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Thoughts on asking someone who works in Premiere to learn FCP X for a project?
I have a student project that’s a verite film. Some interviews done but mostly footage of reforestation workers. I probably have like over 70 hours. I worked in FCP X. I spent way too much time logging it, but I logged the f%#! out of it. I keyworded it so you can easily find a 2 shot that wide with any two particular people, and transcripts for interviews or events at work are put in clip notes.
I got some grant funding and I’m now moving the project forward. I have enough funding for an editor for 6 months or so, so I can turn this into a real quality doc with fantasies of PBS broadcast in my head.
Question: the editor I chose works in Premiere. She’s the right fit for the specs I was looking for (local, bilingual, verite experience). I could send the library over to her with the program X to 7 and some of the metadata is saved. Or I could ask her to learn FCP X. Part of me thinks since we’re making a verite film and so much of that will come out in the editing, all that metadata is particularly useful. If it was a more traditional doc where I knew more closely what the scenes and beats are from the get-go, then I probably wouldn’t consider asking her to learn FCP.
Thoughts?
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3 Replies
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Ask her. If she says yes, you are golden. If she says no, then you’ll have to decide whether having this editor on board outweighs the value of using FCPX. If it’s not that important, then find someone else to cut it who will use FCPX.
I would politely suggest that you shouldn’t have spent so much time logging until you knew who was going to cut it and what was their preferred software. Remember, that by doing this, you are circumventing the editors’ own process of discovery, which is quite critical if you want a collaborator on the job. Just my 2 cents.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
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Dude, lesson learned on logging. I did the logging a few years ago. My thinking was it would make it easier for the editor. I didn’t think of the way it would hamstring me.
She’d be willing to learn it which is great. My hesitation is if I’m shooting myself in the foot asking her to spend her time doing that. But since it’s not going to be an effects heavy edit, I’m inclined to do that.
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I know what you mean. I going through a similar thing on a doc that’s been bouncing between X and PPro. The associate editor is pulling selects in X, sending an XML, and then the main editor is using Premiere. I would have simply stayed in X, however, the project started before this one assoc editor with a different assoc editor and she was working in Premiere. So sometimes you just can’t control these things! ☺
If your editor is willing to learn X, then stick with her. It’s going to take her a bit to get comfortable, so there will be a learning curve. Make sure she’s aware of the various tutorials in case she gets stuck. Good luck.
Cheers,
OliverOliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
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