I need help deciding which video app to buy.

[66217]

I am doing some videos at work. But I am having a hard time with iMovie, it lacks a LOT of features.

What I am trying to do is small videos (1-10 mins), where all the services we offer appear, etc. Not very complicated really, but still, iMovie is not enough. I know many would recommend hiring someone who has experience in this or pay someone else to do this, but I really want to learn how to do it, and this is a great opportunity.

So my question is:

I have seen Final Cut Express, and it seems a very good app, but I read a lot of reviews that said it was hard to learn, how true is this? Any other experiences you have had with FCE?
I would love to get Final Cut Pro, but it is out of my budget. And kind of an over-kill for my needs.

Also, any other apps worth checking that may be better than FCE?

Thanks in advance,

Roco

 

[magius]

i guess it depends on the person. Personally, I learned final cut pro prior to imovie, and actually found imovie incrementally more frustrating to learn - due to not being able to do anything that i really wanted to for the basics, cutting, trimming, fading, I would think fce fairly intuitive. just try it out, i'm sure there are other programs, but why learn them when final cut is the standard for digital editing. you could try avid as well if you don't like it, or even premier if you're willing to go back to pc. if you want more fx or text oriented work perhaps aftereffects is an option.... though usually it is best used in conjunction with fcp. i've never tried vegas so i won't comment on it.

 

[66217]

No thank you, not willing to go back to use a PC.

I've read a lot of Final Cut Studio 2, and it seems a great product. And even tho I like it and would like to try it out (this is when my I-love-Apple part comes in and tells me "buy it, buy it, you would surely find a use for it"), but then I see the price and my wallet screams "don't you dare buy it Roco!".

Also, would Final Cut Studio work in my MB? I know Final Cut Pro would, but how about Color and Motion?

Another question is if Final Cut Studio 2 replaces (or can makes the same as) Adobe CS3? I would also need to make some image editing.

Another question, would final Cut Pro work in a MB attached to an external display? Working in 13" screen is killing my eyes.

 

[mooncaine]

No thank you, not willing to go back to use a PC.
...(this is when my I-love-Apple part comes in and tells me "buy it, buy it, you would surely find a use for it"), but then I see the price and my wallet screams

It's quite expensive software, and it demands a lot of a machine, and of a user. It is not a casual tool. That's true for all the alternatives mentioned so far in this thread, btw.

Also, would Final Cut Studio work in my MB? I know Final Cut Pro would, but how about Color and Motion?

I don't know. Motion probably won't work, but FCP can probably work on your MB as long as you don't expect it to render transitions and effects really quickly.

You will need gobs and gobs of free disk space.

Another question is if Final Cut Studio 2 replaces (or can makes the same as) Adobe CS3? I would also need to make some image editing.

No.

Another question, would final Cut Pro work in a MB attached to an external display? Working in 13" screen is killing my eyes.

Yes, assuming it will work on an MB at all, it will definitely work with external, or multiple, monitors.

 

[66217]

You will need gobs and gobs of free disk space.

Thanks for the advice.

I also read that to install all the music loops and templates it took about 60GB and FCE about 16GB. Can you skip this and run them from the DVD? Or they must be installed?

 

[mark476p]

Personally, I learned final cut pro prior to imovie, and actually found imovie incrementally more frustrating to learn - due to not being able to do anything that i really wanted to for the basics, cutting, trimming, fading...

I second that. Once I learned FCP, I stayed away from iMovie. This statement is not to take away from what iMovie can do, because I like it's simplicity and ease of use.

Roco, the loops and templates are saved in your Library folder. If you can somehow redirect the path to the DVD instead of the library folder, then it may be possible. I doubt it though. However, you do have a choice as to which applications are installed.

Are you a student? If so, you can get the entire studio package for $699.

Finally, start with FCP. Once you see all the cool effects from other applications (Motion, LiveType, etc.), you'll never get your project completed because you'll always want to do more!

 

[66217]

Are you a student? If so, you can get the entire studio package for $699.

Finally, start with FCP. Once you see all the cool effects from other applications (Motion, LiveType, etc.), you'll never get your project completed because you'll always want to do more!

I am a college student. But I don't live in the USA, will this make it harder to get the discount? As far as i know I am not elegible to discounts.

Would you recommend getting FCP instead of FCE?

Since I won't be able to use the entire package (MB not entirely capable), I would buy only FCP alone.
Final Cut Studio is only for installing in one Mac isn't it? I'll maybe be buying a new iMac in the near future, and there I would be able to use all the apps. Could I install it (legally) in both Macs?

Thanks a lot for all the replies.

