Switching from Vegas to….

[Don Cobble]

You might want to consider trying Davinchi Resolve 15
1) they have a free version
2) if you like it their Studio version is only $299 and worth it
3) runs on Mac and PC

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion

dc

PC 2
I7 3930K 3.2Ghz
32 GB Ram
SSD 850 Pro OS drive
2x 850 EVO Raid 1TB
3-4 TB HD
Win 10 Pro 64bit OS
GTX 1080 8GB

IMAC Retina 5K 27in
4.Ghz i7 32gb Ram
AMD R9 M395X 4Mb
Sierra/Boot Camp Win 10

S Vegas P 13 & Vegas P15 – Adobe Production Premium CS6 – Edius WG Pro 8 – Sony Catalyst Production Suite – FCPX 10.4 – DaVinchi Resolve Studio 15

Camera
Sony EX1 shoot in 1920×1080 30P

[John Rofrano]

[Kyle Le] “Should I consider switching to Premiere or Final Cut? What is closer to Sony Vegas?”

I moved to the Mac several years ago and I only edit with Final Cut Pro X now. I haven’t touched Vegas Pro in over 4 years (since VP12) but learning Final Cut Pro X after using Vegas Pro was a very easy transition for me. They both gave the same organic way of working. I have found Final Cut Pro X to be an extremely productive editing experience and, IMHO, is light years ahead of everything else on the market. But that’s just my opinion… your mileage may vary.

As you might know, FCP X has no tracks! The FCP X magnetic storyline is pure genius. You never have to worry about clips covering other clips as you move them about the timeline or moving a clip and leaving anything associated behind (like a lower third or sound fx clip). As a package, FCP X has everything you need without having to buy a lot of 3rd party tools. Need audio noise reduction? It’s already there on every clip and FCP X will analyze your footage as you import it and correct common audio problems like hum and background noise automatically if you want it to. Need color correcting? It’s already there on every clip. Need image stabilizing? It’s already there on every clip. Want slow motion with optical smoothing? included! Need to Match color between clips? it’s there. Optical flow between clips to avoid jump cuts? gotcha covered! Need to match the external audio with the video from your DSLR? In Vegas Pro you need Plural Eyes. In FCP X, it’s already built-in and it works really well! (I use it all the time to match recorded songs with the live audio from stage performances). Pretty much everything you need is in-the-box.

FCP X also has tons of useful content. Need lower thirds? They’re included and they are very high broadcast quality and usable (you know Apple would accept nothing less). Need motion backgrounds? They’re included too and they are very high quality and include particle effects (something Vegas Pro doesn’t have). Need high quality 3D text? it’s natively supported with textured faces and environments and it performs great. Need sound effects? they are included in the package.

Oh, and editing 4K video on MacBook Pro with FCP X is a very smooth experience. Apple has fine tuned FCP X to its hardware and the two work extremely well together. Here is a comparison with Premiere Pro on exporting a 2 min 4K clip (4.5 min vs 80 min! no contest!!!):

I could go on but suffice it to say that you will be pleasantly surprised at all that is included with FCP X. I purchased training videos from Ripple Training and I came up to speed very quickly.

Here is a good article with several videos on using the FCP X magnetic timeline. It will show you how productive the workflow is:
https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video-editing/understanding-the-fcpx-magnetic-timeline/

I’m not saying that anyone should jump ship on Vegas Pro, but if you are moving to the Mac and are deciding between Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X, there is no doubt in my mind that Final Cut will appeal more to Vegas Pro editors than Premiere (and it certainly performs way better).

Final thoughts on FCP X vs Premiere: I paid $299 for FCP X 4 years ago. Apple has updated it with major new features every year for FREE. I haven’t spent a penny more. Had I started paying for Premiere Pro 4 years ago I would have spent $2,352 for the same time in subscription fees ($49 x 12 x 4). It’s not to hard to identify the price performer. ????

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasstsoftware.com

[Kyle Le]

Is it possible to preprogram keyboard keys for splicing, ripple edit, cut, paste, etc? sometimes I edit videos with 500 tiny clips.

Do you think switching from vegas to final cut is a bigger step than vegas to premiere? Which of the two big apps are closer to how vegas would work? Im just afraid of the growing pains period since I am so used to Vegas.

[Brian Thomas]

“…Final thoughts on FCP X vs Premiere: I paid $299 for FCP X 4 years ago. Apple has updated it with major new features every year for FREE. I haven’t spent a penny more. Had I started paying for Premiere Pro 4 years ago I would have spent $2,352 for the same time in subscription fees ($49 x 12 x 4). It’s not to hard to identify the price performer. ????”

MANY thanks for taking the time and trouble to spell all that out. I knew years ago I had chosen a powerful product but that final paragraph of yours made my jaw drop.

Near Geneva, Switzerland

[John Rofrano]

[Kyle Le] “Is it possible to preprogram keyboard keys for splicing, ripple edit, cut, paste, etc? sometimes I edit videos with 500 tiny clips. “

Yes, the keyboard is fully programmable in FCP X. You can pretty much make whatever short cuts you want.

[Kyle Le] “Do you think switching from vegas to final cut is a bigger step than vegas to premiere? Which of the two big apps are closer to how vegas would work?”

That depends on your personal cutting style. If you love 3-point editing with tracks and want to put clips in exact positions that don’t move, then you will love Premiere. If, like me, you just throw clips onto the timeline and start trimming away like I did in Vegas Pro, then you will love Final Cut Pro X. FCP X has a lot of direct manipulation on the timeline like Vegas Pro. I found Premiere to be more about finding the correct menu item and dialog boxes. Not my style of editing at all.

[Kyle Le] “Im just afraid of the growing pains period since I am so used to Vegas.”

Growing pains are relative. I can only relate my experiences. I owned Adobe Creative Suite until it went to Cloud subscription. I used Vegas Pro as my video editor with Adobe Photoshop, and After Effects from the creative suite. Every time I would upgrade from Adobe CS2, to CS4, to CS5, to CS6, I would try Premiere Pro and every time I would go back to Vegas Pro. When I moved to Mac, I tried Final Cut Pro X (there is a one month free trial) and purchased it after only a few days of using it and I never looked back.

If you are really hung up on tracks and bins you might not like FCP X. But if you just want to concentrate on cutting the story together, FCP X will keep you focused on telling the story and not managing a timeline full of disconnected tracks. But it’s impossible for me to say if you will like it. I happen to love it! You couldn’t pay me to use a track based editor again. IMHO, tracks are the wrong paradigm for video editing. Magnetic storylines are the way to go.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasstsoftware.com