What software to choose for a video editing course?

[Michael Hancock]

You probably own Premiere already if your students are using the rest of the suite, so the only cost would be new course development around the new NLE. However, if you’re training students to get jobs in broadcast/film, Premiere really doesn’t have a presence there (yet). Avid does, so it would be in your student’s best interest to learn Avid.

If you have money to spend, get Avid. It’s $295/license for educational use, and your students can buy it for that and get 4 years of free upgrades. That’s the best educational deal out there right now. If you don’t have money to spend, go with Premiere until you get money. Then evaluate everything and either purchase Avid or stay with Premiere. I don’t know your program so I can’t say for sure, but when I taught we had FCP and Avid. If I was still teaching, I’d start them on Premiere and advanced editing would be on Avid.

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Michael Hancock
Editor

[David Roth weiss]

It’s pretty much a “no-brainer.” If the goal of your school is to send its students out into the world, completely unprepared for work in an existing collaborative environment, you may want to teach your students FCP X. However, if the future of the school’s students is more important, the decision about the software becomes much more difficult. FCS 3, Avid 5.5 & 6.0, and Adobe CS5.5 should all be considered. They are all contenders in one way or another, at least for a while.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.com

Don’t miss my new tutorial: Prepare for a seamless transition to FCP X and OS X Lion
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POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums.

[Joe Moya]

At this point, I can’t see FCPX being an editing application that would even be considered by any Hollywood studio…and, I do not seeing FCPX being considered for some time.

AVID will probably become the choice for most professional editing environments…BUT…no doubt ADOBE’s Production Suite has it’s distinct advantages in terms of similarity to FCP.

The best tact is to learn to use both… and, pick the editing application that is best suited for the project in question. In essense, there is no “best” choice…only the choice that meets the need. Both AVID and ADOBE have distinct advantages and distadvantages when you compare the two. As for FCPX, the comparison to AVID or ADOBE is rather simple (no matter the cost comparison)…FCPX is an inferior editing application at this time and there is no estimated time line that can determined if (or when) it will meet the professional level editing needs.

[Sean Thomas]

[Massimiliano Gugole] “Our students usually end up being web and graphic designers doing some occasional video editing as and when, they’re not destined to work for TV or film.”

Then I would say the tools don’t matter – just the creativity and getting the job done. It would certainly be best for them to be exposed to all 3 apps, and they can pick which to buy when they are out in the job market doing their occasional video project.

FCP X: Type A
[spell check OFF]

[Chris Jacek]

As an educator, I’ve often heard the “the tools don’t matter” argument from other people in education. While it seems logical, my years as a professional also tell me that it is not reality. People who make hiring decisions frequently look ONLY for the person who has SPECIFIC experience on a specific platform. Though you and I may know that an FCP editor could figure out Premiere in a day or two, employers are unfortunately not always so enlightened.

To truly be viable you need to have BOTH the talent, and the specific skills to use a specific tool. An Emmy award winning editor, could not get hired if they only knew CMX.

I am in a similar situation, needing to implement a curriculum for my department. Luckily, I’m grandfathered in to an Apple ELP license, and also have the CS5.5 Production PRemium license. I plan to teach 4 NLE programs and After Effects. I will teach FCP7, PRemiere, and even FCPX (crappy or not, it may help get a job). I will also teach a 3.5 week course in Media Composer, having the students install the trial on their computers.

It’s a ton of information to absorb, and even more to lesson-plan, but it really does seem to be the best way to future-proof their instruction as much as possible.

Professor, Producer, Editor
and former Apple Employee

[Thomas Frank]

I would teach Editing first 😉 and then maybe Lightworks. :p
Also agree dip in all get the basis and pick your flavor.

[Joseph W. bourke]

Since the graphic design standards all revolve around the Adobe Creative Suite, it would seem to be a logical choice to teach Premiere Pro, because of the interactive capabilites of the various software packages. It’s reaching the point now where you can do a design in Photoshop which is targeted for an interactive DVD, website, web video, and Flash presentation, and use the single resource to cover all the bases.

There are things brewing at Adobe (see labs.adobe.com)that would make your head swim. Flash Catalyst, which shipped with CS5, gives the non-technical user (read “designer”) the ability to create interactive Flash animation without going under the hood. Things are really moving in the right direction at Adobe.

That said, in the fourteen years I was at a broadcast station, we always looked favorably at resumes which had AVID experience, and AVID plays fairly well with the Adobe products, although there’s no where near the integration which the Creative Suite has (needless to say). With the addition of Audition, replacing Soundbooth, a simple, but powerful enough DAW, the student can get his/her feet wet in every single facet of the production spectrum.

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com