Final Cut Pro X vs. Adobe Premiere Pro vs. Other

[TwoLaneHighway]

I have been busy learning videography over the last year or two, and now have a very large portfolio of raw footage. But ironically, I haven't a clue of how to edit this raw footage and produce professional-looking final videos.

What are the pros and cons of choosing Apple's Final Cut Pro X vs. Adobe's Premiere Pro vs. other possible video editing software?

My end goal is to purchase software that is *professional-grade* and that could be used to produce high-end videos/movies/documentaries.

It seems to me that Adobe's Premiere Pro is considered the "top dog" in video-editing software.

However, my biggest problem with Adobe is that they have switched to a subscription model, and if you want to use any of their software, you are stuck for life having to pay a monthly/annual subscription.

My other issue with Adobe software - speaking from experience - is that their new subscription-based software seems like a real fubar as far as gumming up your computer. (I installed a trial version of some Adobe software a few years ago, and I have yet to figure out how to get it completely off of my other Mac?!)

But at the same time, it seems like Adobe offers superior software when you consider Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and so on.

So which video-editing software should I choose?

I am leaning towards Apple's Final Cut Pro X because it is only $400, and I would owe it forever!

In the end, I just want to be smart which software I choose up front, because I don't want to waste a bunch of time going down one path, only to find out it won't meet my needs down the road.

****
P.S. I guess one other big consideration is community support. I know there are tons of how-to videos on YouTube for everything, but I really want one or more online communities where I can talk to people and get help when I need it. I love MacRumors, but to be honest, this particular forum seems like it lacks much activity over the last 6 months, which is surprising. And when I look online for other video-editing forums, the choices are slim. So not sure how a need for good reference materials/training/online forums would play into which video-editing software I choose, but I wanted to mention this, as I have no background in anything artsy or creative, but I do have high aspirations!!

 

[Boyd01]

I am leaning towards Apple's Final Cut Pro X because it is only $400, and I would owe it forever!

I saw that you posted this somewhere else. Are we talking about US Dollars? Because I think Final Cut Pro costs $300, not $400. It's true that you can install it on all your Macs, and even share it with your whole family if enrolled. But don't feel too secure about the "forever" thing. Apple has been known to do paid updates to their pro apps. For example, I bought Logic Pro back around 2012 and within 6 months they released Logic Pro X which was not a free update. Now, they haven't ever done this with FCP since it's been in the app store, which is great. But there's really no guarantee it will always be that way.

‎Final Cut Pro

‎Final Cut Pro combines revolutionary video editing with powerful media organization and incredible performance to let you create at the speed of thought. Revolutionary Video Editing • The Magnetic Timeline uses advanced metadata and Clip Connections for faster, easier editing • Enhanced...

apps.apple.com

There's also DaVinci Resolve, which is free for the basic version and very well-thought-of.

DaVinci Resolve 19 | Blackmagic Design

Professional video editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post production all in a single application. Free and paid versions for Mac, Windows and Linux.

www.blackmagicdesign.com

I started with video back in 1998 with Adobe Premiere, it was version 2.0 or maybe even 1.0 back then and Final Cut Pro did not even exist yet. When Final Cut Pro came out, I switched and have never had any interest in going back to Premiere. But it is certainly an accepted standard - probably more so on Windows than the Mac however.

At some point you should just dive in and try these programs, nobody else can tell what will suit your own style. I posted a link to the 90-day free trial of FCP in one of your other threads. Why not just try it? I'm sure you can find plenty of free tutorials on the web. You could also try Davinci Resolve for free. I checked it out 5 or 6 years ago and it looked good, but not compelling enough to make me switch.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

I saw that you posted this somewhere else. Are we talking about US Dollars? Because I think Final Cut Pro costs $300, not $400.

I thought when I looked at this in the past it was like US$399 or maybe US$499.

It's true that you can install it on all your Macs, and even share it with your whole family if enrolled. But don't feel too secure about the "forever" thing. Apple has been known to do paid updates to their pro apps. For example, I bought Logic Pro back around 2012 and within 6 months they released Logic Pro X which was not a free update. Now, they haven't ever done this with FCP since it's been in the app store, which is great. But there's really no guarantee it will always be that way.

What I mean is that when you buy traditional software you own that version forever. If I bought MS Office 2003 for $300, and the next day Microsoft introduced MS Office 2004, then I still own the 2003 version forever.

With any subscription plan, the moment you stop paying you lose your software - similar to not paying your utilities.

I don't like being perpetually locked into Adobe's software subscription fees - especially since I tend not to update as soon as the next version of software comes out.

So that is what I meant.

There's also DaVinci Resolve, which is free for the basic version and very well-thought-of.

