Final Cut Pro

no_friendsno_friends
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Final Cut Pro seems to be the way its all going at the moment...... but its very expensive.



I am considering buying a copy, for personal use then hopefully this will help me get a job further down the line. I can get it on educational for £250.



Its £8££ new, so its a pretty good deal.



Does anyone else out there use this??? and is it worth it £250? Most importantly !
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    tooltool Posts: 242member
    I have used it some..mainly still trying to learn it. Of course it's good! I recommend checking out <a href="http://www.uemedia.com/CPC/2-pop/index.shtml"; target="_blank">http://www.uemedia.com/CPC/2-pop/index.shtml</a>; for some information.
  • Reply 2 of 26
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    Assuming you have at least a Dual 500 G4. Then you should go FCP.
  • Reply 3 of 26
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    I know folks who are switching to FCP from Avid for film and TV work... I think that's a fairly good endorsement.
  • Reply 4 of 26
    trick falltrick fall Posts: 1,271member
    Anyone using Avid's DV Express? I've been hearing a lot less buzz at work about Final Cut since DV Express came out. The editors I've spoken to about it say it's better because they don't have to learn a new program.
  • Reply 5 of 26
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,435member
    [quote]Originally posted by trick fall:

    <strong>Anyone using Avid's DV Express? I've been hearing a lot less buzz at work about Final Cut since DV Express came out. The editors I've spoken to about it say it's better because they don't have to learn a new program.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    <a href="http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/review_avid_xdv.html"; target="_blank">http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/review_avid_xdv.html</a>;



    I don't expect Final Cut Pro to just take the market overnight. But it's well positioned. Something tells me FCP 4 is going to be a very nice upgrade. I hope to jump in at that time after I purchase a MiniDV Cam and a new Mac.



    I hope they add Applescript in FCP and DVDSP because I think these apps would benefit from Automation wherever possible.



    I also expect an add on pack using the assests of India Titler purchased from Prismo Graphics.
  • Reply 6 of 26
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    A bit off topic



    I got a chance to play with Premiere 6.5 a few days ago. I don't really like it..........still the same buggy app
  • Reply 7 of 26
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    <a href="http://www.dvguys.com"; target="_blank">www.dvguys.com</a> isn't a bad sight either. I disagree with needing a dual ... I did fine using a G4 400, just longer render times and no real-time effects.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    Just been having a chat with one of my buddies in the editing trade, who has the onerous task of going to work on Monday to install 2 Dual 1.25 GHz PMs into his setup (yeah, my heart bled too), and his opinion is that FCP is very, very close to being ready to go primetime: some of the feature-set of Avid isn't quit there, but it's not far off, and the skillset seems to be pretty transferable.



    When I mentioned the £250 bit, he practically wet himself...
  • Reply 9 of 26
    tooltool Posts: 242member
    [quote]Originally posted by Leonis:

    Assuming you have at least a Dual 500 G4. Then you should go FCP.<hr></blockquote>



    Uh..no Leonis...you do not need at least a dual 500G4.



    I have a single 500 G4 and it works fine. Even Apple's recommendations are G3/G4, nothing about duals. Sure, it would run faster, but it's not the minimum.
  • Reply 10 of 26
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    [quote]Originally posted by TOOL:

    <strong>



    Uh..no Leonis...you do not need at least a dual 500G4.



    I have a single 500 G4 and it works fine. Even Apple's recommendations are G3/G4, nothing about duals. Sure, it would run faster, but it's not the minimum.</strong><hr></blockquote>





    I know. It runs with single 500 but it is a LOT better with dual.
  • Reply 11 of 26
    keshkesh Posts: 621member
    Final Cut Pro is the Photoshop of Mac video editing. It's the most powerful and flexible, but has a steep learning curve to really take advantage of it. If you're willing to spend a while learning how to use the program, it's easily worth the money. But, if you're more interested in occasional video work, that doesn't involve many special editing tools or effects, stick with iMovie.
  • Reply 12 of 26
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    [quote]Originally posted by TOOL:

    <strong>Uh..no Leonis...you do not need at least a dual 500G4.



