FCPX vs PPro CC

[Morten]

We come from FCP7 and have found Premiere to be the perfect replacement. And wirh the latest integration with Speedgrade, it feels like what FCP and Color should have been.

Have tried FCPX but it ****ed up a project because of re-link issues. Will not trust it on a real job, but it does offer an intuitive approach to editing. But I do prefer tracks. Also we work on the same projects from different suites, and Apple makes this too complicated.

– No Parking Production –

Adobe CC2014, 3 x MacPro, 3 x MbP, Ethernet File Server w. Areca ThunderRaid 8

[David Mathis]

[martin dugard] “- is FCPX now stable, strong and advisable?”

It is very stable, very few crashes on my system. One thing is you don’t have to worry about saving your work every few minutes, each time you quit out of the application and go back in, everything is as you left it at the time the quit was made. I believe you can have other versions by doing something called as project snap shot (not sure of the correct term here).

It is strong in many ways but there are two things that I would like to see improved — ability to key frame color correction and bring back “Send To Motion” that was available in earlier versions. If you need more powerful color correction then you might want to consider Resolve as part of the tool set. Depending on what your needs are, you can go with the full (paid) version, or the Lite version which is free. I think most can get by with the Lite version. Beyond that, either version will allow you take a camera raw file and transcode to something like ProRes to edit in FCP X then ship back when time to color grade. Process is very easy.

I also recommend adding Motion in the mix. You can build your own transitions, generators, effects or titles then publish those out for use in FCP X later on. Most of this stuff can be done within a couple of minutes or so, depending on the complexity.

[martin dugard] “- did the production industry really moved away from FCP towards PP – or did they ,ove back to FCP? Is the production world still mainly FCP?”

Some have moved on to Premiere Pro others to Avid for a wide variety of reasons. The integration between Premiere Pro and After Effects is very solid. I think part of the decision making is based primarily around workflow needs. Some part of the production industry is migrating to FCP X as well. I was reluctant to jump on the FCP X bandwagon a few years ago but the software is becoming very useful now. One of the main reasons I jumped on board is because I feel the software is faster, more fluid and fun to use, especially because it is possible to easily build a custom effect in Motion. Just my take on it.

[martin dugard] “- are there any reasons why I should go PPro rather than FCP? (e.g. the fact that Apple’s commitment may be weaker than Adobe – see Aperture, Apple other Pro software bing trashed°”

None that I can really think of. There is still the stigma that FCP X is still a “toy” and not meant for professional use, though on a much smaller basis since the initial release which led to all sorts of emotions.

At some point every editing software has gone through a tough phase of one kind or another. I remember when Premiere was considered a toy, it has improved over the years. Avid has fallen out of favor for various reasons, gained some market share back.

I hope this helps and look forward to what others have to say.

camera operator | editor | production assistant

Blackmagic Cinema Camera | FCP X | Motion 5 | Compressor 4 | Resolve 11

[Ronny Courtens]

Both are excellent professional NLEs. There is no “Premiere vs FCP X” just like there is no Avid vs Premiere and so on. We have completely switched to FCP X from FCP7 (16 seats in Brussels and 10 seats in Paris) without any regrets. FCP X is perfectly stable and since 10.1 it works very well in collaborative workflows. As it is now all the major NLEs are viable options for any kind of work.

As a professional you seriously test the different options yourself and then you decide what works best for your particular workflow. You also should test Avid, which is still an industry standard. In the next months we will be setting up a 20-seat FCP X SAN for broadcast work in Denmark, but we will still keep the existing Avid ISIS bays for specific jobs. You might find that one NLE fits you better than another, or you might even find you want to use more than one NLE depending on the job you want to do. That’s entirely up to yourself, what I say or what others say on the internet is irrelevant.

– Ronny

[Loren Risker]

I work in both. Right now I’ve been in Premiere exclusively for the last couple of months. I’ve finished projects in both, organized in both, lost projects due to corruption in both, recovered from corruption in both, crashed in both, and gotten paid using both. I miss features and short cuts from whichever one I’m not using, and I both hate tracks and find them very useful at times.

I personally strongly prefer FCPX. For me the 2 most important functions in editing are organizing footage and arranging it. FCPX is faster and more efficient at both of these tasks. I don’t do a lot of animation and I use neither for serious color correction or audio work.