DaVinci Resolve 19 | Blackmagic Design

Professional video editing, color correction, visual effects and audio post production all in a single application. Free and paid versions for Mac, Windows and Linux.

www.blackmagicdesign.com

Money isn't an issue, and I want professional software, plus if it is part of a larger suite, then all the better. (I guess this is where Adobe beats Apple hands down.)

I started with video back in 1998 with Adobe Premiere, it was version 2.0 or maybe even 1.0 back then and Final Cut Pro did not even exist yet. When Final Cut Pro came out, I switched and have never had any interest in going back to Premiere. But it is certainly an accepted standard - probably more so on Windows than the Mac however.

Which is an accepted standard? Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro.

At some point you should just dive in and try these programs, nobody else can tell what will suit your own style. I posted a link to the 90-day free trial of FCP in one of your other threads. Why not just try it? I'm sure you can find plenty of free tutorials on the web. You could also try Davinci Resolve for free. I checked it out 5 or 6 years ago and it looked good, but not compelling enough to make me switch.

Maybe its a fear of learning French when I find out I should have learned Italian.

It seems to me that learning Final Cut Pro X would be an easier learning curve, which might be a big plus.

Obviously the Adobe suite is unmatched, but it also probably requires a Ph.D. to learn how to use all of it.

 

[MarkC426]

Money isn't an issue, and I want professional software, plus if it is part of a larger suite, then all the better. (I guess this is where Adobe beats Apple hands down.)

Davinci Resolve is very much Professional (even the free version).
It also includes Fusion (compositing), Color (for grading), Fairlight (audio suite) etc.

The paid (studio) version is only £225, but most people don't need the features.
Don't be fooled by the 'Free' aspect, this is just very good marketing by BlackMagic Design.

 

[casperes1996]

Final Cut Pro X is widely used among YouTubers. It also has some use in TV production and film but not as much as Final Cut 7 did. Premiere has a fair bit of use in TV production. Avid Media Composer is the Hollywood king. DaVinci Resolve started out as just a colour correction tool and it was best in class - used by basically everyone in the film work. They later expanded with audio and made it a general purpose NLE as well and it’s very high quality software.

I’m personally a Final Cut user and enthusiastically like the experience of editing with Final Cut where I kinda find it annoying with other software - it feels to me like I have to force the software to give me what I want, where when I use FInal Cut I feel like the tool makes everything as fast for me to achieve as it can be. Not stuck with old analogue metaphors of bins and tracks.

But honestly you won’t really go terribly wrong with any of these - Well, maybe Avid. Unless you plan on getting into Hollywood editing, I recommend not touching Avid, haha

The professional editor Sven who runs the YouTube channel This Guy Edits has made a few videos about his love for Final Cut which mirrors my reasons for liking the product; Here’s one of them

 

[smithdr]

Hello TLH:

I started with Premier Pro on a Mac. Used it for a year, but it was painfully slow. I then tried the trial version of FCP. FCP was so much easier to use and way faster than Premier Pro. I purchased FCP (and the other Apple Pro products) and happily used them exclusively for 5 years.

Recently, I had to do a project where I was panning across a room with windows. Because of the extreme contrast between the room and window I wanted to mask the windows and apply a different grade. I attempted to track the mask in Motion. Unfortunately, when the window went out of scene, the mask distorted and I was unable to properly grade the window.

Enter DaVinci Resolve. Resolve performs the mask tracking that I need. Since this experience, I have been learning Resolve and will no longer use FCP. Resolve 17.3 performs almost as well on an M1 as does FCP.

If you are just learning video editing, you should skip Premier Pro. I have not tested the Premier Pro M1 native application--it may work better. FCP is great way to learn video editing and will provide you many years of use. As your needs grow, you may want to consider to Resolve. Resolve is more difficult to learn for the beginner. Having first gained experience with FCP has made learning Resolve easier. The free version will do most of things that you will need.

Hope this helps.

Don

 

[Lihp8270]

I want professional software,

DaVinci resolve is very much pro software. When people say the “free” version is cut down. It’s cut down in aspects that you will never realise unless working in cinema such as insane resolutions. It is otherwise fully featured, and the “full” version is also affordable.

