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Thinking of switching…
Hi all,
This is my first time in this forum but no stranger to the cow.
Anyway, hopefully my inquiry is not one sided since I am in the FC forum.
I have been editing all my life (10 yrs or so) on Windows based NLE’s. (yeah, I know, I’m sheltered 🙂
Right now I am using an awesome Media 100 844x that, as some of or all of you know, is no more thanks to Optibase.
Last week my 844x decided that it’s memory would fail and two hard drives as well. So, long story short, it’s working now but I don’t know for how long and since there’s no HD future for this unit, and I’m told by my IT guy that Apple and Linux do things in a simpler (sp) way and use alot more memory and so forth as compared to Windows, I was thinking that my next editing unit in the near future would be this new Final Cut Pro systme that has FCP 6, Motion 3, DVD Studio Pro 4, Compressor 3, Soundtrack Pro 2, LiveType, Cinema Tools 4 and Color (new)
I mean it just seems like the right choice.
But can anyone give me some pros and maybe cons of doing this?
I know that there might be a learning curve with macs and FCP, anything else?
TIA
Sam
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8 Replies
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There is NO inherent superiority in Apple or Macintosh. None.
All OS fail or crash; all hard drives eventually die.You buy an Apple because you love the Macintosh OS. You y FCP because you have the stomach for Apple’s bizarrely myopic and stubbornly non-conformist paradigm.
To switch form a platform that you enjoy to one that you may detest would not be good. It is absolutely crucial that you take one of your short projects to an FCP station and see if you can stand it.
bogiesan
This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”
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Sam,
Nevermind Bogie, he’s evidently running low on caffiene today.
You’ll never have to scrounge around for freelancers again after you switch to FCP, its so widely used there’s an unlimited supply of editors almost everywhere. You’ll get used to FCP very quickly as everyone does. Maybe get a trainer to train your crew at your station and you’ll all be on the same page from the start.
Good luck,
David“No job is worth doing more than once…”
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Post-production Supervisor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles -
I came from M100 too. I haven’t looked back at all. I couldn’t be happier. The workflow was very similar. The move is much easier than say, from AVID to FCP. And now, I’m doing things I never dreamed of before.
Ernie Santella
Santella Film/Video Productions
http://www.santellaproductions.com -
Isn’t 844x very different from classic M100?
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[mishka] “Isn’t 844x very different from classic M100?”
Very much so. The level of rt on 844x is uncanny. You can’t expect this type of performance from FCP.
Besides that, FCP is a great editor.
Jeremy
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First off the 844x probably has more realtime out there than just about any NLE. It’s really a powerful realtime compositing tool with a good editor thrown in. If it wasn’t for the “Media 100” name in front of it and the high price tag when it came out, it could have really been something in the NLE world. I was cutting on Media 100 when the Pegasus project was announced and I briefly considered 844x when it came out. But I also knew Media 100 banked everything on that product and no Avid editors would ever purchase anything with the words “Media 100” on it, no matter how much realtime it had. Shame too because Media 100 I think still has the best codecs on the market.
The real big Pro is that you’re joining a group of 800,000 Registered Users of the product line so it’s a very large and solid group. The product is not going anywhere.
The real big Con is you will not get anywhere’s near the amount of Realtime you’re enjoying now with the 844x. That’s quite unique in the world of NLE’s.
One thing I really like about FCP is the flexibility to bring anything and send anything out, especially with the AJA Kona cards. Of course with the full suite of tools, you can pretty much do and create anything. Color is a bit weak at the moment with the DVCPro HD codec but hopefully they will get that straightened out in the near future.
There’s absolutely nothing bad about making the switch to FCP. What you will need to learn is the limitations of each application, the strength of each application and of course, how to use each application. One great training product you should pick up is “Getting Organized in Final Cut Pro” by our very own Shane Ross. It’s a fantastic look at how to organize projects in the application and certainly if you’re coming over from another NLE, it’s a must own.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html
Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi
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[walter biscardi] “Media 100 I think still has the best codecs on the market.”
Great media manager as well. It was a snap to recapture at higher data rates.
Lee Berger
http://www.leebergermedia.com -
You might want to take a look at Adobe Production Studio CS3 and Matrox Axio. This system offers similar hardware performance to the 844X in SD, and fully supports HD. Frankly, there is no better editing hardware performance available on a PC – even better than Avid Nitris (at 1/5 the cost). And the Adobe software has come along by leaps and bounds lately, giving Apple a real run for it’s money.
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