Im thinking to learn video editing programs.

[mavericks7913]

Well, basically, Im taking photography major and recently got an internship opportunity from a professional photographer.

Here is the story. When I met him for an interview, he shocked the fact that I dont know how to use both Premier Pro and After Effects. I asked why and he said that the photography industry is falling apart and not worth it and you wont gonna survive. Yes, it was a shocking moment to me.

So, Im thinking to learn a video eiditing program but not sure where to get informations to study. I see Davinci resolve 14, Final cut pro, and Premier Pro. What programs should I study and where can I get tons of info just for study?

 

[kohlson]

All are good programs. They have somewhat different pricing models. Really learning these - I suggest enrolling in a class. Lynda has good sources. For FCPX, see creative cow and fcp.co. Adobe has lots of training available on their site.

 

[casperes1996]

So, Im thinking to learn a video eiditing program but not sure where to get informations to study. I see Davinci resolve 14, Final cut pro, and Premier Pro. What programs should I study and where can I get tons of info just for study?

Hey! I've been doing video editing for quite a long time. Mostly with Final Cut, which I think is just an amazing program. If you want to get into FCPX or perhaps more video editing in general actually, the YouTube "This Guy Edits" has some great stuff!

I recommend Final Cut, and This Guy Edits (who has used pretty much all software) has a video on why it's great! However, DaVinci Resolve has a free tier, and they're basically giving away pro-level software. It's really amazing. It is however mostly a colour editing suite, so normal editing is not the focus of Resolve. I recommend having both Resolve and a "normal" NLE. (None-linear editor).

Your hardware is also something to consider. Resolve and Premiere are much more demanding than Final Cut. Hell, Final Cut can actually edit 4K video on a MacBook! Not Pro. MacBook.

Anyway, I'm really a fanboy of Final Cut, and it's what I use day-to-day, when I don't have to use something else for one reason to the other.

For learning, I can more than anything recommend just getting your hands dirty and doing it. Of course there's This Guy Edits as I mentioned, and within Final Cut, there's the classic "Mac Help" that has a very in depth and brillant tutorial. Same goes for the rest of the suite, like Motion and Compressor.

If you're willing to pay, there are Udemy courses on almost any subject, and there's a brillant book about the creative side of video editing, called In The Blink of An Eye.

If you want any other tips or tricks you can always ask

 

[mavericks7913]

Hey! I've been doing video editing for quite a long time. Mostly with Final Cut, which I think is just an amazing program. If you want to get into FCPX or perhaps more video editing in general actually, the YouTube "This Guy Edits" has some great stuff!

I recommend Final Cut, and This Guy Edits (who has used pretty much all software) has a video on why it's great! However, DaVinci Resolve has a free tier, and they're basically giving away pro-level software. It's really amazing. It is however mostly a colour editing suite, so normal editing is not the focus of Resolve. I recommend having both Resolve and a "normal" NLE. (None-linear editor).

Your hardware is also something to consider. Resolve and Premiere are much more demanding than Final Cut. Hell, Final Cut can actually edit 4K video on a MacBook! Not Pro. MacBook.

Anyway, I'm really a fanboy of Final Cut, and it's what I use day-to-day, when I don't have to use something else for one reason to the other.

For learning, I can more than anything recommend just getting your hands dirty and doing it. Of course there's This Guy Edits as I mentioned, and within Final Cut, there's the classic "Mac Help" that has a very in depth and brillant tutorial. Same goes for the rest of the suite, like Motion and Compressor.

If you're willing to pay, there are Udemy courses on almost any subject, and there's a brillant book about the creative side of video editing, called In The Blink of An Eye.

If you want any other tips or tricks you can always ask

What are the differences between Premier Pro and FCPX? I would need to choose one due to the price.

 

[casperes1996]

What are the differences between Premier Pro and FCPX? I would need to choose one due to the price.

There are incredibly many. They have entirely different workflows. Premiere follows a more traditional NLE workflow, whereas Final Cut sort of came up with a radically new system for Pro-level NLE's when it was released. It's an entirely different selection process and an entirely different editing process with the magnetic timeline. I'd say FCPX is easier to learn, but if you need to use several different NLE's, what you learn in Premiere will be more applicable to other NLEs.
Again, I can recommend looking a lot at This Guy Edits. His video on Final Cut is really good, and he also has a few videos working in other NLEs.

