I'm not sure what to get. I can get adobe's Master Collection suite for $550 through my school which gives me everything i need to edit video as well as design content. or i can get adobe's Design Premium for $350 (for design) and Final Cut Express for $100 through my school. id eventually migrate to Final Cut Studio in the future but for now i don't have the funds. So basically should i just get adobe's software and don't even bother with Final Cut or is Final Cut a better suite for making videos?
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FCE or adobe CS3 Master Collection
- Thread starter NRose8989
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That's a bizarre question, because you're really comparing a prosumer application (FCE) with a professional software suite (CS3 Master). FCE is somewhat limited in what video formats it supports. It'll do DV, HDV and AVCHD, but that's about it. You'll quickly find yourself wanting to upgrade if you need to edit footage that uses a professional codec, like P2-based Panasonic cameras.
Apple sells the educational version of FCS2 for $699. But my college bookstore had even better pricing on the same software ($499). I'd check with your college bookstore to see if they stock FCS2 and what they sell it for.
But with that said, there's still differences. For example, the CS3 Master Collection will give you applications like Photoshop, whereas FCS2 isn't bundled with image manipulation software.
In any case, you really need to choose the package that will suit your actual needs the best. I prefer Final Cut because I'm used to it. Adobe's equivalent is Premiere. I honestly can't comment on the current version because I haven't used Premiere in several years (and that was on a Windows machine). Both FCS2 and the Adobe CS3 family offer tight integration between individual applications.
What format of video do you see yourself editing the most? There are several standards (DV, HDV, DVCPRO, DVCAM, XDCAM, REDCODE, etc.).
Apple sells the educational version of FCS2 for $699. But my college bookstore had even better pricing on the same software ($499). I'd check with your college bookstore to see if they stock FCS2 and what they sell it for.
But with that said, there's still differences. For example, the CS3 Master Collection will give you applications like Photoshop, whereas FCS2 isn't bundled with image manipulation software.
In any case, you really need to choose the package that will suit your actual needs the best. I prefer Final Cut because I'm used to it. Adobe's equivalent is Premiere. I honestly can't comment on the current version because I haven't used Premiere in several years (and that was on a Windows machine). Both FCS2 and the Adobe CS3 family offer tight integration between individual applications.
What format of video do you see yourself editing the most? There are several standards (DV, HDV, DVCPRO, DVCAM, XDCAM, REDCODE, etc.).
sorry i should have been a bit more clear. anywho ill be shooting in AVCHD. and my concern is i don't want to learn adobe's software then find myself moving to FCS. instead i was wondering if i should start with FCE so i can learn the way final cut works then migrate to FCS (with motion etc.) when I'm ready OR just jump right into premiere (with after effects etc.). are there any pros and cons to either? or are they just different ways to make the same thing?
If you'll be strictly editing with AVCHD footage for the time being, FCE will get the job done fine. The timeline interface itself is practically identical to FCP. Migrating to FCP later on is relatively painless once you get used to how FCE works.
After Effects is the de facto standard for digital compositing, but IIRC, Adobe prices the educational version at $399. A lot of times it makes more financial sense to buy it as part of the CS3 Production Suite, which gives you other applications like Photoshop. An alternative to After Effects would be Apple Shake, but it has an arguably more complicated workflow.
I've been in a similar dilemma because I love After Effects, but the educational CS3 Production Suite is only a couple hundred dollars more, yet it comes packaged with software that I'll never use (like Premiere).
After Effects is the de facto standard for digital compositing, but IIRC, Adobe prices the educational version at $399. A lot of times it makes more financial sense to buy it as part of the CS3 Production Suite, which gives you other applications like Photoshop. An alternative to After Effects would be Apple Shake, but it has an arguably more complicated workflow.
I've been in a similar dilemma because I love After Effects, but the educational CS3 Production Suite is only a couple hundred dollars more, yet it comes packaged with software that I'll never use (like Premiere).