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Thread: Final Cut vs The PC's Best

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    Final Cut vs The PC's Best

    I'm currently using the latest version of Sony Vegas on the PC and it seems a lot of people recommend Final Cut. I've even seen a few people use the fact they use Final Cut in advertising as a sales pitch.

    Question is, does anyone use it and can you say that it really is better?
    Any examples or good guides? Cheers

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    Re: Final Cut vs The PC's Best

    in a sentence: it's Apple's usual advertising bollocks. Fact. They are supreme at marketing, as we all know.

    So many of the newer features have been around in other NLEs for YEARS. Literally. Like a multiformat timeline, or multicam editing etc.

    as a quick rundown (though dating from 2006) of the difference in capabilities between Vegas and FCP, let me mention the following:

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    - True format and resolution indepedance
    - Mix resolutions on the same timeline without rendering or losing real-time performance (FCP is a LOOOONG way from this)
    - Add, remove and adjust effects During real-time playback
    - Surround sound mixing
    - Unlimted Parent-Child track control
    - Video effects at event, track and output level
    - Video and audio bus tracks for project level automation
    - Bus level automated motion blur and super-sampling
    - One-click audio normalising
    - Real, smaple accurate, audio multitracking tools (audio in FCP is a cruel joke)
    - 3D track motion and animation
    - Unlimited point bezier masks
    - Velocity frame rate control envelopes
    - Open scripting in Visual basic or Java script
    - Multiple copies of Vegas open at the same time (have one rendering while you edit in another at the same time..!)
    - Punch in, punch out audio recording
    - Streaming media meta-data commands from the timeline
    - On the fly marker inserts during playback
    - Monitor wet/record dry audio recording (hear the input with effects but record without effects)
    - Simultaneous multi-channel audio recording with real-time effects monitoring
    - Parent-Track compositing modes
    - RED Book CD mastering form the timeline
    - Audio Pitch and Tempo correction on the timeline
    - Control surface suppourt for any MIDI device
    - MIDI Timecode synchronisation
    - Built in Metronome and flexible ruler format including all timecodes as well as Measures (bars and beats)
    - Bump, Displacement and Height mapping track options
    - Unlimited 'undo'
    - Import from any source format including DVD camcorders and direct export for mobile devices; psp, ipod.
    - Built in CD ripper/extractor
    - Synch audio tracks with online CD database for metadata retrival
    - Built in suppourt for dolby AC-3 format
    - One click red-eye removal
    - Bus to Bus audio mixing
    - Abilty to import, read and edit already authored DVDs
    - Real-time one-click video event Reverse
    - Envelope animation control of transitions
    - Free-hand Paint-on envelopes (audio, pan, velocity, motion blur etc)
    - Split screen preview for pre and post effect...

    I'd go on but i reckon you get the picture. FCP has (HAD) none of the above. FCP is a good editor, but thats all it is. It is very underpowered and severely limited in its flexibility and feature set.

    On the final cut pro side there are really only two elements that stand out; one is the titling tool. Live Type in FCP is a superb text titling tool and far superior to Vegas. The other is Fcp's functionality as an off-line editing tool (via it's CinemaTools utility) for off-line editing of 16mm and 35mm film as well as offline HD
    <<<<<<<<<<<

    Now, the situation has improved, but not a great deal. Anyone tried to burn BluRay in FCP lately? lol.

    Having said that, this is the current situation professionally: If you want to be employable, learn FCP & Avid. End of story. Due to the above mentioned marketing, many peeps seem to think those are the only packages worth learning, so will pretty much ignore the other NLEs. Kinda tragic, since no-one watches a film and expressions admiration / dislike based on whatever software was used to edit. Never.

    While it's worth learning the software, here is a fundamental reason to avoid FCP if you work on projects that span the globe: compatibility. Unfortunately, as with most Apple hardware/software, the idea is to lock the user into the Apple world, and not play ball with anyone else. Ever tried to share edits with users around the world? TOUGH job if anyone in the food chain is not using FCP. Hard to transfer EDLs or files, while the other NLEs out there are happy to oblige: Avid / PPro / Vegas / Liquid / Edius etc.

    Is very frustrating. If you've tried the dynamic link in Adobe products, you'll know how awesome it is to be able to transfer edits to/from the editor/sound/FX etc.

    anyway, enough of a rant. Oh, as you prob know, Vegas is again first off the blocks, with 64 bit software. Let's see how long it takes FCP to catch up..........



    oh, last 2c: if you work in a big team, the FCP route can work, since it is designed around the old paradigm of one team doing edits, another doing FX, another doing sound etc. Unfortunately, with budgets being squeezed for years now, that methodology is dying outside the major studios. One has to learn to be all things, and Vegas is better than any other NLE at exactly that logic

    One can never stop saying Thank You

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