the dreaded mac vs pc debate

cecil995

cecil995

Well-known member
Here is a question that I know will get many biased answers.

Is Final Cut Pro better than Premiere Pro.....or any pc based editing program for that matter?

Looking for jobs is becoming more frustrating than ever due to the fact of the increasing references to " must have experience in final cut pro". My dilema is that due to many circumstances ( mostly money ) I have never had the chance to get my hands on final cut. My feeling is that if you know how to edit, it doesn't matter what program you use because that program is simply an extention of your own abilities.

I like using premiere pro for many reasons ( lots of hours logged on it, 24p support, easy use with photoshop, illustrator, affer effects). I can do anything that I want with it....being a 30 second short to a 3 hour feature. I understand that places want to hire someone who is comfortable with what they are using, but really, most nle programs have the same basic feature...just with different names.

I would not mind owning a mac....but for several thousand dollars more than a comparable pc system....it is out of my price range...and is it really worth it after all? Are you really paying for performance, or for something that looks cool and is the current " tickle me elmo"?

Wow, this is long-winded. So back to my original dilema, what do I do if i have no final cut experience....even if i am otherwise very qualified for the job

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Your thread title is bordering on openning Pandora's box. I think that you would have a more fair and balanced response to not post a thread like this in the Cafe, but rather the FCP channel.
 
If you're comfortable with Premiere, stick with it. If employers feel you need to have Final Cut experience, lie. Tell them you do. I was able to jump right in on both Final Cut and Media 100 for a place I did some work for. I'm a Vegas user. It's not all that different, to be honest.
 
The only thing that really matters if you want to get a job is that you meet their requirements for the position. If that means you have to juggle coconuts then that's the breaks.

If you want to produce a professional video there are a lot of ways to go about it and it's not really a question of what you're using to get there.

I've never understood the mac vs. pc debate... why should there be a debate? Why is it that people get offended if you think that another product is better then the one THEY use? Isn't that really immature?

I've been on PC forever, but I have friends who use mac and I think the mac is a better platform for graphics design, video, and many audio programs... but since there are so many more pcs out there you have vastly more choices in software and plugins to go with that software.

So you can say good and bad things about either... but in the professional world most video is going to be done on Avid or FCP (at the higher end of the industry).

The only thing that's kept me on pc for all these years is $.
 
You could always just buy some training DVD's. VTC has pretty good Final Cut Pro training DVDs. Final Cut is very easy to learn. You could pick it up within a day of tooling around. Try and find a friend who has it and give it a try.
 
TheYankee said:
Your thread title is bordering on openning Pandora's box. I think that you would have a more fair and balanced response to not post a thread like this in the Cafe, but rather the FCP channel.
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no offense to the mac ppl.....but they can be alittle touchy about any final cut critisism. My thing is that if it works it works...and on the level that final cut, premiere and vegas are on...you can't really go wrong with any of them
 
i think it is a matter of speed.. how quickly you can work on the software and not your skills as an editor. any post house wont want to sit you with a client (who is paying by the hour) while you are in the software learning curve. Fcp is quite easy to get to grips with if you are nle savy. so jump on a friends machine and you will be smoking in a couple of days..
 
cecil995 said:
My thing is that if it works it works...and on the level that final cut, premiere and vegas are on...you can't really go wrong with any of them
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Correct.:thumbsup:
 
this isn't really about the software or the computer platform is it..? more about how to get a job using software you havent been on. am i right?
 
KOVAROVA said:
this isn't really about the software or the computer platform is it..? more about how to get a job using software you havent been on. am i right?
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Yeah I also thought that's what it was about, rather then wanting reassurance in a particular NLE.

I've been on premiere for YEARS and I just recently made the switch to Vegas (although I had an old version of Vegas that I only played around in before)... but if you want to better understand the situation check the render times doing AE stuff integrated into Premiere and then compare that with Motion stuff integrated into FCP. Trust me mac is really solid and stable. There are 10x the software options for pc... but what mac has is good.
 