DaVinci Resolve has been used for the color grading and/or editing of feature films such as Alien: Covenant,[92] Avatar,[93] Best of Enemies,[94] Deadpool 2,[95] Jason Bourne,[96]Kingsman: The Golden Circle,[97] La La Land,[98]Love & Mercy,[99] Pirates of the Caribbean,[98]Prometheus,[100] Robin Hood,[101] Spectre,[102]Star Wars: The Last Jedi,[103] and X-Men: Apocalypse.[104]

DaVinci Resolve and Blackmagic Design hardware were used to create five of the eight 2019 Oscar nominated best picture films including Bohemian Rhapsody (most awards), The Favourite (most nominations), Roma (most nominations), Green Book (won Best Picture) and Vice.[83] Additionally, DaVinci Resolve and Blackmagic Design hardware were used to create 13 2018 Oscar nominated films,[105] 9 2017 Oscar nominated films,[106] 7 2016 Oscarnominated films,[107] 4 2014 Oscar nominated films,[108] and 4 2010 Oscar nominated films (2 for Best Picture).[109]

20 films at the 2015 Sundance Film Festivalleveraged DaVinci Resolve,[110] followed by 35 in 2016,[111] over 45 in 2017,[112] over 55 in 2018,[113] and over 35 in 2019.[114] Presence of films created with Resolve at other film festivalsincludes the 2018 Austin Film Festival (over 25 films),[115] the 2014 Cannes Film Festival (3 films),[116][117] the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (21 films),[118] the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival,[119] and the 2016 and 2017 South by Southwestfestivals.[120][121]

DaVinci Resolve has also been used in the restoration of classic films, such as Les Misérables,[122] Spartacus,[123] Black Like Me,[124] Jamaica Inn,[125] and The Perfect Woman.[126]

 

[ColdCase]

If you need media management, then FCPX is great for organizing media. I don't think anything does it better, especially for vast clip libraries. I do a lot of wildlife video. Its nice to quickly find a shot of a particular fox doing something I need two and four years ago and add it to my project. But thats just my workflow. Works great for home video libraries too.

I know of a few pros that use FCPX for media management and editing, but if there is another product that does something they need much better, they will also buy that to use for those effects. For me I stick to within FCPX limits, which happen to not limit me so far. There always seems to be a dozen ways to skin a cat, and there are some very clever folks using FCPX that freely shar their knowledge.

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

Hello TLH:

I started with Premier Pro on a Mac. Used it for a year, but it was painfully slow. I then tried the trial version of FCP. FCP was so much easier to use and way faster than Premier Pro. I purchased FCP (and the other Apple Pro products) and happily used them exclusively for 5 years.

I will be editing on am early 2015 13" Retina Macbook Pro.

Can I use Premier Pro or Final Cut Pro X or DaVinci to do editing on my hardware?

Recently, I had to do a project where I was panning across a room with windows. Because of the extreme contrast between the room and window I wanted to mask the windows and apply a different grade. I attempted to track the mask in Motion. Unfortunately, when the window went out of scene, the mask distorted and I was unable to properly grade the window.

Enter DaVinci Resolve. Resolve performs the mask tracking that I need. Since this experience, I have been learning Resolve and will no longer use FCP. Resolve 17.3 performs almost as well on an M1 as does FCP.

So free software is better than Adobe's Premiere Pro of Apple's Final Cut Pro?

Or there their paid version for $295 the one that is better?

FCP is great way to learn video editing and will provide you many years of use. As your needs grow, you may want to consider to Resolve. Resolve is more difficult to learn for the beginner. Having first gained experience with FCP has made learning Resolve easier. The free version will do most of things that you will need.

But Final Cut Pro X will be more than enough to get me started?

I am still trying to wrap my head around how Adobe Premiere Pro compares to Final Cut Pro X and DaVinci (paid).

Hope this helps.

Don

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

If you need media management, then FCPX is great for organizing media. I don't think anything does it better, especially for vast clip libraries. I do a lot of wildlife video. Its nice to quickly find a shot of a particular fox doing something I need two and four years ago and add it to my project. But thats just my workflow. Works great for home video libraries too.

Trying not to fork this thread too much.

I have been using Audacity for maybe 15 years now, and i use it to edit radio shows that I capture online, as well as other content.

The workflow that I am used to is finding some audio clip I like, "selecting" it in Audacity, "cutting" it, then "pasting" it into a new project, and saving that as either a raw file or maybe an Mp3 and then adding that to a library.

When I want to use that snippet in the future, I open it up in Audacity, "copy" the snippet, then "paste" it into whatever new project I am working on.

I believe Audacity is called a "destructive" editing tool, but it seems very natural to me, and that is how I am used to working.

So without getting too far off track, how does FCPX allow you to "manage" media like yous ay above?

And why do you feel that FCPX is better than competing video editing software on this particular point?

I finished "work" last night at around 3:30am and got home and to bed around 5:30am this morning. I head back out into the field here shortly. Having the ability to create a "library" of video snippets from all of my interviews is probably a very important thing that I need as I learn video editing.

As described above, in Audacity I would take a raw track, and slice it up leaving the original file untouched, however, creating a bunch of new child snippets of things I need or might need.

It sounds like the way to edit video is different than my Audacity workflow, but my point i s that I need some way to manage what people say and either create a physical library of these snippets, or some indexed/cataloged virtual version of things.

