FCP7 vs. MC5

[John Berpskin]

MC5 blows and Avid has done very little in the past few years. IMHO, they have fallen behind the curve of FCP and PP. If it were my call, i’d keep jammin on FCP7 while keeping an eye on FCP X. Avid is taking a step back.

[Peter Blumenstock]

There is a 30 day trial of Media Composer so you can give it a go. Keep in mind that the current 5.5 release requires a 32 bit Kernel though. 6.0 will be full 64 bit (and it will still have all the features:-).
Given the fact that a large number of editors are without a “home” right now, I am very curious to see what Avid does in the coming months. There are rumours that the Kona will work with an upcoming release of MC which would be awesome. 64bit MC with all the features on can hope for, third party capture cards which lots of us already have and are rock solid.

[Peter Blumenstock]

Actually, MC’s format support runs circles around the old FCP.

[Jason Wood]

“MC5 blows and Avid has done very little in the past few years. IMHO, they have fallen behind the curve of FCP and PP. If it were my call, i’d keep jammin on FCP7 while keeping an eye on FCP X. Avid is taking a step back.”

Um, actually MC5.5 is pretty darn solid.

OP, Avid has a full 30 day trial of Media Composer 5.5 for download. Decide for yourself.

[Jerry Hofmann]

Stay right where you are. If your “research” has been reading all the whining about FCP X, then you need to chill a bit. There’s so much misinformation going out there right now because people are screaming things like “NO MARKERS”… well there are markers in FCP X.

Other screams like Cant Ingest from tape… Sure you can, just not within the software except for DV and HDV. Gotta AJA software? VTR Exchange I believe will do the trick for FCP X. Can’t monitor externally! True (sort of) for now, but AJA’s posted a way to do this (though you lose the ability for dual computer displays) and on it goes…

The biggest issue I see with the new software is that you can’t open FCP 7 files in FCP X. Yet… Bet you will be able to… you can run FCP 7 and X on the same computer. Just best to do it with a dual boot system setup.

MC is great software, but it’s no more modern right now than what you are running. It’s still 32 bit. Adobe? Well, it’s 64 bit… do you really want to jump? Won’t be opening FCP 7 files in it without a $500 piece of software. (Automatic Duck) and there’s that old learning curve thing no matter what you do unless you wait a bit.

If I were you, I’d stay right where you are for a bit until the shakedown is really over. Next Gen Avid software will no doubt be 64 bit. I’d also wait for a major decision on the future to look at the next gen Mac Pro’s… they are coming I’ll wager very shortly. Better wait and read this hopefully to calm your nerves: https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/335/908

Jerry

Apple Certified Trainer, Producer, Writer, Director Editor, Gun for Hire and other things. I ski. My Blog: https://blogs.creativecow.net/Jerry-Hofmann

Current DVD:
https://store.creativecow.net/p/81/jerry_hofmanns_final_cut_system_setup

8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO2 with MAX – Cinema Displays I have a 22″ that I paid 4k for still working. G4 with Kona SD card, and SCSI card.

[James Carey]

There’s some good advice Jerry, no doubt about it. But what of exporting XML. EDL and OMF. Or sending timeline’s to color correction. Or sharing projects with other editors. Or sharing footage – timelines – attributes with other projects. Where I work I have half a dozen or more projects going at same time, some open at same time on the same machine. Easy to drop a timeline into another project for an alternate edit, etc. etc. Perhaps there is whining, myself including, that doesn’t mean it is not warranted. If indeed Avid won’t suit my needs, or PPro is too clunky (which I have found it be), my only alternative is to continue with FCP7, hope it will work with Lion and the new pros (having Apple remove both FCP7 and ProApps Installer doesn’t bode well btw) and pray the Apple upgrades or 3rd party comes to the rescue.

I am just too friggin old to start from scratch to tell you the truth.

Thanks again.

Jim Carey
Director of Video, Radical Entertainment
linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jcarey256
mobygames: https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,17212/

[Brian Charles]

[Jerry Hofmann] “Won’t be opening FCP 7 files in it without a $500 piece of software.”

Not so. XML Import from FCP, not perfect but it work for most features that can be duplicated in PPro.

[Peter Blumenstock]

xml, edl, omf, it’s all there.

[James Carey]

all where, in FCPx?

Jim Carey
Director of Video, Radical Entertainment
linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jcarey256
mobygames: https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,17212/

[Chris Harlan]

Sorry, Jerry. Hate to disagree, but…

This is NOT FCP anymore, other than in name. I really liked FCP. This, not so much. The interface is far too interested in trying to teach me how to edit, and trying to make sure I don’t lose sync. But here’s the real deal breaker for me:

It is not going to be part of the television or film industry. If you look very closely at the implementation of the underlying architecture, I think you will find it clearly built around a consumer. It is event centric and not project centric; that makes sense for iPhoto and a lot of social media,but not for big projects. The reason that audio tracks and channels are missing is not some oversight. They are missing because they conflict directly with magnetic tracks. It is one or the other. A little patience isn’t going to fix that.

As i said, this isn’t FCP anymore. All that is left is the name. When Apple EOled FCS3, Final Cut Pro died.