I have only used FCP having been on Mac since 1987. I went through a couple of books that I found amazinglly helpful to get up and running. I'll post the Amazon links below.

I know two people that have gone from Premiere to FCP and neither is looking back. I know of another looking to change from Premiere to either Avid or FCP. From posts here and other places, and newsletters, it appears that most nle's are a least on some level similar. I HAVE read that there is a longer learning curve with Avid, though. Not saying it's not good, just a longer learning curve.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03...102-3209647-8368916?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/03...9647-8368916?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155
 
Just a little history FWIW. This is from memory and from recalling online discussions with Randy Ubillos years ago.

Randy Ubillos was the chief software architect of Premiere when it first came out as a Mac program which was later ported to the PC.

While at Adobe, Ubillos was working on "Final Cut" to be the replacement for Premiere.

Adobe didn't want to release Final Cut reportedly because the feature set was too "pro" for them at that time and they didn't believe there would be a market for an upscale editor and so it was sold to Macromedia. Ubillos was perturbed and left Adobe over this.

"Final Cut" was probably the most famous piece of vaporware ever as Macromedia didn't really know what to do with it for several years . Eventually Apple bought it and developed it into "Final Cut Pro."

After Apple launched FCP, Adobe eventually dropped the Mac version of Premiere.

So the two programs have the same lineage and creator Randy Ubillos. But obviously they have taken different courses over time.

As for the suggestion earlier that a PC system comparable to a Mac system would cost thousands less, this is an old old myth and typically among PRO systems, similarly equipped Mac & PC systems cost roughly the same with the Mac often being a few bucks cheaper.
 
If you feel you have the cutting skills, do like the others sugest, pick up a book or two. I really like Digital Film tree's series. Puruse through them, spend an hour or two on a friends system, and the transition would be utterly seemless as far as a client is concerned.
 
the original question was about getting a job without final cut experience, but it seems to have morphed into something more (my fault). I guess i was just wondering what was so much better about final cut pro. I'm not knocking any platform....I know that final cut is a pro application. It's just not the only pro application out there

as far as avid is concerned....I have used media composer and i think that is the most "pro" of any platform....much much more stable than anything else. The people in the apple marketing firm do a heck of a job though....every movie that has a computer in it is always seems to be a mac of some sort.

So the origial question has been answered....thank you for the responces. As far as anything else, I guess it will just lead to some interesting debate.
 
It's so funny to me, being an amac/fcp user since i was 14 years old, and i run into problems with applying for certain jobs ,and find most are looking for Avid editors. All platforms are basically the same, but its never bad to learn a little of each, get as much experience on each platform, and it should do you well.

You could also do one of those weekend FCP courses and get certified than you have a lot to show employers
 
You could make a barebones FCP system for under 1,000. It might not be very fast, but its a mac.

I think that if an employer is looking for a mac person with fcp experience you shouldn't lie about it. Not knowing mac osx will make it very difficult to "fake it" and you won't work as fast as you would on a pc. I'd get the cheapest mac I could find just to play around with it ... often times people don't just use FCP alone, but they use other applications (adobe stuff, specifically, and then the other FCP packaged applications.)

FCP is simple, but it can be more complex as far as your options of workflow that could save you hours in the short-term.
 
For about a grand you could take a week-long intensive in FCP at any of several Apple training centers around the country (if you are in a major metro area of course). You can then take the test and become a Certified Apple Pro (should you pass the test) and have the skills ***and the certificate*** and not the cost of hardware and software.

http://www.apple.com/software/pro/training/centers.php
 
Blaine said:
I know two people that have gone from Premiere to FCP and neither is looking back. I know of another looking to change from Premiere to either Avid or FCP.
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I think when people say ' premiere ' they need to be specific. I don't think that Premiere Pro should even be grouped with any of the other versions. It's totally different. I can see why they would switch from the older verisions. Forget about 6.5 and earlier. They are inferior to FCP But when you say Premiere Pro to Final Cut Pro, my opinion is taht they are dead even and both great programs. I have used both a lot, but since I just happen to be a PC guy, I'm using PP. But you can't go wrong with FCP either.
 
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