I might interview 10 people, and all of them say a similar thing to a question, and so it would be good to take those and combine them together into a video. And of course it would be good to build libraries of word snippets/concepts that people talk about and build a library. Also, I am doing travel/non-people video, and like your managing foxes examples, it would be nice to organize 50 videos all of running water or rivers and have easy access to that so I can use that as B-roll in other videos. Actually, I think managing B-roll footage is probably one of the key things you need to be a good videographer/cinematographer.

I know of a few pros that use FCPX for media management and editing, but if there is another product that does something they need much better, they will also buy that to use for those effects. For me I stick to within FCPX limits, which happen to not limit me so far. There always seems to be a dozen ways to skin a cat, and there are some very clever folks using FCPX that freely shar their knowledge.

It sounds like first I need to just learn the basics of video-editing and movie creation, and then as I grow I can expand my software.

At the same time, I hate investing my time in learning something only to find out that it is limited and won't do what I need it to, and then I have to start all over again and possibly spend more money.

And I also am very careful not to get sucked in the amateur league.

I spent 23 months researching things like pro audio gear, and some many videos online and things I read would send you down a losing path of using your iPhone built-in microphone or using some cheap ass 3.5mm "shotgun" mic thatis the size of your index finger, but that produce garbage results. And after lots of research I settled in on entry level pro audio gear.

So that is what I want from whatever video-editing platform I choose. I am not some 16 year kid who want to impress his friends and the girls - I am trying to build a business that I can live off of and retire off of and that require a whole different approach!!

I am willing to learn in phases, but I want to get off on the right foot, because I don't have time to make large mistakes investing in the wrong hardware/software/gear.

 

[casperes1996]

Trying not to fork this thread too much.

I have been using Audacity for maybe 15 years now, and i use it to edit radio shows that I capture online, as well as other content.

The workflow that I am used to is finding some audio clip I like, "selecting" it in Audacity, "cutting" it, then "pasting" it into a new project, and saving that as either a raw file or maybe an Mp3 and then adding that to a library.

When I want to use that snippet in the future, I open it up in Audacity, "copy" the snippet, then "paste" it into whatever new project I am working on.

I believe Audacity is called a "destructive" editing tool, but it seems very natural to me, and that is how I am used to working.

So without getting too far off track, how does FCPX allow you to "manage" media like yous ay above?

And why do you feel that FCPX is better than competing video editing software on this particular point?

I finished "work" last night at around 3:30am and got home and to bed around 5:30am this morning. I head back out into the field here shortly. Having the ability to create a "library" of video snippets from all of my interviews is probably a very important thing that I need as I learn video editing.

As described above, in Audacity I would take a raw track, and slice it up leaving the original file untouched, however, creating a bunch of new child snippets of things I need or might need.

It sounds like the way to edit video is different than my Audacity workflow, but my point i s that I need some way to manage what people say and either create a physical library of these snippets, or some indexed/cataloged virtual version of things.

I might interview 10 people, and all of them say a similar thing to a question, and so it would be good to take those and combine them together into a video. And of course it would be good to build libraries of word snippets/concepts that people talk about and build a library. Also, I am doing travel/non-people video, and like your managing foxes examples, it would be nice to organize 50 videos all of running water or rivers and have easy access to that so I can use that as B-roll in other videos. Actually, I think managing B-roll footage is probably one of the key things you need to be a good videographer/cinematographer.

I recommend taking a look at this video showcasing some of the media management capabilities of Final Cut

 

[MarkC426]

So free software is better than Adobe's Premiere Pro of Apple's Final Cut Pro?
Or there their paid version for $295 the one that is better?

If you refer to Davinci Resolve then yes, absolutely, it is free, so plus points.
It does everything the others do AFAIK.
BMD are not some two bit company, they sell a lot of high end video hardware.

You have nothing to lose downloading it from the App Store, you may like it.

Much the same way Blender3D is free, it is now up to a point that it does as much (some more) than the top pro apps.

 

[smithdr]

Hi TLH:

Hopefully answers to your questions:
- Editing on a 2015 MBP15. Avoid Premier Pro. It will be frustratingly slow. FCP will work well. Use proxies or optimized media if using UHD footage.
- Davinci Resolve is an excellent video editor. It will do well in MacOS and better than Premier Pro. I own an M1 Mac and also have an Adobe subscription. I have yet to try the native Premier Pro on the M1. Maybe I will give it a try one day.
- As I have already stated, the free version of Resolve is an excellent video editor and will do 99% of the stuff you want to do. The paid version will do a little more. I know it is hard to believe that something that is free is so good. But it is true. While Resolve is excellent, it comes at a price of being more daunting to use as a beginner. I learned video editing on FCP. Making the switch to Resolve has been relatively for me because I already knew the basic concepts and terminology.
- FCP will most likely be more than enough for most of the things that you will want to do. If you do not want to pay for FCP, then l learn the free version of Davinci Resolve. Performance may suffer a bit compared to FCP, but you most likely will be OK. Also, the learning curve for Resolve will be a little steeper, but there are excellent YouTube videos to help you through.

