DC
Cinematographiliac
I agree. It can always be better but it is an awesome tool. 2008 seems to be a year of great change for Avid. I bet we are gonna see some amazing new products at affordable prices. At least I hope so.
Thinking about going AVID
- Thread starter USLatin
- Start date
I agree. It can always be better but it is an awesome tool. 2008 seems to be a year of great change for Avid. I bet we are gonna see some amazing new products at affordable prices. At least I hope so.
FCP might be better than Xpress Pro... from what has been said here and in a few threads I have trouble believing that FCP has an advantage on the higher emulations of AVID. Because of this the big money will stay on the AVID side long enough for AVID to react to the market shift. Also, if they are the company with the best stuff at whatever price point, then they are the ones with the most advanced product... they can still develop it further and they can charge whatever they want for it. A little bit of investment and financial planning is all it will take for AVID to turn the tables and start slowly getting that market share back on their side... and I doubt they are desperate or have a need to gain it back quickly. So long as they plan their move well enough there is no danger in AVID's future and we will all benefit from the increased level of competition!
This is the allure that has me exited to cut in AVID.
But the possibility to get AVID work is what made me go for it.
I hope to get some. I hope soon.
This is the allure that has me exited to cut in AVID.
But the possibility to get AVID work is what made me go for it.
I hope to get some. I hope soon.
If you need to cut your personal projects then just use what works for you and your existing hardware. FCP or Avid or Vegas will never show itself in the final product.
But if you want to get a good job in this town, you're better off becoming proficient in Avid. That's just the reality of it.
btw, this reminds me of the Quark versus InDesign debates. Both are perfectly capable programs. Just like FCP in the film editing world, InDesign has taken a foothold in the print industry. But Quark is still the older established king and you will not be competitive in the real world not knowing Quark.
The same goes for Avid.
None of this really means one or the other is necessarily better. But it's a fact that Avid (and Quark) are still the mainstay programs in the working world.
But if you want to get a good job in this town, you're better off becoming proficient in Avid. That's just the reality of it.
btw, this reminds me of the Quark versus InDesign debates. Both are perfectly capable programs. Just like FCP in the film editing world, InDesign has taken a foothold in the print industry. But Quark is still the older established king and you will not be competitive in the real world not knowing Quark.
The same goes for Avid.
None of this really means one or the other is necessarily better. But it's a fact that Avid (and Quark) are still the mainstay programs in the working world.
S
SeanEmer
Guest
Maybe we should all learn Avid AND Final Cut... then we wouldn't have to argue about this stuff.
Take_1
Well-known member
BMFM FILMS
Well-known member
That's the tough part. Avid and Final Cut are totally different. It'll take me a while to try learning Avid.
It's like you just learned how to ride a bike, and now you gotta start all over again.
triplej96
Veteran
I've been all Avid for past few years. Used FCP once but someday I plan to get a better grasp of FCP. So I can add it to my aresenal!
Nathaniel McInnes
Active member
I no FCP like the back of my hand, and have done at least 1000 hours of project work in it and i love it. But now, im starting to be freelanced all over the place and most people just dont use FCP in britain for broadcast stuff. Its all AVID. Thats why im looking to learn it. I have sat next to a guy who was editing a feature in AVID Nitris DS i think. And all i can say is that it ran smoothly and was powerful.
I think knowing both doesn't hurt, Use avid for your bigger, more demanding projects and use FCP just for small things. Or even use the tools like Color that come with FCP in the FCS package.
I like the who FCS/APPLE process. Edit the film in FCP. Export it as a movie and put it on a disk in IDVD (of course design a dvd menu), i no thats not the most high-end professional studios work flow, but my clients love it, (mostly government, Training videos, Educational DVD's) and i seem to get nice pay for it.
Cheers
I think knowing both doesn't hurt, Use avid for your bigger, more demanding projects and use FCP just for small things. Or even use the tools like Color that come with FCP in the FCS package.
I like the who FCS/APPLE process. Edit the film in FCP. Export it as a movie and put it on a disk in IDVD (of course design a dvd menu), i no thats not the most high-end professional studios work flow, but my clients love it, (mostly government, Training videos, Educational DVD's) and i seem to get nice pay for it.
Cheers
arrestthisman
Well-known member
DONT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Avid is truely terrible software. Go to their support forums for five minutes, and compare it to the FCP (or any other NLE) forums.
I've edited in Avid for over 6 years. Yes it is the best interface there is. I prefer it vastly to FCP. Yes, it's quick as hell.
But it quickly becomes obsolete, the updates are a headache (how many AVID editors have passed out holding their breath making sure they're new update is bug free?). Their compatibiliy is lacking.
Now IF you have an IT guy, and are networking on a high end system, it's great, but other than that, FCP for indies is much better overall.
The biggest thing is Data Loss. Obviously your millage may vary, but I once lost about 6 minutes of edited footage on the timeline for no real reason. It was saved. Auto saved, then locked up. Reboot, and my stuff is gone.
Now I'm not a n00b, and I don't like putting down software because a lot of work goes into it and software doesn't deserve to be put down unless it is sheer crap. But I used to fix comps for a living. Pretty much all of my friends do the same. And it is my opinion that AVID releases software FAR before it is fully tested and ready.
Data loss in this day and age, is totally unacceptable.