I primarily do documentary style. I also get a lot of multicam footage, which FCPX is a lot better at.

I would prefer premiere if I had a less powerful system, or I was going to use a lot of After Effects. I would strongly consider it for projects with lots of compositing/green screen work. Otherwise I would use FCPX, even for collaborative projects.

I don’t have a good memory for complicated keyboard shortcut combos. I find I am able to use the mouse less with FCPX.

Hope this helps!

[Dennis Radeke]

[Ronny Courtens] “As a professional you seriously test the different options yourself and then you decide what works best for your particular workflow. You also should test Avid, which is still an industry standard.”

This right here is the best advice you can receive. You need to determine what works for you. If you’re a freelancer, you should try to learn all three.

[Martin Dugard]

Thank you al for your very informative answers. Just a quick thing if I have projects made inside PPro CS6, I suppose there is no way to open hem up inside FCP X… or is there a magical work around?

Thanks again

[David Mathis]

[martin dugard] “Just a quick thing if I have projects made inside PPro CS6, I suppose there is no way to open hem up inside FCP X… or is there a magical work around?”

It might be possible to export an XML out of Premiere Pro, bring that into Resolve Lite (free version) then export an XML for Final Cut Pro X. If so, it is a very easy process.

[Oliver Peters]

The one thing I would caution is that with “optimized media” (however you’d like to define that), FCP X does not seem as responsive to a fast editor as does PPro on anything other than the latest iMac or MacPro “tube”. It does have a tendency to get “sticky” after a couple of hours due to RAM leaks and requires multiple restarts during the course of the day to gain back responsiveness. That’s less an issue with PPro and almost never an issue with Media Composer. YMMV.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Bill Davis]

This is now becoming a thing, isn’t it.

There definitely used to be quite a few who would try X for a while – not at all fully adapt to it – and leave it for Premier, AVID or back to stick with FCP Legacy. But it surprises me how many do that, and then look back at the thing they left, and start feeling real regret and actually start missing what’s unique about X.

This group has seen that play out more than a few times.

Not all, of course – but that seductive idea of settling down with a better version of their first real NLE romance -one that kinda sorta stills feels like their long desired FCP Legacy 8 – really warms their hearts. So much that they’re often OK with swallowing any uncomfortableness around the fact that the new date just won’t do a tradirional committment, but rather insists that any relationship now entails a monthly forever allowance or she leaves and takes all her stuff with her (at least unless you start paying again.) And that’s simply not negotiable.

And there’s gorgeous little X out there, that once odd goofy and charming date that seemed maybe a bit too weird a while ago, now blossoming into a real stunner – and that folks are saying is not just light hearted and – well – FUN to hang with, but smart and efficient and flexible and seems totally happy with a nice mid priced get to know you date in the beginning, then never seems to need you to pony up to keep the relationship going thereafter.

Yep, she’s culturally a bit different. Not so safe or standard. And you will have to adapt. But she comes out of an amazing family that’s very, very accomplished, but one that takes risks and always seems to be figuring stuff ahead of the pack.

So what do you want? Safer choice? There’s one of those available. More risk with more potential reward? There’s a path toward that too.

Take your pick.

; )

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.

[Bill Davis]

I’m all over a wide range of FCP X boards and this does NOT seem a universal experience across the very wide swath of X editors or projects, Oliver.

It very well be taking place inside a particular strata, a media approach, a type of specific network or inside a type of workflow, but I know lots and lots of X editors who cut on stuff with lots of content and appear not to face this. For instance, the recent features on the TED productionr trial that ended up with that team choosing X over Premier – or the similar assessment at BBC News also had no reports of X having bouts of slowdown and constant reboot requirements. I doubt those decisions would have gone the way they did if this was a constant thing.

Not saying there are no issues. NLEs always have issues. Just saying any such appear to be similar to anecdotal word we get right here on the Cow about people having workflow issues with AVID, Vegas, or any other NLE.

Right now I’m watching very closely the rollout of Yosemite across the FCP X communities, and it appears to be even more stable than Mavericks,. How will that fundamental change affect PProCC stability. Hopefully, not at all. Perhaps it will improve some things and stress others. Only time tells.

My 2cents, anyway.

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.