Mike Krumlauf
Award Winning Filmmaker
I recently returned to what i learned on.. FCP pre X and i'm so happy. Was seeing if anyone else was still using FCP 7 or parts of FCS 2 or 3?
Who is still using Final Cut Studio 3 in 2019??
- Thread starter Mike Krumlauf
- Start date
I installed Final Cut Studio 3 on my macpro years ago. Still have it installed. Still use the computer sometimes but not fcs. Never really did as I've been a premiere guy since the late 90s. But it's there if I need it.
I expect many would still use fcp7 if the new codecs didn't become a problem
I expect many would still use fcp7 if the new codecs didn't become a problem
Mike Krumlauf
Award Winning Filmmaker
FCPX (i think) is crap and I switched from premiere to from FCP7 in 2014 and had been using it until the last 2 weeks or so. Canceled my subscription to CC and found my old FCS3 discs from 2009. Saves me money and honestly i like FCP 7 better.. it does even seem the render quality is better as well.
I would debate fcpx being crap. It is like learning to speak Japanese with your elbows but once you get past that it’s pretty cool. Could use some tweaks but it’s getting there and I don’t even have the latest version. Resolve also seems pretty cool from what little I’ve used it. 7 had its day but if youre still holding onto it youll wonder why after a short while with the new systems.
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
I would go to Resolve before I opened FCPX.
Resolve is fast, free, and doesn't ask you to change the paradigm of editing over what you already know.
Resolve is fast, free, and doesn't ask you to change the paradigm of editing over what you already know.
KarlSutton
Well-known member
Not to flame any NLE debate wars, I was an FCP7 user & was forced into FCPX as an early adopter by my employer - it was pretty frustrating for several months and it took over a year for features to make their way in that had been a part of the old paradigm. Now all these years later I have cut three feature length documentaries, several short films, countless other projects and when I jump back into track based editing it feels very antiquated to me now. Plus that was $300 spent 6 years ago with all free updates, do the math on what your CC is over that time. Then there's the no-rendering and faster performance that comes with FCPX. I believe if you went through a month or so of working on projects that weren't under tight deadlines, it would be worth it for you to see the benefits of FCPX.
Yes, mist distinguish between fcpx when it started and now. I only got ito t last year. Resolve has a free version BUT it lacks many features from the full version... no fx other than titles/generators, no noise reduction and the face/beauty tools. Perhaps for basic edits free version would suffice but I would think any pro editor, even doing somewhat simple stuff would want the paid version.
About a year or so ago a client had a documentary project they were doing in fcp7 so it was handy that I still had it too. What little I've used it, I like it. I just never spent much time with it: Deadlines and lots to do and I already knew premiere so...
After 20+ years I'll be moving away from premiere in the future though, as I won't do the rental CC.
So I'm looking at replacements. Fcs3 won't work for me as a main NLE because all but one of my workstations are windows and now I shoot 4k which I dont think (?) will work with fcs3
After 20+ years I'll be moving away from premiere in the future though, as I won't do the rental CC.
So I'm looking at replacements. Fcs3 won't work for me as a main NLE because all but one of my workstations are windows and now I shoot 4k which I dont think (?) will work with fcs3
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
I don't have any projects that do NOT have tight deadlines.
I don't have time to fiddle.
When I jumped into Davinci Resolve it was intuitive, and it just worked.
YMMV
El Director
Veteran
It used to not be a big deal to keep using the same version of software for years, but now everyone wants the latest and greatest. Unfortunately, latest may not always be greatest. I've been using Media Composer 8.4 since 2015 simply because it works. All I use my NLE for these days is cutting, so as long as I have a workflow to get my video into it and out of it to the other software I use, why upgrade? I've been updating Resolve regularly but with the past few releases adding Fairlight and now Fusion, it's starting to feel bloated and has been quite unstable. All I use it for is ingest and grading/mastering, so I downgraded Resolve to the version that came with my camera (12 or 12.5) before they introduced the stuff I don't use. It runs great and hasn't changed my workflow. I guess I'm at the point where when my whole "eccosystem" just works in concert (camera, computer, editing, vfx, sound, online), I don't see the point in upgrading anymore. Now that I have that stability and reliability, I probably won't look at upgrading anything until I either need to get a new camera or the computer dies.
Ive had stability issues with resolve 14 on Sierra. I like the all in one idea but it may not be ready for prime time. But then again someone on here said it likes the versions to keep up with the OSes for best results (i.e maybe 14 would play better with High Sierra).
I would imagine those who edit all the time and for a living have different needs than those who do it only occasionally. FCPx would not be fun to dive into if you had a couple days or a week to turn a project around.
