[Samuel A. martin]

Check out the displays from a company called “Formac” They are quite good and as nice looking as apple’s. As a matter of fact lots of Mac systems that I know use formac’s monitors instead of apples as they are a lot cheaper and the looks are along the line.

Tara

[Samuel A. martin]

Check your project sample rate under the settings/ audio settings tab. It should be the same as the audio you imported.

Hope this helps…

[Samuel A. martin]

Thanks Oliver. I think I will follow your tips

Cheers

Sam

[Samuel A. martin]

It is a tricky question to answer. It is the fact the price difference is just plain and simply huge. I mean huge (imagine 1 system, 2 systems, 3 systems….. Just make numbers). Avid is losing clients and actually entire post-production houses because of this price gap. I’d love to stay avid, but can I justify the $30000 difference between one system and the other?

If it only was $10000/15000 I’d take it and would even look/ consider FCP. However…

Sam

[Samuel A. martin]

Hi Peter, I think you have got me wrong (may be I didn’t choose the right words). It is not that I don’t care about the editors, which I do. I am thinking this problem from a business mentality, purely as a business decision. I can’t allow anything else to distort my decision. I am a business man but I also work as an editor as a trade. But this decision is purely financial. I have very good Avid editors at the moment that I would be gutted to lose, especially 2 of them. However this cannot interfere in this decision, a business decision and that is why I am asking around people’s thoughts and opinions.

What I meant by what I said is that great editors are not just something limited to Avid. I know 2 really good editors that cut on FCP and would be willing to come onboard. My avid editors will have to make a decision as to whether they want to switch and learn FCP or go and I cannot based my decision on this or that person saying they will or won’t.

I hope this makes my words a little easier to understand.

Sam

[Samuel A. martin]

To be frank with you I don’t care really that much about the editors (I am talking purely as a business man here and not as a colleague, so don’t get me wrong) and whether they like the fact I might go FCP or not. If someone doesn’t like it the door is opened for anyone. There are so many talented people out there that it won’t take long to find the right people. As a matter of fact I already have 2/3 very talented fellas that I know of that would be more than willing to come along. I use freelance editors rather than permanent, so the impact wouldn’t be that serious, I believe, and although I tend to use the same guys, I don’t have a permanent group of editors that my clients have got used to and expect to work with. Also, bear in mind the main bulk of my income at the moment comes from hiring equipment out. I have seen how the industry is changing and I am adapting to it. I want to offer a service were my clients can get post-production rates as part of their equipment hire quotes as well as developing a new business altogether.

The advantage/ disadvantage of all this, depending what angle you look at it is that I am not running an established post production service. That would make the decision even harder as i would have to consider the entire business structure and compatibility. The point I raised before and Daniel Webber mentioned as well is that I can do/offer a lot more with 2/3 suites that with just 1. Although I have 2 MC now, they are dated and can’t even do serious work without crashing. An adrenaline would have to be a complete new system from scratch. In have heard FCP 5 is really stable. Adrenaline earlier versions were very unstable (crap honestly) and although they are getting better they are still not there yet.

One more question though, how much would I have to pay over the next 3 years to keep up with Avid updates (hardware and software) compared to FCP? That could also be an important point to consider. I might be saving a lot of money from the start but I might be losing it in the long run by having to keep up with all the hardware and software updates. How quickly the FCP’s hardware will need to be replaced? And the Avid’s?

Thanks

Sam

[Samuel A. martin]

Thanks a lot guys, this seems to be a more interested community than the avid one where I’ve had no replies so far. I agree with MrVideo on the fact that for the price of 1 Adrenaline I can have 3 top of the range FCPs with all the bells and whistles. If I go to a facility and tell them I want 3 FCP suites with everything, I am sure they’ll work their arses to get me some discounted rates. Hell, even the company I buy equipment from started offering me incentives to get the deal through them the moment I mentioned to them my intentions….

I am based in the UK and it is interesting the way things are happening here. Over the last year FCP has gathered momentum and it seems to be growing. I read with a lot of interest that discreet smoke will be able to read FCP projects so if in a future I want to upgrade to discreet products I’ll be able to make a “smooth” transition (somehow discreet products have got in my mind as superior to them all, call it shitting your pants before mortgaging your life…).

I have read with a lot of interest what Mike Most has to say and he has brought up some very interesting points. If you read this Mike, would you say that all the points you mentioned before justify a $30000/40000 (depending on trade-in offers) price difference between them? I mean, and excuse my answer; it is a lot of money, a lot. Imagine if I want three Avids (that’s my intention, 3 suites), I’ll be looking at over $100000 in price difference between them, and I am talking about a basic Avid against a top of the range FCP. Technology is probably the fastest changing environment these days and FCP integration and networking will only get better, won’t it? Will the $100000 that I save by not going Avid serve me in the near future to keep up with the latest and the best from apple?

I am not lying to you when I tell you I am sleepless thinking about the right move. Just to think about the massive cost difference between them theoretically would make the decision easy, but not really. If it was just a few grand, even $10000/15000 I would be fine, I’d take it and get on with it. We are talking $40000….. On the other hand, the fact that I pay that huge idfference should guarantee a more rock solid equipment…. But I have used both an Adrenaline’s earlier version were really buggy and very unstable. The one thing I like about Avid is that real time effects are really real time and don’t need to render. Is this not the same with FCP? I mean, rendering times do justify paying extra, no doubt about it, but in this case?

[Samuel A. martin]

I am not looking at people telling me what Avid does better than FCP, I am not interested on that. I am talking about business product and client awareness.

By going FCP, will my clients or potential clients think that I am a “B” company because I don’t have either Avid or discreet (the 2 daddies of high end stations) on offer?
Will I find more difficult to bring new clients by offering FCP instead of Avid/ discreet?
What’s the general perception of FCP as a high end system?
Will I be considered a low budget facility?
How many serious budget productions would consider doing post on FCP compared to Avid/ Discreet?
Does the massive price difference relates so much as to what I can get done on one system over the other?
What justifies a $36000 price difference?

This are the kind of questions I am looking for an answer. I can get FCP editors that will do just as good work as Avid editors and vice versa. I am aware of all these things. I have used both systems and I know the weakness or strenths of each one (I am sure there are more than I don’t know).

I am looking for objective business orientated advice/previous experience. The kind I won’t get from a reseller or collegue using such or such platform.

Thanks

[Samuel A. martin]

Yes, but I am not looking at people telling me what Avid does better than FCP, I am not interested on that. I am talking about business product and client awareness.

By going FCP, will my clients or potential clients think that I am a “B” company because I don’t have either Avid or discreet (the 2 daddies of high end stations) on offer?
Will I find more difficult to bring new clients by offering FCP instead of Avid/ discreet?
What’s the general perception of FCP as a high end system?
Will I be considered a low budget facility?
How many serious budget productions would consider doing post on FCP compared to Avid/ Discreet?

This are the kind of questions I am looking for an answer. I can get FCP editors that will do just as good work as Avid editors and vice versa. I am aware of all these things. I have used both systems and I know the weakness or strenths of each one (I am sure there are more than I don’t know).

I am looking for objective business orientated advice/previous experience. The kind I won’t get from a reseller or collegue using such or such platform.

Thanks

[Samuel A. martin]

Dude, everyone knows EDL is the way to go. The duck would be a great tool but you’ll have to pay….