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BBC adopts FCP X for news editing
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Ah, now I see your the scenario more clearly.
I’d expect to ask them to export a 7 compatible XML, run it through 7 to X and and see what comes out.
Without X readable transcodes, and or range based selections in place, I’d have to bring everything in manually to set it up for X anyway. So depending on how much work they’ve done, it may or may not make sense to use anything other than a rough cut to see what they’re thinking is.
I’d consider it no different than a client who came in with an AVID project or a CMX file for that matter, If it doesn’t translate, you rebuild it for your system – or pass on the gig.
What I wouldn’t do is waste everyone’s time trying to make a duck out of a pigeon.
Better to start over and do it “right” – which is to say follow the process I’ve developed for editing in X, so I have ALL the tools needed – the properly encoded and transcoded clips, the database, the graphics files, audio as Roles et al, so that I can edit efficiently.
What would be the point of doing anything else?
Know someone who teaches video editing in elementary school, high school or college? Tell them to check out http://www.StartEditingNow.com – video editing curriculum complete with licensed practice content.
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[Oliver Peters] “The point is that with the subscription model, you could power up for a month or two and do the job. In the past, you might have had to shell out for the Production Premium bundle at $1800. So in this real-world scenario, you come out ahead with the subscription.”
Assuming the monthly subscription option remains of course.
I think the example you cite is rather rare also. I guess it depends Oliver. Does it happen often to you?
And for sure don’t we all take time between jobs to learn new stuff about the software we use? As somebody who produces directs and edits, I definitely find that after a while away from the keyboard it takes me a day or two to get up to speed. On the few occasions I’ve had to switch back to 7 there have been the odd “now wait a minute how did I do that thing again” moments. I do think Bill has a valid point about that. How many people are going to cut their subscription between jobs requiring the software in reality (I know you say you do Andrew but are you in the majority I wonder?) and, as I said before, if enough do this, how long before Adobe closes that door?
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[Bill Davis] “Granted, Andrew, but that was then, and this is a debate about now.”
How does that matter? Your argument is that not owning will cause your skills to degrade yet for decades working professionals didn’t own their tools and great movies, TV shows, commercials, documentaries, etc., were still made. If someone is working their skills aren’t eroding. If someone’s gaps between work are so large that their skills significantly deteriorate then they have bigger problems on their hands. And if someone is a staffer where the owner is being pennywise and pound foolish then that’s another bigger problem on the editor’s hands. And why can’t the editor get their own subscription account?
Anyway, I think we are back to a difference in perspective between a freelancer and non-freelancer.
For example, I first learned Avid in school in the late 90’s and I primarily worked on Avid from about 2000-2006 and then from 2012 to present. I never owned a copy of Avid until 2011 (Avid 5.5) and I only opened it a handful of times (I got it because of the FCP cross-grade discount). In 2014 I had to upgrade my 5.5 to 6.5 so I could work on a documentary with another editor for a few months. Out of roughly 8-years of Avid being my primary NLE I used my own, personal copy of Avid for about 4 months. The other 92 months I was on Avids I didn’t own.
Were my Avid chops rusty when I came back to it after 6 years? Yeah, but my editing and workflow experience were better than ever and it’s that experience that got me work (even with the rust). Getting back to Avid was like riding a bike though and it all came flooding back pretty quick.
Do I like the fact that I currently have 3.5 NLEs at my finger tips (X only gets a .5 because I just started in on it)? Of course. Would I want to wind the clock back to when only few people couple afford to have access to their own NLE (let alone multiple NLEs? Not a chance. But saying that not owning = skills detonating is a total straw man. Not working, not editing, means your skills will deteriorate and that can happen whether your own your own NLE or not.
FWIW I’ve twice stopped and later restarted my CC account as my PPro need came and went and I currently have an annual license on Avid 8 (as opposed to a subscription), but when my year is up I’ll probably won’t renew my license and just file 8 away incase I need it. If I need something newer than 8 down the line I’ll probably just subscribe to it.
I’m not 100% happy with Adobe’s subscription only approach, but obviously I’m not going to cut off my nose over it. Apple and BM’s approach is obviously easy on the wallet (aside from having to buy their gear) but I’m not sure it’s the best thing for the industry long term. Avid’s current approach is probably my favorite so far, but I feel like they nickel and dime you if you go the perpetual/annual license route which is frustrating.
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[James Ewart] “I think the example you cite is rather rare also.”
[James Ewart] ” if enough do this, how long before Adobe closes that door?”
If it’s rare it’s useless, but if it’s popular Adobe will surely remove it, either way Adobe sucks. Got it. 😉
How long before Avid goes out of business, Apple kills FCP X or BM decides it can no longer afford to give away software for free? Might happen next month, might never happen in our lifetimes. The only way to plan for the future is to plan for change.
[James Ewart] “I definitely find that after a while away from the keyboard it takes me a day or two to get up to speed. On the few occasions I’ve had to switch back to 7 there have been the odd “now wait a minute how did I do that thing again” moments.”
I’ve run into the same thing too on occasion (like when I barely touched Avid for 6 years), but that’s not because my editing skills have deteriorated, that’s just because my familiarity with a particular NLE temporarily deteriorated. Massive difference, IMO. I don’t wear multiple hats though so spending 50+ hours a week cutting probably burns the keystrokes more into my brain than if I split time between multiple roles.
[James Ewart] “(I know you say you do Andrew but are you in the majority I wonder?”
Probably not, but does it matter? That’s the great thing about having so many viable NLEs right now, people are free to pick what’s best for them even if it’s not the best for the majority of people out there. I’ve worked on some fun (and lucrative) projects that had to be done on Premiere, and there is a big uptick in the amount of Premiere work in Los Angeles, so being the pragmatic man that I am, I’m going to set aside my personal feelings about Adobe’s subscription only policy and just cut. Maybe I’ll use Premiere for the next 5 years or maybe it will be 5 years before I use it again. I don’t know and I don’t really care. I’m a freelance editor, not a product evangelist.
Ideally I want to work on interesting projects that will pay the bills and if that means I’m working in Premiere. Sweet. If that means I’m working in Avid. Sweet. If that means I’m working in FCP 7. Sweet. If that means I’m working in X. Sweet. I could go on but I think you get the picture. 😉 As long as the workflow and the NLE mesh well together I’ll be a happy camper.
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“I think the example you cite is rather rare also. I guess it depends Oliver. Does it happen often to you?”
It hasn’t been rare for me and yes it does happen, though not on a large amount of jobs. Bill’s solution might work for him, but it wouldn’t in the cases I’ve worked in. I have had people supply projects in FCP 7, FCP X, MC and Premiere flavors and expected the same back. If you add After Effects and Photoshop to the conversation, now it gets a bit more universal, I presume. XML, while useful, is still at best a highly flawed and inconsistent medium of exchange.
All I’m saying is that like it or not, the Adobe model in its current form, makes it possible to fullfil the request without the investment that it used to take. This is also true for Avid.
Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com
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