[Daniel Frome]

Agree that if you don’t like the software just move on. I understand some of the anger, of course, but it’s been long enough to realize it’s not changing. My studio “upgraded” to avid amidst this situation, and I’m quite enjoying the software. There’s no reason for everyone not to be happy – just maybe not while sporting the apple logo, that is all.

[Daniel Frome]

A lot of people here keep saying “wait, don’t switch” … but, well YES, that’s kind of what professionals do when they are faced with the future that’s been laid in front of us. We’re brand and software agnostic and will switch to whatever suits our needs.

I hadn’t used Media Composer for about 5 years but I took advantage of the crossgrade promotion. It’s a different piece of software, but it’s better. Simply put. That doesn’t mean I dislike Premiere Pro or FCPX — in fact, I would use them too if they happened to be the better tool for certain projects — but they aren’t in most cases.

Learn them all. You obviously don’t know how to use AVID yet but you should, regardless if you need it right now.

[Daniel Frome]

Obviously Premiere is more of a fluid switch for FCP users than Media Composer, but do people here think that it’s better to just bite the bullet and spend more on Media Composer and take the time to learn?

It all depends what environment you work in. If you work in TV or film, then AVID is the only real choice if the high-end market is your goal. I do expect Premiere, however, to break some ground, but nothing all that substantial. You need to realize that much of FCP’s gain was an indirect result of AVID royally screwing up in the early 2000s. These days AVID (fingers crossed) seems to have it together — the software is much better and the prices are reasonable. I simply don’t see any reason for AVID users to switch at this stage. Even though MC5.5 is still a 32bit product you’ll see that it doesn’t suffer the same issues as 32bit versions of FCP or Premiere back in the day. In fact… oddly enough it can still handle more footage than both without slowing down. Premiere Pro CS5.5, however, definitely has it beat in general speed of filters and scrubbing the timeline.

ever hold the weight of Avid or at least cause real competition to the point that being a “Premiere editor” will get me real work?

The experienced AVID editor is going to look better on paper for the next 10 years, like it or not.

I know that the BBC is on Premiere now but what about the US? What does being a “Premiere editor” get you?

The BBC is still primarily AVID in both parts of the world, but they did purchase a sizable chunk of Premiere licenses too. Both should exist across the board, imo.

To be honest… learn both.

[Daniel Frome]

Very interesting perspectives from all of you. I never learned Avid at all and had several good years of FCP work. Now I am learning MC 5.5, and oddly enough I find it makes me feel more like an “editor” than FCP ever did. In comparison, FCP feels like a crippled graphic/block ordering program. Premiere has a nice middle group feel to it… but MC5.5 feels like a real “cut and tell the story” type machine if you can master all the shortcuts. Not sure why that is though… and just in case someone disagrees: yes, this is only my personal opinion.

[Daniel Frome]

Ditto. My FCP7 isn’t going anywhere. I’ve got too much invested in plugins and 3rd party stuff to let it go anytime soon, not to mention that I use for the day-job every day.

BUT… I also purchased Media Composer 5 last month in anticipation (this was more long-term thought, but expedited by Apple’s shift in market). Boy… the old dinosaur has changed. I haven’t used an AVID product in many years. After some tutorials I’m a fan but won’t say it’s some kind of magical “awesome” piece of software. In fact…I’d say it feels more like a flying military aircraft… so many dials and knobs it’s daunting… but really satisfying when it starts to make sense.

[Daniel Frome]

I probably laughed a little too hard … great segment.

[Daniel Frome]

I’m surprised at this attitude towards FCP nowadays .. but the attitude in general has some merit. There’s LOTS of great story tellers, but that doesn’t make them fit for TV. It’s equally about having director screenings, being able to interpret and address network notes that may (in your opinion) butcher your work — but you have to do it without getting ego-hurt.

The AVID editor is a safe bet that they encompass the rounded-out qualities of this type of editor. It’s a shame they associate this with a piece of software… but to a laymen producer the correlation must happen more than we’d like to admit.

[Daniel Frome]

It’s pretty hillarious when you look at AVID’s stock:
https://www.google.ca/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:AVID

It was soaring on the release of Media Composer 5, and then tanked when Apple demo’d FCPX. Now it is climbing sharply again since the FCPX release.

[Daniel Frome]

I can only guess, but I would say “yes” because, so long as it is a quicktime codec, the Avid AMA plugin should be able to read it.

[Daniel Frome]

Oh… I just wanted to add a polite warning though: download the MC 5.5 trial and dive head-first into the tutorials. Media Composer is NOT your average editor and I trust you will break your keyboard a few times before welcoming your new toy.