I would also dare to make a generalisation that I'm sure a lot will disagree with; Premiere is for technically focussed people, FCPX is for creativity focussed people.
I know all the tech stuff, but when I edit, I want the creative process to be front and centre. So I prefer FCPX.

On the price front, of course Premiere is a subscription, whereas FCPX is a one-time purchase. You buy it, it's yours for life.

 

[RCAFBrat]

Couple of points to consider:

(1) Apple was offering a bundle for students of FCPX, Motion, Compressor, Logic X and one other application for live music, the name of which escapes me, all for a one time price of $200 - this is a tremendous value that should not be passed on if it is still offered - over $400 discount and even if you only use the video editing apps FCPX, Motion (similar but at the same time very different from After Effects) and Compressor it's still a big discount

(2) At this stage you need to build a portfolio of work to show that you can edit - do not mistake this with using an NLE which is a skill that can be learned relatively easy and that is somewhat transferable from one NLE to another - instead you will need to demonstrate an ability to make creative choices, understand basic principles such as lighting and continuity of motion (there is a term for that I know but can't remember), etc - remember that as in photography someone who looks at a photo is unlikely to discern which camera and editor you used, the same will be true of your video portfolio

With respect to (2) for some jobs you will need to know specific NLE but I think that a lot of opportunities exist outside traditional employer / employee relationships or with small businesses where FCPX will be a good start.

Cheers

 

[HDFan]

Larry Jordon's website (LarryJordan.com) has a ton of videos on both FCPX and Premiere, starting from the basics to advanced topics. You can find some of his videos on Youtube to try him out, but for full access you'll either need to purchase a course or sign up for a yearly all-access ($200). Quality costs. He's pretty much the gold standard for video training. Great teacher. Larry's emphasis ranges from the basics - hardware configuration, how to use the software, on to advanced topics.

For me FCPX has a steep learning curve because of it's file handling. Premiere Pro is more conventional and at least for the file part, for me, is simpler to use.

 

[Policar]

There's a LOT of work using those programs and you can make a LOT of money but there's going to be a fair amount of competition.

Think of:

Premiere Pro as a step up from iMovie or an alternative to Final Cut Pro X (and a step below Avid, not in terms of capability but in terms of Avid being harder to use and the industry standard for union editors). If you like editing video, this is the program to use. It also includes basic motion, vfx, sound, and color grading tools.

After Effects is both for animation (motion graphics, like you see at the end of some ads, moving logos and such) and compositing (visual effects, not the CGI rendering, but the collage aspect of putting things together). Think a combination of Flash and Photoshop, but for video.

Resolve can do basic editing, too, but it's mostly for color grading. Think Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw, but for video.

These programs are used all over the place. Lynda is a good place to start, and then just searching online or taking courses online is all you need. I learn better from books and there are tons of books you can use, too

The more advanced programs (Nuke, Avid, Flame, etc.) are not really any different but they are less intuitive to use. This is where the big bucks (mid-six figure incomes or more) are. But probably a bad place to start.

You can learn all these programs but it's more valuable in the long run to know one well than all of them poorly. I wouldn't jump ship from photography unless it really interests you. Yes, you can make a lot of money in video, but it's easier to go into another field (plumber, carpenter, etc.) if all you care about is learning a craft that pays well. If your passion is for photography, stick with it! But definitely see if you like video, too.

 

[casperes1996]

For me FCPX has a steep learning curve because of it's file handling. Premiere Pro is more conventional and at least for the file part, for me, is simpler to use.

I'd say this is true for people who are used to traditional video editing, but not for newcomers. If you have no expectation for how file handling works, FCPX' way of doing it, in my humble opinion actually makes more sense. Plus, you can work more traditionally in FCPX if you want, though the workflow Apple wants you to use clearly isn't designed for it.

 

[Johnontheweb]

Well, basically, Im taking photography major and recently got an internship opportunity from a professional photographer.

Here is the story. When I met him for an interview, he shocked the fact that I dont know how to use both Premier Pro and After Effects. I asked why and he said that the photography industry is falling apart and not worth it and you wont gonna survive. Yes, it was a shocking moment to me.