 

[magius]

I've never used FCE, but from what you are doing I'd say go with FCE, fcp at this point and time may be overkill. roco, that voice, what its really saying is - buy only if you NEED it. final cut will work on your mb, motion may or may not, i'm not sure, but it won't be snappy.

installation of the bonus materials (templates, etc.) is not mandatory, from what i recall, there is an option whether to install the content or not. The actual program size is substantially smaller.

gobs and gobs of space depends on how much footage you intend to capture, and whether or not you need to keep the movie files in storage to possibly reedit the footage at a later time. If you require speed and are moving in a professional direction, I'd say invest in the fastest, fairly big, firewire 800 (does mb have 800? if not i guess 400 which is real world faster than usb 2.0) external drive you can. Render times may be painful on your mb depending on what you are doing....

if you were absolutely forced to you can do very limited image editing ala photoshop via final cut, though i've never done it, and i'm sure you'll lose quality. though if professional level editing isn't necessary, it may be alright, but don't quote me on that. if not there are cheaper alternatives to cs3 I would imagine.

I don't think you have to be a us college student to apply for a student discount, just try going to the education store and searching for your school and country.

 

[djstarrock]

FCP is just FCE with more features most of the interface is the same so if fCE is hard to learn so would FCP.

 

[66217]

Thnaks a lot for the replies. I have been thinking a lot and I am deciding to buy FCE. FCP is just too much for my needs.

Just a couple more questions. I read something about NTSC, PAL and HD. I suppose HD is for High Definition, but what about the others? Do I need to take video with a special camera for it to work?

And last, when would FCE 4 come out? Would there be an upgrade edition from 3.5 to 4?

 

[failsafe1]

FCE is certainly the way to go. More than iMovie less than FCP in features and price. The edu price where I work is only $99.

 

[66217]

FCE is certainly the way to go. More than iMovie less than FCP in features and price. The edu price where I work is only $99.

The problem is that there are not any Apple Stores where I live. So no edu. discount, but it even seems paying $300 for it is a steal.

So, about FCE 4, anyone has a clue about it?

Thanks,

 

[Cromulent]

Thnaks a lot for the replies. I have been thinking a lot and I am deciding to buy FCE. FCP is just too much for my needs.

Just a couple more questions. I read something about NTSC, PAL and HD. I suppose HD is for High Definition, but what about the others? Do I need to take video with a special camera for it to work?

And last, when would FCE 4 come out? Would there be an upgrade edition from 3.5 to 4?

NTSC and PAL are broadcast standards. NTSC is used in the US primarily and PAL is used in Europe mainly. The wiki pages are pretty good at explaining which countries use which system.

Basically it refers to the framerate and resolution of the video. PAL is often considered the superior standard, but if you live in an NTSC country you will most likely want to work in NTSC.

 

[YoungCreative]

FCP vs Premier

I am a Photoshop/InDesign pro, but have only used iMovie for video and it's time to move up to a real video powerhouse.

Since I am tired of working after hours on my Mac at work, I was set on buying Adobe CS3 Design Suite Premium and FCP for home, but I can save $600 if I buy Adobe MasterSuite and use Premiere rather than buying FCP.

Now that CS3 has been out for a bit, does anyone have strong feelings, or experience, on which to base a recommendation for Premiere vs FCP?

Since I will face a learning curve either way I go, I am curious as to whether the $600 saved will just cause regret down the line. The Apple Store only has FCP on the machines, so I have not even played with Premiere. Is Apple scared to put the competition on their machines, or is Premiere a bad move?

Thanks in advance for comments.

 

[art gardiner]

Roco,

Not sure if you have already made your purchase or not, but one thing to note is that both FCP & FCE are memory hogs. While you can get by with 1.5 GB, it is strongly recommended that you have at least 2gigs of memory.

While I'm not sure exactly how far you're wanting to go into your video pursuits, another program that has not been mentioned yet is Media100. While Media100 lacks a lot of FCP's layers ability, it will surely run well on your MB w/o all of the problems you will encounter while trying to run FCP or FCE on the same machine. It's memory demand is not as big as the other two, but there is always a trade off.

Finally, (and take this for what you will) as another poster mentioned - get yourself an external HD if you don't already have one. FW800 is good, but as I don't believe that the MB comes with a hook-up for it - an eSATA PMCIA or Express32 card adapter (not sure which the MB uses), and an eSATA external HD enclosure with your choice of internal SATA HD will be the best, most cost effective way to store your video. Both, SATA and eSATA work on a 1:1 throughput, while USB2, FW, and FW800 work on a varying return rate - none of which are 1:1. That said, even running with an USB external HD would be better than working directly to your internal OS drive.

HTH's

Art

Links to some eSATA HD enclosures:

http://www.icydock.com/externalsata.html

http://www.caldigit.com/S2VRDuo.asp

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Search.cfm?Criteria=External Enclosure Kit&sort=a&cat=2027

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000150014+1035915133&name=SATA+3.0Gb/s