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What are the benefits of using FCP over PP?
I have not used FCP. Like a lot of people, I am trying to master PP as fast as I can. What are the advantages of FCP?
Who would have thought the ability to shoot and produce extremely high quality HD footage would be pronounced on the masses so quickly for under $15k in equipment?
Now everyone with $15k and time and ability to learn is a Steven Speilberg.
Having said that, What will FCP help me do that PP cant not?
What are the pitfalls to editing in one or both programs?
Thanks in advance for any opinion.
Note: I am a 45 year old pro photographer trying to catch up on the Video technology as fast as I can. (Heck, PC’s did not even exist when I first went to college in 1978 – I learned calculas with a slide rule! – Anyone know what a slide rule is?) It seems my clients are all of a sudden asking me about producing high definition DVD’s. My first real shoot is coming up in three weeks for a large non-profit.
Holy Cow!
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5 Replies
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The advantage of FCP is that it runs on a Mac. If you have a Mac, there is no better way to get started. If, however, you have a PC, then you should be using Premiere Pro 2.0
There are other advantages to FCP. Not because it is better, but because it used to be, many people believe it is better and therefore they want to hire editors who use FCP. If you are working for yourself that does not really apply, does it?
If you want to edit HDV, I believe that Premiere Pro with Cineform Aspect HD is a superior method to what I have seen on a Mac.
Seriously, FCP is a fine product that is on a par with Premiere Pro 2.0 and it is virtually impossible to tell you which is better. I like some of the features in FCP, like how you can drop the clip in slightly different areas of the track and it sort of provides a menu showing you what happens if you drop it there. It is hard to describe, but it is nifty. Premiere Pro allows you to edit Audio at the sample level instead of only at the frame level. That makes it easier to reomove pops and clicks.
Both are good. Neither are perfect.
The main advantage to Premiere Pro is the interaction with other Adobe products within the Adobe Production Studio.
Personally, I have been thinking of buying a high powered Mac laptop just to play around with it. I figure if I learn to use it with Adobe products like After Effects and Photoshop, I will be more useful as a technical editor for the publishers that give me work now and then. If I do, then I will be able to decide for myself which tasks are better on which machines.
Steven
https://www.stevengotz.com -
Thanks for the input. I am using a PC with AMD dual cores and raptor drives. I am well versed in photoshop, so I will stay with PP. I am looking at the After Effects for more graphics add ins and the Adobe Audio editing software.
And yes, I am working for myself, which means I have to learn everything – all at once and at the same time. Which has its advantages and disadvantages.
The biggest advantage is choosing my tools and projects and getting paid for doing what I love.
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[Scottsdigitalphoto] “Now everyone with $15k and time and ability to learn is a Steven Speilberg.”
Anyone with Steven Speilberg’s TALENT is Steven Speilberg…anyone else can only confirm they’ve spent $ 15,000. I’ve seen abject hacks spend many times that amount to create extremely expensive garbage.
The ability isn’t in the equipment…never has been. If you are a lousy mechanic, better tools will not increase your skill level.
Steven’s take on the PP vs FCP question pretty much sums up my own. If you decide to take some narrow slice of capability and compare NLE software, one will be better than another…change the focus of the comparison to some other feature and a different victor emerges.
Understanding the needs of your workfow are key to understanding which equipment and software choices maximize your effectiveness.
TimK,
Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net -
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I think that FCP is superior to PP if you are doing lots of layers and effects, and you want to stay working within your editing application.
Particularly if you are doing uncompressed or HD material, and using a card like Decklink, FCP is definitely superior. You can do many more things in realtime in FCP, such as colour correction, motion and scale, and others. (Unless you have an Axio.)
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