I would imagine those who edit all the time and for a living have different needs than those who do it only occasionally. FCPx would not be fun to dive into if you had a couple days or a week to turn a project around.
Mike Krumlauf
Award Winning Filmmaker
Ditto.. FCP 7 just works. It works for what I need it to work for and it's the NLE i have nearly 20 years experience behind. Same mentality goes for my beast of a camera (Panavised F900).
Me too. I hope to stick with the same cameras for a while.
Once everything works I like to leave it alone
David W. Jones
Veteran
I keep a copy of FCP on an old Mac Pro for legacy project that resurface, but otherwise stopped using it long ago.
Batutta
Major Contributor
Main reason I haven't upgraded from Sierra. I do the bulk of my work on FCP 7, as everything I get comes to me in Prores. I hate the FCP X magnetic timeline. But I love a lot of the other features it has, mostly to do with audio, and how well it handles h.264 and Red footage. Deal breaker for me is media management, as it doesn't trim files when consolidating. Dipping into Resolve with a few projects, it still seems a little rough around the edges for editing, and I have performance issues on it I don't have on FCP X or 7.
TubEfingers
Well-known member
I don't miss having to transcode everything to ProRes before I can start cutting with FCP7!
FCPX took a while to get used to but i couldn't go back to FCP7, X is blazing fast in comparison on a decently specced machine
FCPX took a while to get used to but i couldn't go back to FCP7, X is blazing fast in comparison on a decently specced machine
Resolve 15 (latest) is pretty good and worth learning. You can do things in Resolve that aren't possible in FCP (any), PP CC, AE, Avid etc. I find it useful to periodically experiment with FCP X and Resolve (I use PP CC mainly) to see what the other tools can do and if they provide unique solutions or ways to do things faster/more-efficiently. For example, I recently learned that Resolve's 3D keyer can provide 'single hair-level' green screen keying (in 8-bit 422!) which I had never been able to do in PP CC, FCP X, or After Effects. The fact that it's super easy and fast was another eye-opener. I dig the node-based model as well. FCP X's magnetic timeline never bothered me; just different. Each system can be useful for different project types.
After using 3DSMax for years for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering (including writing sophisticated C/C++ plugins to export data for games and simulations), and later Blender and Maya, NLEs are so much simpler in comparison that learning them all (at least a basic familiarity) is a useful since they all have different strengths and weaknesses. I even tried HitFilm a few times; only reason I stopped was it was so slow compared to everything else (same reason I stopped using Vegas years ago (and too many bugs). I had used Vegas as it was the only NLE I could use to edit Sony TD10 stereo 3D video. Cineform had a plugin for Premiere for 3D but proved too buggy).
It's good in general to keep challenging yourself and learning new things- "brain plasticity" to promote creativity and probably more importantly, to think for yourself (not follow the herd) and at the same time be open-minded (sometimes others/groups have valid points/ideas). This helps one develop discernment- to have confidence in one's views and at the same be able to accept new views as more accurate/useful/true; being aware of one's own biases and willing to let them go when appropriate (awareness of the need and acceptance to seek a balanced ego (which is a never ending process)).
After using 3DSMax for years for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering (including writing sophisticated C/C++ plugins to export data for games and simulations), and later Blender and Maya, NLEs are so much simpler in comparison that learning them all (at least a basic familiarity) is a useful since they all have different strengths and weaknesses. I even tried HitFilm a few times; only reason I stopped was it was so slow compared to everything else (same reason I stopped using Vegas years ago (and too many bugs). I had used Vegas as it was the only NLE I could use to edit Sony TD10 stereo 3D video. Cineform had a plugin for Premiere for 3D but proved too buggy).
It's good in general to keep challenging yourself and learning new things- "brain plasticity" to promote creativity and probably more importantly, to think for yourself (not follow the herd) and at the same time be open-minded (sometimes others/groups have valid points/ideas). This helps one develop discernment- to have confidence in one's views and at the same be able to accept new views as more accurate/useful/true; being aware of one's own biases and willing to let them go when appropriate (awareness of the need and acceptance to seek a balanced ego (which is a never ending process)).
NorBro
Major Contributor
Would you believe me if I told you I've edited 4K on a MacBook Air for 4 years before 2018.
I can't do any heavy color grading or of course crazy effects, but once I transcode to proxies overnight (thus working in the 'better performance' mode), I am in business. I wasted a small fortune on cameras over the years, but have been extremely frugal and more importantly productively and financially efficient with hardware/software costs because of FCP X.
You would have to pay me a vary large 'inconvenience fee' to use anything else.