Final Cut blues

Sowlobro

Sowlobro

Member
I have recently been hired by a marketing company to head their video production wing. Youpi! I said. . . I know I look a gifthorse in the mouth but, imagine my surprise when I walked into my brand new office with skyline view to find a Mac 8 core with Final Cut Studio installed. Now do not get me wrong here, I really accept every software platform and software out there. I believe that the most important thing is to get the result, no matter where and how you work. What counts is the beauty that comes out the other end. . . . That being said, I never thought a workflow could be so different than that of my VEGAS 9 setup. These two software are so different. Not only do I find myself having to re learn how to edit, but I need to re learn my whole creative process. . . WOW! Nothing is like it used to be.

Here is my dilema. Please feel free to analyse my psyche here. I had to bring in my PC to work on urgent projects while. Now I have a PC and a Mac sitting side by side. Should I rip the band-aid off and force myself to work with FINAL CUT or should I tell my boss to take the Mac to another office where it will be used. All these years of training. I guess the feeling I have is that the Mac might yield something superior in the end.


Give me your thoughts but please do not bash Software. I've had enough of gear talk.

Please note that this will be posted on the Final Cut and the Vegas Forum. Try your best to be impartial.
 
Talk to the boss- I'm sure they could care less what tool you use as long as the quality of the work is good. The only possible reason that could give for insisting on an FCP only system would be if they expect you to share projects with another editor. Otherwise it's probably they bought the system the thought the job would require but in the end it's about who's driving not which car- right?

I happen to be an FCP guy and if someone hired me for that job and sat me down in front of a Vegas system I'd say let me use the app I know. Don't force me to learn this box just because it's sitting on the table. No client would care what a project is posted in anyway- they'd just expect the best final product.

Noah
 
If you lead a team that has to use the same tool - learn FCP. If you work alone but will lead a team, and FCP is a corporate standard - learn FCP. If you want to add another buzzword to your resume - learn FCP. If you want to use the same system that is used by BBC - learn FCP.

If you work alone and don't care about future gigs - use Vegas.
 
All points well taken people. As it stands I will be working with sub contractors. Using the law of probabilities, the chance that they are using FCS are higher. I still am sad. . .tehe. . . After a few lagers I will get over it I suppose.
 
I wish you well whatever your choice is, but if you do decide to take the plunge and work in FCP, it will never look as daunting as it does now. Sure it's different - every software platform in a given category is. But once you start learning it, I'm sure you'll quickly find many parallels to Vegas (which I admit I have no knowledge of). In the end, you'll have two platforms you can work professionally in. A challenge for sure, but potentially a win-win situation.

In fairness, imagining myself trying to learn Vegas, if it's possible to get your hands on a Mac/FCP system, even an older version, at home, you'll be able to get up to speed much more quickly. Spending some unpaid time at your client's office training yourself on their system is another alternative. There are many excellent tutorial available for FCP, including ones Apple provides with the software. Ripple Training also has some great tutorial DVDs:

www.rippletraining.com

Best of luck!
 
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Thank you

Thank you

Thanks for the advice. I took a premium membership at Lynda.com and that is helping me a great deal as well. I will check out your link. At the moment, I have lynda open all the time on a second screen as I work in FCP. What has proven to be ginourmously helpful is the help tab with the little flying buttons. What is cool is that a great deal of my frustration is knowing how to do something but having to re learn simply where I have got to go. The intention is there but the I'm a bit lost. . . . All Hail the help button!
 
While the differences are there, the basic things MUST be the same: timeline-files-preview-etc...I would say get yourself a book and do a crash course! If you are experienced with vegas it should be a quick transition to learn fcp, after all its just a tool.
Maybe its more your mind thats the problem, being afraid to learn new things ? ;-)
 
Cranky said:
If you lead a team that has to use the same tool - learn FCP. If you work alone but will lead a team, and FCP is a corporate standard - learn FCP. If you want to add another buzzword to your resume - learn FCP. If you want to use the same system that is used by BBC - learn FCP.

If you work alone and don't care about future gigs - use Vegas.
Click to expand...

I agree with everything but Cranky's last statement.

I work alone for the most part, do care about future gigs, and edit with Premiere Pro CS3. Been using it for 7 years and never had a project it couldn't
handle. Clients never ask what software I'm using. If you know Vegas, can produce gold with Vegas, use Vegas.

That being said, I did learn the basics of AVID to make myself more marketable
and to be able to collaborate with other editors. I'd like to do the same with FCP, but I live in a PC world and it's just not feasible at the moment.

Switching NLEs is not as daunting as it might seem. Hopefully you can get a copy of FCP so you can practice at home. Trying to learn on the fly as you're working might be a little more difficult.

Peter
 
I'll keep you posted as to my decision. By the way, I was lucky enough to have a copy of the software at home. Time to put my nose to the grinder. Thanks for the advice. Time to quit complaining and get working.
 
Id say its always good to learn new apps, especially one as powerful and widely used as FCP...i went from PC's onto macs and NEVER looked back. You don't have to convert yourself to being a mac user but its definitely a good skill to have!
 
Spending one day editing a simple piece with FCP will learn the basics.

If you need an introduction, google a 7 day free coupon for lynda.com, and use those tutorials to build a foundation
 
Me Myself & I said:
I agree with everything but Cranky's last statement.

I work alone for the most part, do care about future gigs, and edit with Premiere Pro CS3. Been using it for 7 years and never had a project it couldn't handle. Clients never ask what software I'm using. If you know Vegas, can produce gold with Vegas, use Vegas.
Click to expand...
You can swap FCP and Vegas in the problem above, and nothing will change. I am a software developer by day. You have to keep with current technologies if you do not want to miss an opportunity. Or you can continue to use the tools you are used to, only to find out someday that no one uses them anymore or that people using other tools have higher salaries and are in higher demand. With job insecurity on the rise the more flexible you are the better.

If you work alone then using what you are used to is fine. But if you want to become a member of a larger team then you have to learn the tools the team use.
 
Someone hired you to edit without asking if you knew the system they were using? Wow...that wasn't very smart. That is like a basic question. Does the person you are hiring have the skills to use the tool you provide? That is one question I am always asked, and believe it or not, it is the FIRST question they ask. Because they need to know if the rest of the interview will be fruitful. If I don't know the tool, they say "good day, maybe next time."

Learn the tool they are using. I think it would be in very bad form to ask to use a different system. Because what if they need to revisit a project you worked on at a later date? Well, now you are gone and all they have are the Vegas projects...and an FCP setup. You were hired to use their tools...so best to learn those tools.

Sounds like you are...so that is good.
 
I went from another editor to FCP where the philosphies were quite different. I found the Apple Pro Training book tutorial for FCP to be ideal. I went thru the first chapters in a couple days, and got up to speed quickly. Makes a difference if you already know editing.
 
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