Regardless of the software you choose, your first hurdle will be how to properly color grade a video clip. All of the editing software will color grade about the same way.

Does this help?

Don

 

[ColdCase]

So without getting too far off track, how does FCPX allow you to "manage" media like yous ay above?

And why do you feel that FCPX is better than competing video editing software on this particular point?

...

The video shows the use of a quality tag, I use key words to tag useful clips i.e. fox, birthday, person, etc.. I add multiple keywords if necessary and sections of a clip can be tagged differently and overlap. Then I can quickly search for a subject/tag via keyword. Last I check (five years ago) FCPX was the only editor that let you do this and for some applications its very useful. For example, if I want to see all the birthday clips daughter Robin is in I search for Robin and Birthday. A simplistic example for sure, but it turns out to be a powerful tool when you have a large media collection.

If you are a student, Apple offers a student discount.

 

[sevoneone]

Resolve has very much come up and is the NLE that is setting the bar lately IMHO. FCP and Premiere have their strengths.

Close integration with the rest of the Adobe suite, including After Effects, and Adobe flexing and buying Frame.io recently are in Premiere’s corner.

Speed, efficiency, and ease of use are in Final Cut’s corner. There is a reason so many YouTubers and “Influencers” use it, many find it the quickest easiest way to edit videos up to around 10min. I personally find it cumbersome for longer projects, but I rarely edit anything longer these days.

Resolve does a lot and, in my opinion, is the most professional of the three. It is built up from an engine created for color grading Hollywood films, and Blackmagic is really dedicated to making great hardware and software for the film/RV industry. If you pay close attention, they also seem to get a lot of inside help from Apple and regularly have support for the latest and greatest from Mac and macOS as fast as Apple is bringing it to FCP. I am certain that the Free price is a long term play by Blackmagic to have Resolve become the industry’s next Final Cut Studio. 10-15 years ago, classic Final Cut became ubiquitous in just about every corner of the industry because it was so affordable that an entire generation of film and tv professionals flooded the job market knowing the software. Resolve is already well regarded professionally and the Free option makes it accessible to every eager teen and film student. It helps that Blackmagic’s Pocket Cinema Camera line is priced between $1,200 to $2,500 US and makes high-end features accessible that you’d have to pay at least 2 to 3 times more to get from other camera makers, also super attractive for the budding creatives.

Also, a note on Free Resolve vs. $299 Resolve Studio: As many have pointed out, the free version has 99% of the features just locked to standard 4K (3840x2160) and lower resolutions. However the paid version also includes temporal noise reduction. If you edit projects shot in low light or high ISO, it might be worth it for that. A similar plugin for FCP or Premiere, like Neat Video would cost you $150 to $200 additional.

 

[Bandaman]

Are you on an M1 Mac? Because if you are, it's hard to recommend anything else but Final Cut Pro X because it absolutely screams on Apple's new chips. Premiere hasn't been updated yet for the M1 chips yet, so it's hard to tell how it will actually perform against FCPX once they do that. Adobe is really lagging behind getting their entire suite updated. I'm subscribed to every single one of their apps and so I'm eagerly waiting on Adobe to update their video editing software.

 

[Lee_Bo]

I am leaning towards Apple's Final Cut Pro X because it is only $400, and I would owe it forever!

I would agree with this until Apple comes out with an update that only supports certain models and OS versions.

I’m one of the Adobe Creative Cloud users. For $10/mo I get Lightroom, Photoshop and some others. I have used the Adobe Premier apps and they seem easy to use with lots of bells and whistles.

 

[smithdr]

Are you on an M1 Mac? Because if you are, it's hard to recommend anything else but Final Cut Pro X because it absolutely screams on Apple's new chips. Premiere hasn't been updated yet for the M1 chips yet, so it's hard to tell how it will actually perform against FCPX once they do that. Adobe is really lagging behind getting their entire suite updated. I'm subscribed to every single one of their apps and so I'm eagerly waiting on Adobe to update their video editing software.

Premier Pro has been updated to run natively on an M1. However, the performance has not improved all that much and still very slow relative to FCP and Davinci Resolve.

Don

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

If you refer to Davinci Resolve then yes, absolutely, it is free, so plus points.
It does everything the others do AFAIK.

Why in the world would a for-profit company offer software that supoosedly is as good as Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X?

Where is the "gotcha"?

Is their plan to get people hooked and then flip to a procey subscription-based model?

BMD are not some two bit company, they sell a lot of high end video hardware.