So, Im thinking to learn a video eiditing program but not sure where to get informations to study. I see Davinci resolve 14, Final cut pro, and Premier Pro. What programs should I study and where can I get tons of info just for study?

Hi ya Mav. Start with the project, not the tool. You want to make a 2min short on Cats and water? Start shooting video. When you have 360 mins of GREAT video, thats good for 2mins finished. Now drag it all to the timeline. Look to spotify for the music and background. Title minimally. Press Play. Oh. Stick with FCPX.

 

[Policar]

Hi ya Mav. Start with the project, not the tool. You want to make a 2min short on Cats and water? Start shooting video. When you have 360 mins of GREAT video, thats good for 2mins finished. Now drag it all to the timeline. Look to spotify for the music and background. Title minimally. Press Play. Oh. Stick with FCPX.

I agree completely with employing project-based learning working well, but if you're getting hired to work on an Avid show... you'd better know Avid. (But learning it on a project is a great idea.)

 

[Booch21]

I'm an amateur at video editing compared to most, but I still enjoy it for personal reasons. Long ago, before my Mac switch, I decided to use the Adobe Production Premium package. When I made the switch, I upgraded versions to Mac without a hitch. I have stopped at CS 6.5 as I do not agree with the subscription model that Adobe is now using.

After several years of editing with Premiere, I came across the Education deal that Apple has offered and purchased a copy for myself and my daughter. I set out to learn FCPX. In a nut shell, I've been struggling to figure out how to do what I do in Adobe and at the same pace. Yes, some of you will tell me, it's what you are used to or even, I'm not giving it a fair shake. Right now, I can get editing done efficiently and quickly for my purposes in Premiere Pro. FCPX is just giving me fits at how to accomplish the same things. I'm just passing along my experience, and not to be a critique for those experts in both. I think the OP needs to see and try them both and figure out what will make the most sense.

 

[casperes1996]

After several years of editing with Premiere, I came across the Education deal that Apple has offered and purchased a copy for myself and my daughter. I set out to learn FCPX. In a nut shell, I've been struggling to figure out how to do what I do in Adobe and at the same pace. Yes, some of you will tell me, it's what you are used to or even, I'm not giving it a fair shake. Right now, I can get editing done efficiently and quickly for my purposes in Premiere Pro. FCPX is just giving me fits at how to accomplish the same things. I'm just passing along my experience, and not to be a critique for those experts in both. I think the OP needs to see and try them both and figure out what will make the most sense.

I feel the exact opposite though, so it's all anecdotal and depends on your workflow. What I can say however, is that Svend Pape, award winning editor, who's edited with FCPX, FCP7, Avid, and the list goes on, prefers editing on FCPX. Says that the creativity can take front stage, and I personally agree fully with that. But it does require a somewhat untraditional editing workflow compared to other NLE's. You'll need to get used to using the magnetic timeline effectively, and using event-based selection. Once you get used to that however, classic timeline selection feels rather outdated I'd say. And having to worry about lanes just seems pointless.

For people not used to traditional NLEs, I think FCPX is actually easier. Though if you're used to a traditional NLE workflow, all other NLEs will be easier to use.

 

[MSastre]

I feel the exact opposite though, so it's all anecdotal and depends on your workflow. What I can say however, is that Svend Pape, award winning editor, who's edited with FCPX, FCP7, Avid, and the list goes on, prefers editing on FCPX. Says that the creativity can take front stage, and I personally agree fully with that. But it does require a somewhat untraditional editing workflow compared to other NLE's. You'll need to get used to using the magnetic timeline effectively, and using event-based selection. Once you get used to that however, classic timeline selection feels rather outdated I'd say. And having to worry about lanes just seems pointless.

For people not used to traditional NLEs, I think FCPX is actually easier. Though if you're used to a traditional NLE workflow, all other NLEs will be easier to use.

I have to agree. I started editing with FCP6/FCP7 and now use FCPX, but it is a completely different workflow and way of thinking. Once you get your head around the change/concept, creating is easier and faster. There is a good book letting you understand how it works, and of course Ripple Training is an excellent video resource for learning FCPX. Highly recommend giving it a try.

