OT: Edit Software of Oscar Nominees

[Shane Ross]

[Jok Daniel] “Why would anyone want to use FCP7 for long form documentaries?”

Because it works…very well.

[Jok Daniel] “What are its key strengths in this area?”

Moves on stills in the timeline, without the use of crappy third party apps like Moving Picture, or effects that are lacking like Pan & Zoom.

Ability to composite shots easily, quickly. Avid drags, and is very convoluted in how you accomplish this. What I can do in 10 min in FCP takes me an hour in Avid MC.

Smooth workflow with many tapeless formats, including solid offline/online workflows.

I can have more than 24 audio tracks. When you need to foly audio as many stock footage companies sell footage without audio, this helps. I’ve used up to 48 tracks of audio…a battle recreation scene.

Smooth color correction integration with Apple Color.

Countless small workflow nuggets that help speed things along.

BUT…mixed frame rates in FCP 7 stinks. Better by far in Adobe and Avid.

[Jok Daniel] “Out of the main contenders, it just seems like the worst possible choice for this kind of work. What am I missing?”

Missing the fact that many many of us made this work, and well. FCP saw heavy use in reality and documentary projects…so much so that Avid was losing a lot of footing in this area. FCP took over nearly half of that market. But with it now DOA, many companies are shifting back to Avid, or switching to Adobe.

Ugh…I miss it.

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Oliver Peters]

I agree with Shane’s assessments. Having done quite a few doc-style long-form projects in FCP 3-7, it’s still my preferred NLE. However, X has some very inviting advantages for organization.

– Oliver

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

[Andrew Kimery]

Don’t forget price. Docs usually have tighter budgets and that’s a big reason FCP originally became so popular in that genre. David’s post even mentions the production didn’t want to buy more Avid seats so they stuck w/FCP7.