Which is why it seems confusing that they would offer DiVinci Resolve for free.

You have nothing to lose downloading it from the App Store, you may like it.

Well, I like that I can own it.

Much the same way Blender3D is free, it is now up to a point that it does as much (some more) than the top pro apps.

What does that do?

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

Hi TLH:

Hopefully answers to your questions:
- Editing on a 2015 MBP15. Avoid Premier Pro. It will be frustratingly slow. FCP will work well.

I shoot entirely in 4K on my iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Do you think I can get by editing video for maybe a year or so using my older 2015 13" rMBPs?

And if I have to break down and eventually buy a new Mac, can I edit 4K video on a laptop?

Living on the road, there is no way I can own an imac or a desktop Mac. So I hope this isn't going to be a deal-breakr when it comes to video editing?

Also, the videos I am doing are most likely going to be under 15 minutes, so no full feature-lenth big screen movies yet!

Use proxies or optimized media if using UHD footage.

Is shooting in 4K considered UHD?

How do you use proxies? What are they even?

- Davinci Resolve is an excellent video editor. It will do well in MacOS and better than Premier Pro. I own an M1 Mac and also have an Adobe subscription. I have yet to try the native Premier Pro on the M1. Maybe I will give it a try one day.
- As I have already stated, the free version of Resolve is an excellent video editor and will do 99% of the stuff you want to do. The paid version will do a little more. I know it is hard to believe that something that is free is so good. But it is true. While Resolve is excellent, it comes at a price of being more daunting to use as a beginner. I learned video editing on FCP. Making the switch to Resolve has been relatively for me because I already knew the basic concepts and terminology.

So it sounds like - from you at least - that Adobe Premiere Pro maybe isn't the way to go. (I know I am very resistant to getting into a subscription for any software.)

And it sounds like while DiVinci Resolve may be better than FCPX, that as a beginner I might do better with FCPX? (And I can afford the $00 or whatever it costs.)

- FCP will most likely be more than enough for most of the things that you will want to do.

If I need to do special effects like for an intro or whatever, does Apple offer other sofwtare to help me if I an using FCPX? (I thought someone mentioned "Motion" which sounded like "After Effects"? Honestly not sure what eitehr of those two packages do, but I thought I saw a YouTube video last year saying you really need those to get pro video.)

If you do not want to pay for FCP, then l learn the free version of Davinci Resolve. Performance may suffer a bit compared to FCP, but you most likely will be OK. Also, the learning curve for Resolve will be a little steeper, but there are excellent YouTube videos to help you through.

I can afford FCPX, plus I think someone said there is a free trial.

Regardless of the software you choose, your first hurdle will be how to properly color grade a video clip. All of the editing software will color grade about the same way.

So you do color-grading in Adobe Premiere Pro or FCPX or DiVinci Resolve or do you need additional software?

Why do you have to color grade footage if it was shot properly?

How hard is color-grading to learn, and if it is so important, does one software package do a better job at it?

Does this help?

Don

It is definitely a start.

I am still scratching my head as to why a for-profit company offers video-editing software that competes wth paid software from Apple and Adobe and sounds like it may be the best out there.

Btw, does DiVinci Resolve has the ability to scale and use add-on software like After Effects that you supposed need to do pro video?

 

[TwoLaneHighway]

Resolve has very much come up and is the NLE that is setting the bar lately IMHO. FCP and Premiere have their strengths.

Interesting.

Close integration with the rest of the Adobe suite, including After Effects, and Adobe flexing and buying Frame.io recently are in Premiere’s corner.

Even if I go with FCPX or Resolve, do you think I still need a subscription to Adobe for things like Photoshop and Illustrator, if I am getting into video-edit and production?

Again, I have no clue what it will take to go from my raw iPhone video to something that looks professional in the end.

Speed, efficiency, and ease of use are in Final Cut’s corner. There is a reason so many YouTubers and “Influencers” use it, many find it the quickest easiest way to edit videos up to around 10min.

That sounds like where I am for the most part, although some of my interviews and footage might go up to 20-30 minutes, but most of it is under 10 minutes.

I personally find it cumbersome for longer projects, but I rarely edit anything longer these days.

Is DiVinci Resolve better for over 10 minutes?

Resolve does a lot and, in my opinion, is the most professional of the three. It is built up from an engine created for color grading Hollywood films, and Blackmagic is really dedicated to making great hardware and software for the film/RV industry.

So Blackmagic is DiVinci Resolve's parent company?

Do they offer hardware that I need?

If you pay close attention, they also seem to get a lot of inside help from Apple and regularly have support for the latest and greatest from Mac and macOS as fast as Apple is bringing it to FCP. I am certain that the Free price is a long term play by Blackmagic to have Resolve become the industry’s next Final Cut Studio.