 

[Policar]

I feel the exact opposite though, so it's all anecdotal and depends on your workflow. What I can say however, is that Svend Pape, award winning editor, who's edited with FCPX, FCP7, Avid, and the list goes on, prefers editing on FCPX. Says that the creativity can take front stage, and I personally agree fully with that. But it does require a somewhat untraditional editing workflow compared to other NLE's. You'll need to get used to using the magnetic timeline effectively, and using event-based selection. Once you get used to that however, classic timeline selection feels rather outdated I'd say. And having to worry about lanes just seems pointless.

For people not used to traditional NLEs, I think FCPX is actually easier. Though if you're used to a traditional NLE workflow, all other NLEs will be easier to use.

Until you're a big award winner like that, though, you have to learn what your clients or the company you're working for want you to know. Mostly that's Premiere or Avid. Thankfully, learning a new NLE takes a day or two (or a week for Avid), whereas learning to edit well takes years. To that extent, the only wrong choice is just not choosing.

I still use FCP7.

 

[casperes1996]

Until you're a big award winner like that, though, you have to learn what your clients or the company you're working for want you to know. Mostly that's Premiere or Avid. Thankfully, learning a new NLE takes a day or two (or a week for Avid), whereas learning to edit well takes years. To that extent, the only wrong choice is just not choosing.

Well, Sven suggests FCPX, but uses whatever he's asked to. No matter who you are, accommodating your employer's requests is usually not bad, although challenging your employer in certain ways can be good. If a director gives you an outline for a scene, cut it the way you would yourself first, then follow directions, and show the director both! Great way to perhaps improve the film - depending on the director you're working with. Some don't react well to it.
Anyway, the tool is not as important as what you do with it. I mean, of course you shouldn't hammer in nails with a blowtorch, and you shouldn't edit video in GarageBand, but while sometimes a magnetic screwdriver can be nice, it's not a necessity to screw in a screw. And how good you are at screwing means more than how big your screwdriver is.....

 

[steve123]

I have to agree. I started editing with FCP6/FCP7 and now use FCPX, but it is a completely different workflow and way of thinking. Once you get your head around the change/concept, creating is easier and faster. There is a good book letting you understand how it works, and of course Ripple Training is an excellent video resource for learning FCPX. Highly recommend giving it a try.

I second the Ripple Training stuff. Those guys know their stuff. They also have a bunch of podcasts you can watch for free ... excellent stuff!!!

 

[USAntigoon]

I second the Ripple Training stuff. Those guys know their stuff. They also have a bunch of podcasts you can watch for free ... excellent stuff!!!

I fully agree.. I started with the "Noteboom Tutorials"..They are easy to understand and gets you familiarized with FCPX pretty quick.. Once I was somewhat comfortable, I switched to the Ripple Training modules for more detailed tutoring..

 

[Booch21]

I have to agree. I started editing with FCP6/FCP7 and now use FCPX, but it is a completely different workflow and way of thinking. Once you get your head around the change/concept, creating is easier and faster. There is a good book letting you understand how it works, and of course Ripple Training is an excellent video resource for learning FCPX. Highly recommend giving it a try.

I'm going to give the iBooks version a try. Thanks!

 

[ckirkthejerk]

Well, basically, Im taking photography major and recently got an internship opportunity from a professional photographer.

Here is the story. When I met him for an interview, he shocked the fact that I dont know how to use both Premier Pro and After Effects. I asked why and he said that the photography industry is falling apart and not worth it and you wont gonna survive. Yes, it was a shocking moment to me.

So, Im thinking to learn a video eiditing program but not sure where to get informations to study. I see Davinci resolve 14, Final cut pro, and Premier Pro. What programs should I study and where can I get tons of info just for study?

I have been editing professionally for over a decade now and actually never used anything but Avid.
It probably has the steepest learning curve but it's incredibly powerful and is used in 90 percent of broadcast television.
I would say for corporate videos and small films - Premiere is probably the software to learn.
If you would like to learn Avid a little bit without paying any money - they recently released Avid Media Composer First -
as a training software and it's totally free. I can't recommend this enough. Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[casperes1996]

I have been editing professionally for over a decade now and actually never used anything but Avid.
It probably has the steepest learning curve but it's incredibly powerful and is used in 90 percent of broadcast television.
I would say for corporate videos and small films - Premiere is probably the software to learn.
If you would like to learn Avid a little bit without paying any money - they recently released Avid Media Composer First -
as a training software and it's totally free. I can't recommend this enough. Hope this helps.

