta start somewhere, right? I’m gonna give it my all! Plus, with informative networks like the COW that are full of every Q&A under the sun and with tutorials, classes and trial and error, I’ll do just fine. I understand what you’re saying though. It isn’t just for cute videos of the kids that’s for sure. But there’s a market for it in our region and we’ve got to get on top of it or let the next guy take it and run.
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[Craig Robinson] “Any opinion on FC Express?”
Same problem; same exporting options: DV for SD and Apple Intermediate Codec for HD.
rafel -
So the full version of FCP is the way to go to eliminate the exporting limitations?
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[Craig Robinson] “Well, you gotta start somewhere, right?”
“A man’s got to know his own limitations…”
– Harry CallahanDavid Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
http://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
Colorist – UP IN THE AIR (electronic press kit) – nominated for six academy awards
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing Forum. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Right.
Is not only about export codec limitation, is also about rendering. With FC you can render in “high Precision”, that means 32b Floating Point, versus just 8b in FCE.
rafael
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