The eternal question: which editing software should I switch to?

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oxband

Well-known member
I've been using FCP7 for 5 years. But as I begin this month editing a feature length doc I'll be working on for a couple years, I'm ready to change. The eternal question: which program do you suggest I switch to? The ones I'm considering are Avid, Premiere, and FCPX


I know FCPX is supposed to be really good at tagging clips and adding metadata, something I se as really useful for the way I work. Although that's not necessarily a reason to switch to that.


So, advice on which program to use?
 
oxband said:
I've been using FCP7 for 5 years. But as I begin this month editing a feature length doc I'll be working on for a couple years, I'm ready to change. The eternal question: which program do you suggest I switch to? The ones I'm considering are Avid, Premiere, and FCPX


I know FCPX is supposed to be really good at tagging clips and adding metadata, something I se as really useful for the way I work. Although that's not necessarily a reason to switch to that.


So, advice on which program to use?
Click to expand...

What computer configuration are you using?

FCPX may feel a little "dumbed down" compared to FCP7 or Premiere and such.

For me, I returned to FCP from Premiere when FCPX started to make use of both of the GPUs on the new Mac Pro. This has sped up my post work significantly. What used to take two minutes to stabilize a clip in Premiere now takes me 15-30 seconds in FCPX/New Mac Pro. I know these aren't scientific numbers, but they are try to my experience.

I do find myself getting a bit frustrated at the working environment of FCPX a bit, but not enough to make me go back to Premiere. However, without this speed advantage (support of multiple GPUs), I would not stick with FCPX. I don't think Premiere has adopted support for multiple GPUs yet, but I'm sure they will in the future.

What im saying is that it depends on your configuration, and what's important to you.
 
I did a documentary project a couple of years back and tried out FCPX on it. I had a pretty terrible time. Trying to lay down VO and music over B-roll with those magnetic timelines moving everything around had me cursing and pulling my hair out. I hear they've since fixed a couple of the bugs I experienced but I don't think I'll go back. Just the way the playhead followed the cursor around was enough to make my blood boil. I know proponents say that "it's just a new way of editing and once you learn it..." Whatever I've got clients sitting behind me. I will say it's worked pretty well for music videos.
Switched over to Premiere and, while no NLE is perfect, I love it. Adobe sort of picked up where Apple left off when they scrapped the old system. Avid's great, too. Many editors/filmmakers I know and respect swear by it.

Really it's up to you. Do the 30-day trials. If you have an Nvida card Premiere is lightning-fast. What Abreu-Canedo up there said about the MacPro is also true. Depends on your system and your workflow style and what works for you.
 
Since you're the one who's going to be doing the cutting, I don't think anyone else's opinion is as important as yours.

There are free trials for Avid, FCP-X, Lightworks and Premiere, all of which run on the Mac. Download each & see how it feels. See if it will seem to suit your needs.

Another thing to consider, who will you be collaborating with, and how will you exchange work with them? Avid, Lightworks and Premiere can all export & import AAF and EDL files. FCP-X cannot, but some programs can import & export xml files for FCP-X.
 
I agree with arniepix. The question is: who will you be collaborating with? Avid has proven to be the most friendly with other post production department, i.e., the post sound department. Premiere is almost there :)
 
I switched to Premiere CC from FCP7 about a year ago. Anytime FCP ever crashed, I lost hours or even days of work. First time Premiere crashed (and it was weeks before it did), Premiere said it would try to save the project , and it did - intact even up to the last 5 minutes. I would never go back.
 
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