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FCP vs. Vegas: I Need To Make A Critical, Real World Decision
I’ve been a loyal Vegas user and evangelist for over 6 years now. I was recently asked to produce/direct/edit a TV pilot (just a few shows) in NYC. Believe it or not, this will be my first foray into HD production. There are several folks on the production team campaigning for me to switch over to FCP for the project. I’m not concerned about the (ridiculous) stigma of using Vegas as my primary NLE, but am concerned about recent posts regarding V9, problems with Windows 7, etc.
Over the years I’ve read, from afar, the annual debate of Final Cut Pro vs. Sony Vegas as the better NLE, yata, yata, yata. However, I CAN NOT allow for any production issues because of Vegas 8 (which I’m using now) or V9 not being able to handle a 6 HD camera shoot. I can have access to an 8 core Power Mac Pro, with something like 8 or 10G of RAM if I want. Otherwise, I’ll take this opportunity to configure a new PC workstation. In any scenario, hardware cost should not be the final criteria. Production Quality, speed, versatility, etc is most critical.
I’m not overly proficient using the FCP workflow, but suspect that shouldn’t be too difficult.
Of course there are the well known issues; they are completely different operating systems, MAC being much more expensive than PC to buy/operate, more professionals use FCP so it’s easier to exchange files (EDLs).
So I need to make a decision. Are the Vegas V9 issues, specifically its limited ability to manage 6 HD layers legitimate? Does Vegas fully utilize the 64bit architecture of Windows 7? Can FCP manage mult-cam projects as well as Vegas with Ultimate S?
Vegas or FCP?
Any and all comments and suggestions welcome
RR
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5 Replies
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I really like Vegas. But if I was going to work in a setting where everybody was working with FCP, I would start to learn FCP ASAP and stick to that…
I could tell you lots of stories about places where everybody sticks to its own favorite program (even to make simpel things like graphs) and all the things that can go wrong because of that, resulting in so much loss of time and useless discussions.Theo
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I use both and I feel in your situation FCP would work out better. Workflow would be easier because you cannot create a pro res file on a pc… You also can not create a .mov H264 file from Vegas.. I don’t know why they will not let you access the H264 in quicktime but it is removed…. These are 2 very common files in the workflow of a FCP house that will cause you problems… Ken
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you might have the awkward situation at the site where those who are campaigning for you to use FCP actively look for ways to trip you up /’I told you so!’
That would not be pretty.
If you’re in charge, I’d want to sit down with them, and demo the multi cam capability of vegas, and ask for their comments. Involve them etc. Since vegas would be a much faster solution for you due to the zero learning curve, I’d ask them how many would be keen to move to PC for a project, if they were in your shoes.
your diplomatic skills will be as important as the software, for whichever software you end up using….
🙂
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I’ll add:
(1) Many of the “Sony Vegas” issues are really “Apple QuickTime” issues, re: no H.264, no DVCPro50, no ProRes codecs in PC version.
(2) Unfortunately, Mr. Rose is right about some Apple folks. They won’t necessarily intentionally try to trip you up, but I have definitely experienced a refusal to make any accommodations for the PC, re: HDD format, installing necessary codecs, using other intermediaries, attempting any troubleshooting at all. Which leads to…
(3) What is your deliverable? If you are being contracted to take raw footage from the camera and deliver a finished program, you should be able to use Pinnacle Studio for all anyone cares. If you need to collaborate, however, I’d go FCS, due to all of the hassles listed above.
It’s also hard to give specific advice because I’m unsure what you mean by “have access” to a free 8-core Mac vs. building a new, expensive Vegas system: I’d take the free Mac any day! If that means going to someone else’s location to edit in FCS and that makes everyone happy, then you might as well do that. I did that Tuesday afternoon for 5 hours. You won’t have much trouble with the learning curve and I think you’ll be surprised both with how great FCS is AND how imperfect it is (yea, it’s got a whole suite of quirks and hangs and crashes that Macficionados would never admit in public). And while it’ll take some time to get up to speed, if you do need to collaborate back and forth between Vegas+FCS, you will spend a ton of time doing some really unpleasant transfers anyhow.
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> …if you do need to collaborate back and forth between Vegas+FCS, you will spend a ton of time doing some really unpleasant transfers anyhow.
This point cannot be overstated enough. Video is not an industry with many standards. HD has made that even worse. Macs are notoriously proprietary platforms. If you are in a Mac shop, your best bet is to learn to use a Mac and whatever software (FCP or otherwise) the shop uses. It doesn’t pay to buck the system. Your primary job is to produce the show. Anything that gets in the way of that should be eliminated from the pipeline. This is not about FCP or Vegas; it’s about collaboration and workflow. The less moving parts the better.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com
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