-
Premiere or FCP? When working with MXF files?
I’m a new Canon XF-100 user. I’ve done my first trial shot and am now ready to work with the footage in post.
I’m a FCP 6 user but am ready to upgrade to a new platform. It’s tempting to switch to Premiere due to it having the native XMF import settings. I’ve got the card contents on my desktop ready to import. I only shoot talking heads but will need to do some colour, lighting correction and enhancement in post. I need to learn how to do all that so would it be best to go to Premiere and take it from there or upgrade to FCP X?
Either way I’ve got some learning to do but any advice on which would be the way to go would be really appreciated! -
3 Replies
-
Well I can’t speak at all to FCP (other than the anecdotal reports of how many people hate FCPX), as we are an all-PC house… but I can give you impressions of Premiere.
We’ve been Premiere users for 16 years going all the way back to Premier 4.0. Our suites now use the most current versions of CS6 (specifically, in Matrox MX02 machines).
Although sometimes (and that’s sometimes, I can’t say why) the previous version of Premiere (CS5 on our now-retired Matrox AXIO machines) sometimes needed file conversions, CS6 flawlessly imports and uses Canon’s native MXF files (and yes it’s MXF, not XMF). We shoot with the C300PL and use the Canon utility to backup the cards and merge/organize/rename MXF files. They’re ready to go, ready to use.
Like many (if not most) Premiere users, I have nothing but good things to say about CS6. For a job like you mentioned, talking heads with color grading, that’s child’s play for Premiere… easy breezy and most likely in real time (depending on your machine).
Also, to me one of the biggest reasons to use Premiere is how seamlessly it works with all the other programs in the suite that you probably already use… files can bounce instantly from one program to another and any work you do in, say Photoshop (graphics tweaking, etc) or After Effects (compositing jobs that you have moved over), or Audition (such as audio edits that need more precision), those changes are immediately reflected and updated on your Premiere timeline.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
Cheers Todd! Helpful advice/food for thought.
Can you point me into the direction of some good tutorials that will help me learn the skills I need to break into the Premiere mindset?
Would you mind me asking you questions in the future?
Thanks again.
-
Hi Patrick…
I certainly don’t mind you asking any future questions you might have.
As for tutorials though, I’m afraid I’m of no help. Unless you count the original “get started” manual that came with 4.0 way back in 1997, I’ve never used any tutorials… although I know there are some out there. You might ask in the Adobe Premiere Pro forum if anyone has any suggestions.
I don’t think you have to worry about a “Premiere Mindset.” It’s pretty much the same as the Avid mindset and the FCP mindset (at least pre-X version). These days most of the various editing platforms are all so similar that if you are extremely proficient in FCP then moving to Premiere should be a cakewalk.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up