fcp vs premiere pro

[Steve Eisen]

Once you go Mac, you will never go back! FCP is VERY stable. You will not be disappointed.

Boris works very well with FCP. There are many third party plug-ins that work with FCP.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Director-At-Large
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[Jerry Hofmann]

FCP is most of the market. NAB is the pulse. I’ll bet it’s more than half in fact. Including Avid (who swings both ways) and the PC apps.

FCP is the Studio really. DVD SP, Compressor, Motion. It can be superstable too.

Jerry

[Bret Williams]

I’m running on an old G4 dual gig with the latest OS and latest FCP. Only 2gigs of RAM and I run whatever app I want. Usually I’ll have PS, Safari, Mail, Squeeze, Illustrator, etc. all open at the same time on this system and FCP doesn’t skip a beat. None of it does. I want to upgrade, but everything works! Can’t run Motion on this system, but I’m still an AE kinda guy anyway and that runs just great. I can’t remember the last time FCP, or any app, crashed.

[Jeff Nelson]

I was where you were a month or two ago, have used Premiere for years, and liking PPro 1.5 and 2, not having the crashing problems with it you mentioned, though having some problems here and there. Last month I bought a Mac Pro and 30″ screen, moved nearly all the programs I use on PC over to Mac (mac versions), only have to still move quick books over to complete the move. I have my old computer networked in with the mac, so I can still get anything off it I may want. But there’s no turning back. I’m taking a course at DV Expo right now on Mac level 1, a lot of which I learned from watching a DVD set from Total Training, but I want to be sure there are no holes in my knowledge, so I’m going to go through the full course over the next some months.

Anyway, I’m totally sold on editing in FCP for a numerous reasons. If you’re at a point where you’re considering making the move, ready to buy a new computer, no question in my own mind to head for FCP. There is a learning curve, no doubt about it, and things that you knew how to do easily in PPro (or on your PC) take some figuring out to see how it’s done in mac land. But FCP is a really robust program with a bright future, in my view, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. There are plenty of plug-ins and things you can add on in FCP, if that’s a concern. I’m sold.

Good luck on your decision.

[Nigel Cooper]

I switched to Mac and FCP back at version 1.2. Before that I was using Premiere and Media Studio. All I can say is that it is like getting your sight back after been blind for 10 years.

[David Bogie]

The biggest thing Premiere’s newest rev has going for it is the fabulous integration with the complete video suite. Adobe has Apple beat all to heck when it comes to seamless integration between the suite components, At the moment. We are hoping FCP’s suite elements will become seamless in the next rev but, honestly, if you are using the Adobe suite/Bridge combination and like it, you will be VERY disappointed in FCP. But only for a few days until you realize how powerful the new toys are.

However, your biggest thrill will be your new Macintosh and working with OS10. Give yourself a few days or even weeks to get up to speed before you start doing mission critical work. OS10 is not like Windows at all.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[Baba Goof]

my experience with the two is that for single user purposes ppro is
possibly the better choice. the interface is simpler and more straight
forward. fcp, on the other hand, is generally a more developed app.
i tend to work on projects that involve communication with other
users, things like sending fx sequences and audio mixing to outside
vendors. fcp will do a much better job of this. fcp’s edl support and
omf export are pretty much non-existent in ppro. ironically, the
larger user base can make this less relevant since you can often just
take your drive and fcp project directly to the outside house. this
is much less doable with ppro.

one major annoyance i’ve had with fcp is that i’ve never worked on a
system that would play files requiring render without first rendering
them. i just get a blue frame that says the media needs to render.
ppro will always try to play media no matter how complex the required
render. it may be blocky and stuttery but it will try to play, and
simple things like a minor repo will play as if they didn’t require a
render at all. this has been a major time saver for me on ppro systems.

bottom line for me is: fcp is more robust, if a bit clunky, with a
larger community. ppro is good for the single user with some time
saving advantages but the philosophy behind them is unrealized as yet.

lastly, if your system is crashing a lot, something’s wrong with it
or the configuration. crashing is not inherent in either app, though
i’ve experienced it in both.

[Lisa]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I am still considering my options but leaning toward making the voyage to “Mac Land”