Chris

I acknowledge the professional ubiquity of Avid (Although it's going a bit downhill actually), but as you say, the learning curve is very steep, and if there's no prospect of eventual professional work, I think the time is better invested with Final Cut Pro or to a lesser extend Premiere. And even if there is a professional prospect, if it's not in a traditional business such as TV broadcasting or Hollywood, I'd also stick with either FCPX or Premiere. Easier to use and navigate, run much smoother when you don't have Avid's accelerator cards and are pretty much as powerful.
Sven Pape has a lot of delicious arguments for FCPX as well. He's edited most his pro work in Avid, but prefers to do even high budget pro work in Final Cut, if his employer allows it. (He's an award winning editor).

Besides, the time you save learning the software of Final Cut Pro compared to Avid, you can spend learning actual editing instead.

 

[fig]

I acknowledge the professional ubiquity of Avid (Although it's going a bit downhill actually), but as you say, the learning curve is very steep, and if there's no prospect of eventual professional work, I think the time is better invested with Final Cut Pro or to a lesser extend Premiere. And even if there is a professional prospect, if it's not in a traditional business such as TV broadcasting or Hollywood, I'd also stick with either FCPX or Premiere. Easier to use and navigate, run much smoother when you don't have Avid's accelerator cards and are pretty much as powerful.
Sven Pape has a lot of delicious arguments for FCPX as well. He's edited most his pro work in Avid, but prefers to do even high budget pro work in Final Cut, if his employer allows it. (He's an award winning editor).

Besides, the time you save learning the software of Final Cut Pro compared to Avid, you can spend learning actual editing instead.

I get that you really like this Sven guy, but he's one of hundreds if not thousands of editors out there who use a variety of Final Cut, Premiere, Resolve, Avid, and probably some other apps to edit award winning work. And there's good arguments for all of them. It's your choices in editing that create the award winning work, not the software.

For the record, I know Photoshop and After Effects but was new to editing and FCPX didn't make a lot of sense to me; I picked up Premiere much more quickly and am now learning Resolve. And it's really not that hard to learn the basics of any of them.

To the OP, just pick something and learn it. Then learn the next one.

 

[casperes1996]

I get that you really like this Sven guy, but he's one of hundreds if not thousands of editors out there who use a variety of Final Cut, Premiere, Resolve, Avid, and probably some other apps to edit award winning work. And there's good arguments for all of them. It's your choices in editing that create the award winning work, not the software.

I entirely agree . Though to be fair, this is exactly the reason I like Final Cut so much. I feel like it gets out of the way so I can focus on making good editing choices, rather than focusing on "Wait, how do I do this in this program?". I can use other NLEs perfectly fine, but I feel like it's more fluent working in Final Cut, where the program works for me, rather than me working to make the program do what I want. But hey that's just me
If I seem starstruck by Svend, it's just because I reflect my own workflow in his. He has a YouTube channel where you can follow along on his edits, and from the moment I first found him, it was like looking at myself editing something from a third person perspective... Well, at least in terms of "how", not necessarily "how well", hehe.
But as I also said regarding Svend, He uses a lot of different tools, Avid, FCPX, DaVinci, and so forth. It's not the tool that makes the editor at all. So yeah. Learn editing, not an NLE.

For the record, I know Photoshop and After Effects but was new to editing and FCPX didn't make a lot of sense to me; I picked up Premiere much more quickly and am now learning Resolve. And it's really not that hard to learn the basics of any of them.

I think your experiences there have more to do with your pre-existing familiarity with Adobe products, especially After Effects. Final Cut Pro does things drastically different from 'traditional' NLE software, whereas After Effects and Premiere, albeit a comparison between compositor and editor, work a lot more alike.

 

[TheTruth101]

Well... first of all...

The people who are not making money in any field is because they are just lazy. I have friend who are photographers and then I realized they are lazy or drug addicts, pretentious with no brain and want everything easy. They are broke. And I know photographers who make $5000 a session and they are cultivating clients, they are organize and have discipline.

In any industry... if you have discipline, you are organized and you know the business side and know how to deliver, you will do good. Now, instead of wasting time learning video editing software you better go and study engineering and get six figure salary out of school.