At that point will they jack up the price to $100/month or is there some other potential "gotcha"?

10-15 years ago, classic Final Cut became ubiquitous in just about every corner of the industry because it was so affordable that an entire generation of film and tv professionals flooded the job market knowing the software. Resolve is already well regarded professionally and the Free option makes it accessible to every eager teen and film student. It helps that Blackmagic’s Pocket Cinema Camera line is priced between $1,200 to $2,500 US and makes high-end features accessible that you’d have to pay at least 2 to 3 times more to get from other camera makers, also super attractive for the budding creatives.

So Blackmagic sells video cameras and lens too?

How does their line-up compete with proper mirrorless cameras and digital video cameras?

Also, a note on Free Resolve vs. $299 Resolve Studio: As many have pointed out, the free version has 99% of the features just locked to standard 4K (3840x2160) and lower resolutions. However the paid version also includes temporal noise reduction. If you edit projects shot in low light or high ISO, it might be worth it for that. A similar plugin for FCP or Premiere, like Neat Video would cost you $150 to $200 additional.

Okay.

 

[Boyd01]

Again, I have no clue what it will take to go from my raw iPhone video to something that looks professional in the end.

This is something you really haven't touched on before. But - Apple's fancy commercials aside - there's a limit to how "professional" your iPhone footage is going to look. I have an iPhone 12 Pro Max and was excited about the capabilities of the new camera. Did about a 4 hour video shoot last month using it, my old iPhone 6s Plus and my trusty old Sony XDCAM-EX that I've had since 2008.

Really disappointed with the results from the 12 Pro Max, it just doesn't cut very well with the XDCAM and I ended up using very little of its footage. I was using the Filmic Pro app on the phone, which is nice but there's only so far you can go. It's just a matter of physics - the iPhone has a little tiny sensor which results in a huge amount of depth of field which is really disconcerting compared to a "real" camera with a larger sensor. And the XDCAM is part of Sony's CineAlta digital cinema line, its footage just has a more "cinematic" look all around. Not entirely sure what the "secret sauce" is there, I could probably improve things a bit more if I was more familiar with the Filmic Pro app, but it will always be limited.

My only point is that you should be evaluating the whole process starting with capturing the video, editing it and also viewing it. It doesn't matter how great the editing software is if the weak links are the camera or the monitor that you use (I use a Sony production monitor as an external video device when editing). And we haven't even touched on the area of audio, you will be extremely limited there if you're just shooting on an iPhone.

But getting back to software, I understand you are trying to get an idea of your options. But at some point you need to just jump in and start making some decisions on your own. Geez, just install the free trial of Final Cut Pro, it is fully functional for 90 days. If you don't like it you can try the Davinci since it's free. IMO, you're over-thinking this. As a friend used to say "at some point, you just have to jump into the ocean".

 

[MarkC426]

#TwoLaneHighway
Have a browse through their site, and keep your wallet locked up..... 😜

Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality products for the feature film, post and broadcast industries including URSA cameras, DaVinci Resolve and ATEM switchers.

www.blackmagicdesign.com

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
They bundle Resolve with a lot of the hardware (as it's high price kit anyway).
The software is probably a very small portion of their profits (if any), so they can afford to have a free version in the hope users will then buy their hardware (the studio version lets you use multiple GPU's, network rendering etc).

Blender 3D (free) is for 3D modelling/animation (as you asked), in comparison to all the big players which are subscription based.

 

[Bandaman]

Premier Pro has been updated to run natively on an M1. However, the performance has not improved all that much and still very slow relative to FCP and Davinci Resolve.

Don

Yeah I just noticed my app is Universal, it just runs like such doodoo that I thought it still hadn't been updated yet.

 

[casperes1996]

Why in the world would a for-profit company offer software that supoosedly is as good as Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X?

If you make over some amount of money with their software you legally need the Studio (paid) version. Least that used to be the deal. If a whole generation of editors learns and prefers DaVinci Resolve and then get hired in TV production and Hollywood then suddenly, DaVinci Resolve is everywhere. When they entered the NLE game they were the newcomer. FCP, Avid and Premiere were established in their domains and DaVinci Resolve came in to take market share. They opted for a free option to get a user base. If they can overtake Avid in a single big Hollywood studio it doesn't matter they've given away DaVinci Resolve for free. Those guys don't just buy your software. They get a support contract with you that can cost millions so that if they run into a bug they need fixed, it gets fixed for them. And they buy hardware for ludicrous sums too. - This is also what drove Avid to make a free version of Media Composer. Black Magic aren't looking to make you buy DaVinci Resolve. They're looking to get you to buy into Black Magic as a whole. So that if you ever go fully professional, you buy their cinema cameras, their colour control stations, of course DaVinci Resolve Studio, etc.

