follow-up to FCP vs Vegas (wondering about QUALITY)

[Shane Ross]

[Frank Black] “But perhaps in comparison tp what you’ve heard about Vegas, what is it about FCP that does it for you?”

#1 – It’s on a Mac. I can’t stand Windows and PCs. Just can’t. So that would end that right there.

#2 – FCP does everything I need to do. Imports/Captures all the file types, has hardware to bring in and output video. Has decent media management.

#3 – Is an industry standard. In Hollywood, we need to work with editing apps that a lot of places are. Avid and FCP are those standards. So I use both of those. Vegas is nowhere to be found. So when I get hired to work on shows (A majority of the work I do is as a hired freelance editor), I go to the production company and use what they have. That is either Avid or FCP.

#4 – It comes with a suite of apps that I use. Compressor, DVD SP, Motion, COLOR! As an online editor and Colorist, I really like the addition of a very high end color correcting application.

#5 – It fits into current Hollywood workflows. From start to finish. Output EDLs for tracking footage, OMF for audio post, project files or media files to post houses so that I can output to tape.

But really, I stop at #1.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Scott Sheriff]

I give a big thumbs up on Shane’s #1 and #2 answers…wait…thumbs up on all of them!

Avid, FCP, AE, and even Media 100 don’t really have to ‘prove themselves’. These products have been around long enough that even a modest amount of research will tell you if one of these apps will work for you, as they are pretty much ‘the standard’. Ask the Vegas users how well it stacks up in day to day use against any of these.
So what Frank really should do is take a trip over to the Cows Vegas forum, as that would be a better place for this discussion. There he will find the answer.
(hint: page after page of flames from disgruntled Vegas users)

Scott Sheriff
Director
SST Digital Media
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com

[Lawrence Farr]

Not that it matters (nor do I have any FCP experience) but I actually do run Vegas on my Mac. Obviously, if you dislike the Win OS you dislike the Win OS. But since Mac went Intel Bootcamp, obviously the root machine platform is no longer an impediment that way.

Thanks guys.

[Frank Black]

Shane, though I’ve never used a Mac for more than 2 minutes, I hear exactly what you’re saying. I’m in LOVE with Macs, and an Apple for that matter, including the logo itself.

And you make a strong point about “standard.”

In case I take a solo approach — vegas that is — what would I use instead of FCP Color, which everyone seems to compliment? Could I use an Adobe program to do just as good “color” work?

[Frank Black]

Scott, I gotta say, no one is badmouthing vegas. Even the FCP users, as much as they love their FCPs, they’re not badmouthing vegas at all. I’m talking about those who have used both FCP & Vegas.

So your comment about disgruntled users at forums, was that a joke or have you actually read some. If so, any particular forum I should check out? Any links perhaps?

[Frank Black]

Thanks Gabrielle. It looks like from their website, that there are four or five new features in the upgrade from Vegas 9 to 10, and one of them is stereoscopic 3D. Not sure what that is or if it even is new? Did 9 have it? What is it? And do other systems have it?

[Frank Black]

Lawrence, I’ve been meaning to ask about this. What is Boot Camp? Will it run on Leapord or Windows? Will it limit Vegas in any way? Will it limit the Mac in any way? How much does it cost and how does it work? Thanks.

[Shane Ross]

[Frank Black] “Could I use an Adobe program to do just as good “color” work?
“

That, and the Colorista 2 Plugin, will do a good job.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Stephen Best]

If it’s any help, I used Vegas and now use FCP. There’s nothing you can do in the FCP suite that you can’t do in Vegas and vice versa. The output will be the same, even though workflow is different.

I went to FCP because it is an editing standard. Vegas is not.

One advantage of Vegas is that it runs on PCs which are cheaper for comparable computing power than Macs. Macs, however, seem to me to be more stable than PCs, but modern Windows 7 systems are the most stable PCs yet.

My advice? If you’re working on your own productions and don’t expect to edit cooperatively with other editors, production companies, or broadcasters, Vegas will be fine. If you’re working with or for others, however, FCP will make life easier. Indeed, in some cases if you don’t know FCP you won’t qualify for editing jobs.

Regards
Stephen Best
https://stephenbest.ca

[Frank Black]

AE & Colorista, thank you.