Former Avid users, how has switching to FCP HD been for you?

[Michael Horton]

[edition_5] “The person demoing FCP said it would have to render to out put back to DV-25. That is what we were editing. I saw the frames dropping my self. For the demo I just had the guy take a 10 second clip and crop it and rotate it and flip it. It was jerky to say the least going back to the camera.
“

look, why not get a hold of a dual 2.0 and try it yourself OK?

Michael Horton
lafcpug
https://www.lafcpug.org

[Chris Babbitt]

Mark,

What version of FCP are you using? I had the “disappearing files” problem a couple of times when using version 4.0-4.1. Not once since 4.5 was released.

[David Bogie]

Welcome to the family. What’s an Avid?

Your system isn’t working for several reasons, most of them appear to be user-based form your descriptions. Why did you make such a huge transition without testing it to see if you really wanted to risk everything? It’s difficult to debug and reconfigure a system that has already been delivered, far easier to blame Apple.

You’ve got lots to learn and this is a pretty good place to start, we’ll offer what assistance we can. Your ten years of Avid experience aren’t going to help, they inhibit your ability to appreciate your new tools by obscuring your objectivity with unattainable expectations.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[Alessandro]

Guys!

How can you write such an incorrect information!

I have tried the following:

32bit TGA with alpha (720×576, the station bug)
Keyed over a background, IT IS REAL TIME
I have tried to blur at max level the background (very CPU intensive process) STILL REAL TIME.

Please check that you have FCP selected as render engine in the preferences.

This was possible with FCP 4.5, I expect even more from version 5.

Alessandro.

(test system FCP 4.5, G5 dual 2G, OSX 10.3.9, 1/2 XRAID 1Tera disc space)

[Oliver Peters]

[Alessandro] “I have tried the following:

32bit TGA with alpha (720×576, the station bug)
Keyed over a background, IT IS REAL TIME
I have tried to blur at max level the background (very CPU intensive process) STILL REAL TIME.
Please check that you have FCP selected as render engine in the preferences.
This was possible with FCP 4.5, I expect even more from version 5.
“

This all depends on your config. If you do this on a PB with DV media it also works. However, try a different test. Take a high-res JPEG (2000x1500pixels) and place it on the TL. Plays in RT. Now add a slow scaling move with two keyframes. This no longer plays in RT without getting hung up, even though the color of the RT bar would indicate total RT playback without any problems. Different on a faster machine, of course, but that’s the whole point of software-based RT. It is no longer something a manufacturer can guarantee.

Sincerely,
Oliver

Oliver Peters
Post-Production & Interactive Media
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Michael Niemcewicz]

I’ve just finished my first project on FCP and have to say that I was very impressed with the software. Coming from Avid I was afraid there would be enough differences between the two to drive me crazy but that really wasn’t the case. I guess using other software on regular basis (After Effects, Flash, DVDSP etc.) helped to get over the first awkward steps. I edited 2 hr long show in DVCPRO HD. Footage was captured through FW, looked beautiful and took very little space (20hrs under 500 GB!!!). The only effects I had to deal with were Ken Burns style moving stills and rarely did I need more than two layers to execute the effects. Everything worked quite as advertised but in order to get RT really working over those moves and dissolves I did have to lower the quality settings. Overall very pleasant experience with a few hiccups like awful keyframing (but then Avid’s is even worse) and a strange artifact I couldn’t get rid of (I’ll post separately about that). I guess your experience with FCP is ultimately shaped by the expectations (mine were low 🙂 and the type of project you’re working on. Anything graphic heavy I would not attempt to work on in either FCP or Avid – it’ll never look as good as you could make it had you gone to AE or Combustion.