I shoot entirely in 4K on my iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Do you think I can get by editing video for maybe a year or so using my older 2015 13" rMBPs?

Yes. With Final Cut or Resolve using proxies at least. Though the M1 aside, the 13" models are significantly less powerful than the 15/16" models, especially in GPU performance so I don't think you'll do much without proxies (more on that below)

Is shooting in 4K considered UHD?

How do you use proxies? What are they even?

What is commonly referred to as "4K" is in fact UHD and not actually "4K". True DCI 4K is 4096x2160. DCI here is the Digital Cinema Industry. UHD is 3840x2160 and is what basically all "4K" TVs offer and what most "4K" options in cameras offer. It's technically an incorrect label but it's become so common it's a lost fight. 4K is now the same as UHD and if you mean actual 4K you generally specify "true 4K" or DCI 4K. And if you've noticed in Apple's marketing they mention their displays support the DCI-P3 colour space, yes that's the same DCI.

Proxies are lower quality versions of your video clips you create with your editor. Let's say you have a bunch of 4K clips, then you may turn them into 1080p proxies. The proxies are *only* intended for editing and never for the final product. You edit with the proxies and then when you're done and render out the final. result to a video file, the software will use the full quality versions of the clips instead of the proxies.

If I need to do special effects like for an intro or whatever, does Apple offer other sofwtare to help me if I an using FCPX? (I thought someone mentioned "Motion" which sounded like "After Effects"? Honestly not sure what eitehr of those two packages do, but I thought I saw a YouTube video last year saying you really need those to get pro video.)

Kinda? Motion and After Effects have some overlap. Motion is a 3D VFX compositor. It'll likely do more than you'll ever need in that department, but it won't do as much as After Effects and it's not its goal to do as much either.
In a lot of cases you can also do some VFX in Final Cut/Resolve directly - if what you need is simple.
Start with just learning an NLE (programs like Final Cut, Premiere, Resolve are referred to as NLEs. Non-linear editors). Programs like Motion and After Effects can have an extremely steep learning curve. Bit easier if you already know a bit about video editing workflows, keyframing, etc., etc.

So you do color-grading in Adobe Premiere Pro or FCPX or DiVinci Resolve or do you need additional software?

Why do you have to color grade footage if it was shot properly?

How hard is color-grading to learn, and if it is so important, does one software package do a better job at it?

You can do colour grading in all those. DaVinci Resolve started life as a colour grading program and really shines in this respect. Final Cut got a hell of a lot better at it with update 10.4.3 or something like that (taken straight from memory), but they can all do it.
If you want to shoot to the highest standards you will generally capture footage with a log curve and capture image information in sort of a "compressed" way. You can then expand this out in the grading process. The advantage to the approach is to maintain more data about the image than you'd otherwise have dynamic range for. Expanding this out to a standard 0-100 range for SDR workflows, plus fixing any potential issues with whitepoint and balancing things out is known as colour correction. After you've colour corrected the footage, a colour grade comes into play which is much more about the artistic intent of the footage.

The basics of colour grading is easy to learn. You can learn it in a day. But mastering the art of the colour grade is a lifetime ambition. High end professional productions have an editor as well as a colourist as two separate positions

Btw, does DiVinci Resolve has the ability to scale and use add-on software like After Effects that you supposed need to do pro video?

Yes you can use Plug-ins with all the programs.

Even if I go with FCPX or Resolve, do you think I still need a subscription to Adobe for things like Photoshop and Illustrator, if I am getting into video-edit and production?

No. And if you find yourself wanting programs like that I recommend Affinity Photo and Affinity Design if you're not fond of subscription models. They are paid programs that offer equivalent features for a one time fee and are highly regarded. I use Affinity Photo myself and it will also open Photoshop files btw. I also have Pixelmator but I do most things with Affinity though I do like Pixelmator's ML Super resolution.

So Blackmagic is DiVinci Resolve's parent company?

Do they offer hardware that I need?

DaVinci Resolve is made by Blackmagic Design, yes.

You do not "need" any hardware to get started. They offer hardware to speed up your workflow, but you do not *need* anything.

So Blackmagic sells video cameras and lens too?

How does their line-up compete with proper mirrorless cameras and digital video cameras?

They *are* proper cameras though they are (at least the ones I know) "cinema cameras". They are made to get the cinema look. The film look. They will not take photos (I don't think any of them take photos at all but if any of them can it's not their forte), they will not have the best battery life in the market. But they offer extremely good, cinematic image quality to those who can operate them. These are no (generally) cameras that you just put on auto and click the shutter. They offer all the way from the Pocket Cinema camera which is really portable for a cinema camera to 12K URSA Mini Pro, and perhaps beyond but those are just two I know off the top of my head. And yes, the 12K in that name is the recording resolution.