Hi. I'll be entering UC Santa Cruz in the fall as a film major. I'm getting a new labtop over the summer. I'm trying to decide whether to get a Windows or a Mac (I've had experience with both). If I get a Windows (which I use currently), I'll keep my "borrowed" version of Adobe Premiere. If I get a Mac, I'll need to buy FinalCutPro (the student price isn't too bad). If anyone has any information on what kind of computer and/or editing software is most prominant at UCSC I would really appreciate it. Also, since I've been working for so long with Premiere and have never used FinalCutPro, any recommendation one way or the other (or just commentary/criticism) would be very helpful. Thanks.

im usually the guy standing in the middle on the mac vs. pc debate....
but, i would def. have to reccomend the mac..
more film students will use mac, and it will probably be the best investment you could make---

BTW, congrats on UCSC...

Theres a good amount of posts regarding the premiere vs FCP and mac vs pc debate. Depends on your funds and what you are looking to do. I tend to avoid these topics now because they really turn into a worn out debate quickly . It's all been said before. The only thing i am going to say is please refrain from discussing "borrowed" software on these boards, we dont discuss it here for the sake of the board sticking around. Just to do us all a favor and hold back on mentioning such things.

Welcome to the board by the way and good luck at UCSC!

Actually. I use premiere pro, but for school..I'd say go with finalcutpro/mac. One of my best friends is going to NYU, and all of the other colleges he applied for said FCP. NYU said they wanted him to edit on that. But I've never used it, but I heard that is it more reliable than premiere. And for school, you wouldn't want to have a crash on a mid-term project

Sorry to mention "borrowed" software. I did it, not to promote doing so, but rather to give an honest representation of my situation.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

i know, i'm not jumping on ya just letting you know no need to apologize man. By the way, i use premiere pro mostly because i do a lot of work on pc, so it isnt worth it for me to be dual platform. I own an imac G3 with FCP2 that i no longer use except for testing now, so i have experience on both platforms. If you have no reason to stick to pc, then yea, go FCP. You are better off, especially since your school will more than likely be using it. But, short of that, Premiere pro is definitely a close second now, adobe is more in striking distance than ever. I've had very little in the way of stability issues personally, but windows is windows now matter how you cut it.

And i wasnt going to weigh in on this topic lol...

I would recommend "Final Cut Pro" over Adobe Premier any day. I'm a freelance editor and I've tried Adobe and I was not impressed. Final Cut Pro is getting better and better especially with the 4th version out now. Think of it this way, the Coen Brothers use Final Cut Pro and Walter Murch the editor for "Cold Mountain" (who recently won the Oscar for best editing on the film) used Final Cut Pro 4 to edit the film.
So I would say to go with the Mac and buy Final Cut Pro 4. Make sure to use the student discount when you purchase it.

Nate Fackrell
http://www.studentfilms.com/film/get.do?id=690