How essential is being a mac user to getting in the industry?

[Sad Max]

If your work is good it shouldn't matter what platform you use.

That's true. But it does not alter the fact that you will encounter people in hiring positions who are slaves to a platform and hire accordingly.

One of those gaps between "should" and "is..."

'Cause you know, photoshop for on a Mac is like another world.

A production designer with whom I work frequently, asked me to teach him Photoshop, while we were on location.

For some opaque reason, the menus have been shuffled, from the PC to Mac versions (haven't used Photoshop on a mac in many years), which is just about the most pointlessly idiotic thing I have seen done with a port - now I effectively have to learn a program I already know, all over again, 'cause I can't find the f*cking controls which, for no good reason at all, have basically been hidden.

*grumble*

 

[sheeep]

Thanks guys. Good to know there's still a chance out there.

 

[doncamillo]

Essential: No, important: Yes (more so in the 'independent' scene) . If you have the choice/money you should definitely make yourself confortable with working on mac. It'll only make you a more flexible/versatile person.

(for the record, I'm not a mac fanboy: I'm platform agnostic, and I mainly work on windows)

...they are almost all computer illiterate...

That is so true :grin: In this day and age, to me that's a little bit like using a camera but only knowing were the on/off button is... it limits you...

 

[skycron]

" . . and lot of VFX and CGI work is done on Windows."

Beige boxes running UNIX maybe, but not Windows.

Coming from that background -- none of my friends at ILM, Sony, Pixar, The Mill, The Orphanage, Rhythm & Hues, Weta, Digital Domain, Ubisoft, Zoic, C.O.R.E...us PCs. Modelling and comp is Mac centric. Beige boxes have UNIX running on them for render farms.

Maybe small studios, but not major effects studios, having been there.

As far as Premiere, it just isn't a professional level program, if for no other reason is it isn't streamlined enough to be time-effective for the demands of content required yesterday. The only place I ever saw it used before setting up our own shop was when I was working at Amberwood (Lacewood) in Ottawa for editing leica reels. It was never used for final editing.

 

[filmguy123]

For some opaque reason, the menus have been shuffled, from the PC to Mac versions (haven't used Photoshop on a mac in many years), which is just about the most pointlessly idiotic thing I have seen done with a port - now I effectively have to learn a program I already know, all over again, 'cause I can't find the f*cking controls which, for no good reason at all, have basically been hidden.

No, this is not accurate. Photoshop CS3 has changed this, not the Mac version. CS3 for Mac & PC are identical; it is CS3 and CS2 that are different.

 

[Batutta]

Yes, for film and TV industry work for the big professional houses Mac is standard. If you want to get a good paying job there I'd learn it. if you are going to freelance and work on your own system them use whatever the hell you want.

 

[Sad Max]

Beige boxes running UNIX maybe, but not Windows.

While I worked for Digital Domain, Flat Earth, NDEI and Foundation Imaging, it was overwhelmingly PC/Windows workstations (for Lightwave and associated tools), with a smaller number of SGIs, etc. Perhaps that's changed (like three of the four houses now being defunct...)

No, this is not accurate. Photoshop CS3 has changed this, not the Mac version. CS3 for Mac & PC are identical; it is CS3 and CS2 that are different.

It was accurate at the time, which is bad enough.

If the stupidity of non-parallel interfaces has been resolved, that's great (CS3 had not been released, at the time). But it was criminal to have done it, in the first place.

 

[HorseFilms]

I was shooting a promotional video for a college in Chicago and we walked through a computer lab with a bunch of Macs. The guy I was working with saw this and said, "It's nice to see that there are so many 'creative people' at this school."

He's totally drinking the Kool-Aid. It's sad.

 

[RE1000]

I was shooting a promotional video for a college in Chicago and we walked through a computer lab with a bunch of Macs. The guy I was working with saw this and said, "It's nice to see that there are so many 'creative people' at this school."

He's totally drinking the Kool-Aid. It's sad.

That guy sounds like a complete moron. Ya, anyone drinking any Kook-Aid you can't help but feel sorry for.

 

[BMFM FILMS]

People really put a lot of stock into what machine you are running...

It's a tool in the end, use whichever you are comfortable with. I use a Mac for my own reasons, no point in arguing.

I've used PC's before with premiere, that wasn't a great experience. Had I started with Avid, I would have probably never switched back to a Mac or I probably wouldn't have a great reason to.

