FCP7 to Avid- what to expect

mainstreetprod

mainstreetprod

Veteran
Anyone familiar with both FCP7 and Media Composer? I'm about to the end of the FCP trail after many years. X is not an option as I want to stick with timeline based editing. My questions:

1. Currently I import AVCHD (FS700) or P2 footage (HVX200) using log and transfer. How different will Avid be?

2) Does Media Composer have a system similar to FCP 's Media Manager for backing up projects?

3) Does Media Composer support Sony Raw or any of the Convergent Design 7Q codecs?

4) In general, how hard is it to move over from FCP to Media Composer?
 
I never used FCP7, as I never owned a MAC, but I'll try my best to give you a useful answer anyway. I may be wrong at a couple of points, but someone will surely tell me off then! :)

1. AVCHD is, I'm fairly sure, not supported natively in Avid, so you'll need to transcode it into some other codec (read: DNxHD). This is a fairly simply task which Avid does for you, or you can pickup a program like Squeeze (which is a fantastic tool) or DaVinci and do it yourself. It takes a bit of time, but its well worth it. I love working with DNxHD at least.

2. I don't know this, but I would assume so, seeing Avid is one of the most advanced NLE solutions out there, especially when it comes to mediamangement. At least so I was told when I was pondering which NLE to pick up initally. And they've been true to their promise.

3. As far as .dng files, it does not, so you'll have to use the same workflow as mentioned in question 1. We'll see about the future codecs though. Some of the downsampled ones might work natively into Avid which would be all sorts of nice.

4. Media Composer is not an easy NLE to learn compared to other solutions imo. It is a bit of a dinosaur, but its well worth it. I think, once you relearn the terminologi, you should quickly pick it up. The hassle is often learning how the NLE works, yet most of them are largely the same, with some different names and buttonplacements. Largely...
 
I am basically in the same boat as you (a long-time FCP7 user looking to move on) and I found Premiere Pro CC to be the closest to FC in terms of workflow, interface, etc. I haven't used P2 in a while but I know you can edit AVCHD without transcoding (not recommended though) There is also a FCP7 keyboard setting in Premiere.
 
scorsesefan said:
I am basically in the same boat as you (a long-time FCP7 user looking to move on) and I found Premiere Pro CC to be the closest to FC in terms of workflow, interface, etc. I haven't used P2 in a while but I know you can edit AVCHD without transcoding (not recommended though) There is also a FCP7 keyboard setting in Premiere.
Click to expand...

MC has got keyboard settings from various other NLEs as well, alongside with a bunch of other keyboard settings. That being said, I think most NLE does have that these days?

I think something else should be asked. Do you work in any other programs? Like, are you only doing the timeline editing, or are you working with some effects too? It might not matter to you, but a few of my friends prefer Premiere over Avid for the simple fact that it works more seeminglessly (is that a word?) with After Effects which is nice.
 
Most moved the other way... from Avid to FCP.... then to Premiere when apple did what they did with it. Some houses now like 10.
But to answer your question, youll have no worries going from one to the other.
 
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