Final Cut Pro v Premier Pro

[Jerry Hofmann]

Tough time to make those decisions I’d say. FCP 7 would present a learning curve and FCP X yet another one… FCP 7 is 32 bits… FCP X isn’t. But it’s a new NLE. Wait a coupla six weeks and we’ll all have a clearer picture. Maybe. LOL… Next Gen Mac Pro’s can’t be far off either, and they’re likely to knock the socks off the current towers.

Jerry

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

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[Bernard Newnham]

Forgetting about the hardware and upcoming possibilities, in the current world FCP is easier to use than Premiere, and I think that’s what matters in practice. People can have endless Mac/PC arguments, but they are irrelevant – it’s just a screen and keyboard. What matters is how easy is it to use the software to cut together a story, and FCP is easier.

B

[Tom Daigon]

Given your timing, I strongly suggest Premiere Pro.FCP 7 is your only other alternative at this time.FCP X is a vast unknown and will need refining over months / years to come. By buying Premiere you will avoid the time consuming process of having to convert your clips to a codec that FCP functions well with ( like Proress, etc.) Pay no attention to the statement made by the previous responder…

“in the current world FCP is easier to use than Premiere”

That is a subjective statement that is not necessarily true for all users..In many ways Premiere is easier to use (dynamic link to After Effects, no codec conversions needed, not a brand new product like FCP X).

Tom Daigon
Avid DS / FCP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com

[John Graves]

Great question, Peter. Certainly of interest to many. If you are working on your own and don’t interface with other editors or take over other projects, it is an objective decision. But you have to ask what system are industry colleagues in your region working on and how likely that a project would be swapped between you.

thx

~John

“Life is good, as long as it doesn’t take up too much of my time.”

-anonymous gamer

[Shane Ross]

The question hinges on what type of production are you doing. What type of footage are you getting? What do you need to output to? Do you need to use Capture cards? Output to tape? How fast is the turnaround? What are the editors used to using?

I come from an Avid background…and then I leapt to FCP. Now I am playing with Premiere. There are lots of stuff it does, but lots of stuff about it confuse me. Because I am not used to it mainly. But it does deal with a LOT of formats natively. Although capture card support for the latest version is spotty at the moment.

Personally I plan on using FCP 7 for quite some time. It works for me. Even if it is older. Or going back to Avid for other things. Premiere does a lot of things right, but it doesn’t quite fit into my workflow needs.

Shane

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[Dennis Radeke]

I will only add that Premiere Pro can be used on either Mac or PC and that you can give the latest version a try with the trial version on the website.

[Bill Celnick]

I made the jump from Premiere (PC) to FCP about 5 years ago – needed to upgrade my computers to handle HD, and my problem was the XP was on the way out, and Vista on the way in, and it just didn’t work. I couldn’t invest in an operating system being discontinued, or its successor that didn’t work. Hello Mac and FCP and frustrating learning curve.

Looking at your situation – you’ve already got the PC workstations, I’d go with Premiere CS5 (which I use on the Mac to support a client) rather than investing in the FCP X before its release.

Once FCP X is released and established, maybe look at this again. I wouldn’t invest in new stuff just yet.

[Steve Eisen]

I see this question as a PC vs Mac. Go for the Mac. You have more options. You can always run Windows on the Intel Mac.

In this forum you will get an FCP biased answer. I have AVID MC, CS4 and FCS3 on my Mac Pro. FCP is used 90% of the time.

FCP is a more user friendly app vs AVID or Premiere.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group