Before someone flames me, I just want to say again, the UI, the interface is awesome, their realtime engine is also awesome. I want to use it SO bad, but it's just plain old too buggy.
Can anyone remember Avid Xpress 2.0? How it worked for about 15 minutes before crashing, on average. They are getting better, but still have a long way to go. Avid nearly drove me to suicide. FCP has problems, I like Vegas alot, too, no NLE is pefect; but if you value your work and don't have an IT staff FCP is a lot more solid. Don't bother with Xpress, MC is much better, but even the software only version is not bug free.
That all said, AVID's latest offerings may be good. I hear they've made changes, and I switched a year ago so I haven't kept track.
My .02 cents.
I've edited in Avid for over 6 years. Yes it is the best interface there is. I prefer it vastly to FCP. Yes, it's quick as hell.
But it quickly becomes obsolete, the updates are a headache (how many AVID editors have passed out holding their breath making sure they're new update is bug free?). Their compatibiliy is lacking.
Now IF you have an IT guy, and are networking on a high end system, it's great, but other than that, FCP for indies is much better overall.
The biggest thing is Data Loss. Obviously your millage may vary, but I once lost about 6 minutes of edited footage on the timeline for no real reason. It was saved. Auto saved, then locked up. Reboot, and my stuff is gone.
Now I'm not a n00b, and I don't like putting down software because a lot of work goes into it and software doesn't deserve to be put down unless it is sheer crap. But I used to fix comps for a living. Pretty much all of my friends do the same. And it is my opinion that AVID releases software FAR before it is fully tested and ready.
Data loss in this day and age, is totally unacceptable.
Before someone flames me, I just want to say again, the UI, the interface is awesome, their realtime engine is also awesome. I want to use it SO bad, but it's just plain old too buggy.
Can anyone remember Avid Xpress 2.0? How it worked for about 15 minutes before crashing, on average. They are getting better, but still have a long way to go. Avid nearly drove me to suicide. FCP has problems, I like Vegas alot, too, no NLE is pefect; but if you value your work and don't have an IT staff FCP is a lot more solid. Don't bother with Xpress, MC is much better, but even the software only version is not bug free.
That all said, AVID's latest offerings may be good. I hear they've made changes, and I switched a year ago so I haven't kept track.
My .02 cents.
arrestthisman
Well-known member
AMEN!
DC
Cinematographiliac
I won't flame you but I think you're being a little rough on Avid. Sure, there are problems like any other but it is still used in 90% of film production. If it was so terrible, it wouldn't be. I have Xpress Pro and it (normally) works just fine with superb media management.
That said, I'm excited to see how Avid will be reorganizing the company this year.
Dude, just go into the Avid Attic folder. It has backups of almost any changes you have recently done. You didnt have data loss, you just didnt know how to recover your bins.
Take_1
Well-known member
Are you on dope? Really... I'm serious here.
Before you go smashing software you better be up on your facts dude. Avid products produce more than 85% of everything you see on TV and on the big screen. If the product sucked like you errantly claim, believe me, we wouldn't be using it using it at all. The fact that it is stable and reliable is why we use it.
Don't know why you had a bad experience but in the big scheme of things you are in the minority. We just finished posting two different HD television series (23 episodes). One in 1080i (XDCam HD) the other in 720p/59.94 (P2/Firestore). One series was on MAC the other on PC. The turnaround time was 6 weeks. Both systems were flawless.
If you don't like Avid thats fine, you have the right to choose what you want. But don't go disin' it when its obvious you don't have a clue of what your talking about.
'Nuf said.
grinner
Carbonite Member
rofl
this may the the most ironicly funny post I have seen here.
where did you get these hard facts from, avid.com?
lol
cheezweezl
Veteran
this is very true. i don't know what level of projects you are shooting for but in my experience, most of the freelance gigs out there are more geared towards FCP. i know a lot of the bigger gigs are still avid based but wouldn't that require a big avid rig with avid hardware? ( forgive me if i'm wrong about this ) i use FCP primarily. i have a copy of vegas on my pc and i like it i guess but it's worthless compatibility-wise. there are no jobs for vegas editors that i have ever seen in l.a..
i considered switching to avid from FCP a while back. in my recording days, i once switched from cubase to pro tools (made by avid) and it was like night and day. pro tools is so much better than anything else out there for audio. i thought this same logic would apply to video. however, i downloaded the trial version and just couldn't get my head around the interface and workflow. so i figured that i am getting constant work and great results with my FCP rig so why switch? believe me, if it meant a lot more work or better paying gigs, i would jump in a second.
anybody have thoughts on this?
DC
Cinematographiliac
I've told this to people many times . . .
You need to empty the FCP (or any other NLE) workflow from your mind as you enter Avid land. Avid is like an OS within an OS. Once you grasp the Avid way, you'll be slicing and dicing swift as lightning.
Besides taking some classes/workshops . . .
I recommend the following book:
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/martin_josh/xpress_quickstart.php
And visually, get this DVD tutorial:
http://www.createspace.com/Store/ShowEStore.jsp?id=205334
Even YouTube has some great stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR2g76eSu08
Take_1
Well-known member
Because Apple is pure, holy and honest too? They lie worse than anyone I've ever seen (Mac vs PC campaign comes to mind for starters). And frankly, anyone can skew anything. Its nearly impossible to get straight answers on anything anymore. So, find something you can work with and go with it. Each to his own.