Why should I try FCP if I only ever use Motion?

[DanDOF]

Hi there I've had Final Cut Studio for a number of years as a prosumer home movie maker. I've always just cut my clips in Motion while I add Looks and motion graphics.

The reason I have been resistant is bc of my assumption that I need to render as soon as I add any effect. I like Motion for being able to live preview effects, unless of course things get really choppy and then I do a ram preview.

My question to all you FCP users is this: What am I missing out on by never using FCP to edit my short films?

The only reason I can think of is to use Twixtor in FCP, which I own but never use.

 

[super_plus]

There are a number of effects in FCP that allow you to view in realtime, but it really depends on how fast your machine is. While you can edit in motion, it is much easier and efficient to do it in FCP where you don't have to keep doing RAM previews.

 

[kwoff]

You may not be missing anything if Motion meets all of your needs. It is just about impossible to respond to your question, as only you know what your needs are and what you want to do with your footage. There are many tools in FCP that are not in Motion that you may or man not want to use. I would suggest looking through the features of FCP to see if there is something there that looks like something you would like to try. Or you could spend some time familiarizing yourself with what experienced film and video editors do to see if there are additional things you would like to do with your footage that you cannot do in Motion.

Finally, here are links to a two-part article from Pro Video Coalition on Editing in Motion, as opposed to FCP, with a number of reader comments you might find informative:

http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/apple/story/editing_in_motion_part_1/

http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/apple/story/editing_in_motion_part_2/

 

[NoahK]

How long are your projects? I find Motion unsuitable for anything more than a few shots cut together. After that it becomes a job for FCP. But as with anything, you should use the tool you feel more comfortable with.

Noah