    I have a single 500 G4 and it works fine. Even Apple's recommendations are G3/G4, nothing about duals. Sure, it would run faster, but it's not the minimum.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The point is that FCP scales itself to take advantage of the available hardware: a lot more filters and effects are available in realtime if you can throw DPs at it, which is probably not such a consideration if you're learning to use it. In a production environment, well, time's money...
  • Reply 13 of 26
    tooltool Posts: 242member
    [quote]Originally posted by Overhope:

    The point is that FCP scales itself to take advantage of the available hardware: a lot more filters and effects are available in realtime if you can throw DPs at it, which is probably not such a consideration if you're learning to use it. In a production environment, well, time's money...<hr></blockquote>





    Yes, of course having DP would give you that...but not sure if you were trying to correct me or what.



    The original post:

    [quote]I am considering buying a copy, for personal use then hopefully this will help me get a job further down the line<hr></blockquote>



    So obviously he's not in a production environment.



    And Leonis responded by saying [quote]Assuming you have at least a Dual 500 G4. Then you should go FCP.<hr></blockquote>



    Making it sound like if you have anything less than a DP 500 you shouldn't go FCP...and I was pointing out that you don't have to have DP to learn it/use it.
  • Reply 14 of 26
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    Absolutely: sorry, I wasn't making corrections, just amplifying a bit.



    I fully agree that there's no bar to a single-processor machine running FCP: I've seen demos run on 800MHz TiBooks perfectly happily.



    Just to put it to bed, this from Apple's FCP page:



    [quote] Final Cut Pro 3 requires Mac OS X v10.1.1 or Mac OS 9.2.2, a Macintosh computer with a 300MHz or faster PowerPC G3 or G4 processor with built-in FireWire, 256MB of RAM (384MB recommended for G4 real-time effects), and 40MB of available disk space for installation. Actual SRP for Final Cut Pro 3 is $999. 500 MHz or faster single or dual processor Power Mac G4 or PowerBook G4 required for G4 real-time effects. 667-MHz PowerBook G4 required for mobile G4 real-time effects in DV format. SD and HD editing requires a Power Mac G4 and third-party capture card. <hr></blockquote>
  • Reply 15 of 26
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    Filter rendering with FCP on a single processor based G4 (500Mhz or lower) is very slow in many cases.



    In my experience single 867 is the minimum requirement for decent speed in filter rendering



    For duals. DP 500 does the job nicely. It sometimes 'feels' smoother than a single 933....under X
  • Reply 16 of 26
    no_friendsno_friends Posts: 18member
    Hello guys,



    Thanks for the info!!! Ram prices are coming down to, so its all falling into place nicely!





    Overhope, I don't understand why your friend nearly wet himself???



    I could by the full product or just download it off the net, but then that would be ripping Apple off. Which in the long run hurts everyone.



    What do you lot recon?

    Off the self for £250 or Free Down the phone line?





    To put it bluntly!
  • Reply 17 of 26
    tooltool Posts: 242member
    Buy it
  • Reply 18 of 26
    overhopeoverhope Posts: 1,123member
    [quote]Originally posted by NO_FRIENDS:

    <strong>Overhope, I don't understand why your friend nearly wet himself???</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Because he spent a lot of time justifying the expenditure to his purchasing manager. At that price, he could have saved himself two days arguing and got on with some real work...



    And, please, if you are going to get a copy, spend some money.
  • Reply 19 of 26
    the cool gutthe cool gut Posts: 1,714member
    [quote]Originally posted by NO_FRIENDS:

    <strong>

    What do you lot recon?

    Off the self for £250 or Free Down the phone line?





    To put it bluntly!</strong><hr></blockquote>



    If you plan on learning, the manuals and tutorial footage that come with a legite copy would really come in handy.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    buggybuggy Posts: 83member
    I teach a Highschool video class. We have been with FCP since v1.2.



    Being a public school we can not afford the bleeding edge.



    FCP works just fine on everything from a DV iMac to a 700 eMac. Shure it is slower, but you just have to work differently. Set renders to draft. Create the piece then when you go for lunch or go home, then turn it to high and let it render.



    We have created hundreds of pieces with FCP. The Computer tech guys use Premiere.... I laugh every time they try to get the software to work with the hardware. Hell if I could get FCP to work on one of our old performa's I could still get more product out the door. The thing just works (however when the change the preferances or clip settings, without telling enyone, then it can be a bit of a headache.



    BUY IT you will not regret it!
Sign In or Register to comment.