 

[ddp]

I'm pretty sure you won't get an STD from being able to work on both platforms.
Other then a few key shortcuts, as long as you know what you want to perform you can achieve the same thing on both. If you don't know what de-saturation is you won't be able to do it on either......

Now if you need to switch to the Chinese version that's a different story,,,,,,,,

 

[Loki]

Macs are hugely disproportionately represented in the entertainment industry.

Possibly in other industries where people fancy themselves 'creative,' too.

I'd say 'creative' types use macs for two reasons... 1) they think thats what all the creative people use.. and 2) they are actually simpler to use.

I don't care how much microsoft has tried... Apple still has a much easier OS to use... I seen this proven time and again with people who have no computer skills at all..

OS X is the main reason I am still a mac user ... after all those dark years in the late nineties.

There hardware is purdy too.

But in reality, it makes no difference what you use.. as long as you can get the end product you desire.

 

[Isaac_Brody]

 

[Sad Max]

I'd say 'creative' types use macs for two reasons... 1) they think thats what all the creative people use.. and 2) they are actually simpler to use.

I don't care how much microsoft has tried... Apple still has a much easier OS to use... I seen this proven time and again with people who have no computer skills at all..

OS X is the main reason I am still a mac user ... after all those dark years in the late nineties.

It's very subjective. I find macs a head-banging-exercise in frustration, and utterly counter-intuitive to use. I find that I can sit down at a windows machine, and if there is something I don't know how to do (OS-wise) I can almost always figure it out. On macs - forget it. Damn things might as well be running in Sanskrit.

I lament the assumption that 'creative' people have to have things made 'simple' for them, in order to function effectively.

There hardware is purdy too.

True. I've thought about getting a discarded G3 or G4 case, and just stuffing a PC mboard inside (not that anything would line up...) because, the cases *are* so attractive...

But in reality, it makes no difference what you use.. as long as you can get the end product you desire.

Yep.

 

[Zak Forsman]

It's very subjective. I find macs a head-banging-exercise in frustration, and utterly counter-intuitive to use. I find that I can sit down at a windows machine, and if there is something I don't know how to do (OS-wise) I can almost always figure it out. On macs - forget it. Damn things might as well be running in Sanskrit.

i don't know if this has to do with the inherent traits of each OS, but rather, which one you acclimated to first. I developed on a Mac first and my first experience on a PC was a head-banging, counter intuitive exercise too. but i stuck with it because Avid is more stable on windows and now i'm comfortable working on either.

 

[KyleProhaska]

I have a MacPro and a MBP...having both OSX and Windows on both of them has been really great. I'm a PC guy by trait and after a year or so using Macs I'm still faster on the PC...it takes a long time to get used to something else. But I will say this, I've had very few problems with either of the machines. I love PC's too...having the ability to use both xp and osx is great and worth it.

The sole reason I went mac however was for Final Cut Studio, because I've been an Adobe guy forever. Now that Adobe CS3 is for mac, now I have xp, osx, fcs, adobe master collection, etc. Having all the options is kinda nice.

Avid always bothered the heck out of me personally, haven't used it much at all.

 

[Zak Forsman]

Avid always bothered the heck out of me personally, haven't used it much at all.

the learning curve is much steeper for sure. but from personal experience i can say that becoming proficient on an Avid Media Composer made me faster and more efficient and organized on other NLEs including FCP.

 

[Sad Max]

i don't know if this has to do with the inherent traits of each OS, but rather, which one you acclimated to first. I developed on a Mac first and my first experience on a PC was a head-banging, counter intuitive exercise too. but i stuck with it because Avid is more stable on windows and now i'm comfortable working on either.

Weirdly enough I first used macs, then switched to PCs when I started working in Los Angeles.

 

[RJS]

I guess I use whatever gets me more work...currently that is fcp...if it swings the other way then I will learn what I need to.

I also think it is important to be comfortable(not necessarily expert) in all the tools otherwise you become typecast.

When I first got in the business, 15 years ago, film people and video people were on opposite sides...people said to me that I had to choose one or the other, but I chose both...lots of those guys are struggling in this video world, so I really try not to get locked into a side.

One thing that bugs me a bit is the people who say that hardcore mac users are drinking the kool aid...it really sounds like they are drinking the "i refuse to be a macuser" kool aid...

 

[Matt Gottshalk]

the learning curve is much steeper for sure. but from personal experience i can say that becoming proficient on an Avid Media Composer made me faster and more efficient and organized on other NLEs including FCP.

Yup, that was my experience as well. Good point.