Hey Guys,

I have decided to get a mac.. I was wondering how long does it normally take to figure out fcp 4? Like just basic edits and some effects? I have been using premiere and basically just know how to do simple editing with it, nothing more...the problem is I cant play around with it too much because it crashes or freezes or goes too slow and im fed up.. SO im going Mac and FCP..So back to what I was saying, How long woudl you say it would take me to learn the ins and outs? and how different is it from premiere? Thannks A lot for any help.

It's tough to generally say, but I'd give yourself a several days doing tutorials and looking things up before you feel comfortable.

My humble opinion is that Final Cut Pro is really one of the few programs out there that you can really teach yourself the basics just by messing around with it. However, its most powerful features can only be found by reading the manual and whatnot.


I praise your decision to go Mac. You'll never look back.

_________________________
http://www.jswfilms.com/

Thanks Guys, that helped a lot...Yeah JW..My PC has got the best hardware and fastest processor out right now, but it still cant handle my editing..SO MAC IT IS... everyone i know that has mac swear by them.. and a good majority of them switched cause of the same reason I am..

yeah, Cobraperry, you'll be happy with you're setup. You'll also love the other apps that come with FCP like livetype, soundtrack, compressor and cinema tools (if you ever need it).

but I challange any one to describe something that they can do w/ FCP, that can't be done in Premiere

okydoky (btw, the new premeire may have added support for the features i'm mentioning in which case i stand corrected)

now then:

1 ) Run After Effects filters natively

2 ) FX Script for writing your own filters

3 ) time bending (ramp up and down the rate of time on a curve)

4 ) soundtrack, basically writes pro sounding music for you

last used premeire a long time ago so i'm probably wrong about these

5 ) sound fx: reverb, 3 way equalizer, hum remover, low/high pass, low/high shelf, notch, etc.

6 ) realtime 3-way color-corrector

7 ) offline rt, captures low low size compressed footage for rough edit, then swaps it for high quality edited sequence without needing to store all the bad takes on the hard drive at full quality

8 ) all the realtime features

alright, i couldn't resist the challenge! let's hear your rebuttal!

Stirling | Dueling the Fates @ Zomp

If you've messed around with Premier and got that down pretty fast, I'd say you'll learn quick. I dled Premier 6 and was editing the first day I used it. Just sort of 'clicked' for me. If that is you, then FCP should be no problem at all. Definitely use the tutorials and such to get more acquainted with different fuctions and fun stuff you can do. Other than that, if you have a question, you know where to go. Plus Apple has plenty of forums for their different programs and has gotten me out of stitches many times. As for Premier Pro, I hear it's great, however to quote Blazingoat, "Also, it looks and feels a lot more stable, and Final Cut-ish." Obviously they are trying to keep up with Apple, if not mimick some of the interface. Why go with a company that simply tries to keep up with the competition rather than one that works hard to create new innovations to make the consumer happy?

good game blazingoat! you played gallantly!

but yes, it's true... they're just tools. pick the one that's best for you.. like mac vs. pc... they're just tools. neither is better than the other....

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ok, that's not working. i can't lie. pc sucks!!

Stirling | Dueling the Fates @ Zomp

No. PC's don't suck ... Windows sucks :-)

I betcha if someone ported Premiere, Avid or even FCP to Linux or BSD it'd run with much the same stability as on Mac OS X.

Richard Purves
Living Film
http://www.livingfilm.co.uk/

yeah! i think you're right

Stirling | Dueling the Fates @ Zomp