I've been cutting a feature film recently and I've been forced to use Final Cut Pro - so I've been grudgingly learning how to use it.

On Avid, one technique that I use to edit that I find very helpful is to build a "selects" sequence of the shots for a particular scene. I then load that sequence into my source monitor as my source for cutting that scene. It has only the shots that I like in it, and I find it very helpful.

Unfortunately, when you use this method in Final Cut Pro, it will create a nested sequence on your timeline - which is really annoying.

By tinkering I found a workaround - you need to use the Insert/Overite sequence contents button. This will perform an edit just like an Avid.

FCP is ok...nothing like an Avid. It doesn't help that the system I'm on is really slow (single 1ghz G4 with 1.72 gigs ram). Trimming still annoys me. And for some reason when I go into dual roller trim on a single track in the trim edit window, the frames that it shows me in the trim edit window are completely wrong. Go figure. And replace edit never works correctly. Oh well.

If I do another film for these guys, I'm going to insist to cut it on an Avid.

But that being said, I figured out the Insert sequence contents today - which is a great help. Building selects sequences is a great way to work - regardless of editing system. It is a great way to compare takes - quickly being able to watch a sequence which has each take. I spend most of my time editing just watching footage and making selects - you need to.

-Chris
Studentfilms.com

thats always a ****ty situation, when you're stuck using software you don't frequently use. i had to cut something on Premiere once for something because thats what was available. blah.

Best of luck with it man.

I'm working around it. This thing literally takes 3 seconds to enter trim mode, 3-4 seconds to slip a shot in the timeline, 3-4 seconds to trim in the timeline, 2 seconds to switch between trimming the a-side or b-side in the trim edit window. I spend so much time just waiting on this thing.

-Chris
Studentfilms.com

Wow! Those times are messed up. Something must be wrong with the system, unless you're using some weird video formats.

On an old 867mhz G4 with 700+MB ram it takes only about 1 second to enter trim, and it slips shots instantly, perfectly smooth and responsive. Dragging color correction and other filter settings can still be really sluggish though; thats normal. I'd check with the system people, that apple may have some issues.

I have never used avid, but FCP is great. i love it.

Hey fine can you cut compared to Avid on FCP?

I'm just getting into editing myself now. I usually have an editor on hand, and probably will continue to, but Im learning FCP, and usual work with Premiere. FCP seems fine to me, no real delays but Im learning on a G5. All I know is Premiere is terrible and almost always murders my movie by throwing a thousand audio and visual glitches in there
how irritating

Premiere Pro is amazing with the whole editing and post preduction process. Im a FCP/HD man though. But i will have to start using Premire Pro since i can't afford a mac that will do what i want it to do.

it's funny because my edit teacher now uses both Composer and Final Cut, and there's things to complain about in both systems. and that's what we do in class, complain about both while trying to learn little things that they both have in common so it's easier to switch between the two.

Avids interface is so non-sensical, Final Cut's is too graphic (the effects/keyframes/etc. are easier to do by number, but it'd be nice if it just popped up a window instead of using the source monitor and then having to drag the tab out of it. and you can plug numbers into instead of using those stupid sliders, but some of the effects don't have that).

Avids timeline is the most annoying thing in the world and the fact that you have to switch between insert and overwrite modes and that they do different things to clips is annoying. Having to enter the trim-mode is annoying and time consuming, it's just easier to Add Edit and then undo until you cut it off at the right point. Trimming by 1 or 10 frames has never helped me. I wonder if there's a way to change the number of frames it trims.And that you can't just drag clips around whenever/wherever just slows everything down. And that you can't just sync up audio and video in the timeline, and then unsync them, so you can move entire groups together but leave certain elements in place like you can in Final Cut. Bleargh.

Final cut doesn't have 4-up or 6-up display that Avid has which helps a lot when you're trying to make multiple edits on a movement. That it doesn't have a bin of your rendered video effects so you can actually see them and what you've done to the clip is annoying. FCP4 isn't as stable as FCP3, but 3 doesn't let you map buttons or have Cinema Tools already included. Insert edits don't work so well sometimes either. And changing settings in FCP is really tedious since it's always hidden somewhere or other, instead of just putting all the menus/options into one window like Avid does, so you can change things instantly.


and since i've been doing audio editing lately, it's nice the FCP will scroll the waveform in the source window when you're trying to edit the audio clip on a certain beat or noise. And once you get all the audio clips how you want them, you can link all of them so they always stay together even when you nudge one a little bit this way or that. Avid has better Audio Suite and Audio Mixer controls more like ProTools and so it makes it way the hell easier to do the audio cleaning and mixing, but it doesn't have what i just mentioned FCP has for audio, which really does make it a million times easier to edit audio, but not mix it.

Someone needs to tell both of them to get all this stuff together.