I am a Final Cut Pro fan. I am NOT a Mac fan. I had to use a Power G4 for a couple of years doing video editing and every time I had to use that thing I couldn’t wait to get back on my regular… real… computer (let the mac vs. PC flame war begin!)
Ok, but as much as that is true, the one thing I really have to hand to the good folks over at Apple is that they make some seriously killer software from time to time. Case in Point: Final Cut Pro.
For those of you who may not know, Final Cut Pro is basically a video editing software package that also does a lot more (titling, compositing ect). It is a sweet package that is a pure joy to use (now if they would only make a PC version of it!). The package is also VERY powerful. I won’t go into boring details, but sufficient to say that pros and semi-pros alike live and die by this software.
Anyway, the good folks over at Film Threat have reported about the upcoming release of Final Cut Pro 5. Here’s what they had to say:
On Tuesday, May 3, beginning at 6:45PM, at the Digital Cinema Lab (Pacific Theater) the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group (lafcpug) will present “The LA Debut of Final Cut Pro 5 and Soundtrack Pro.” Members of the FCP and Soundtrack Pro team including FCP product designer Brian Meaney will be down from Cupertino to demo as well as take questions and feedback. And there will be plenty of time for questions and feedback.
I seriously wish I could go to stuff like this. For those of you who may know how much I don’t like Macs… this is how much I liked Final Cut Pro… I almost considered buying a Mac powerbook JUST so i could use Final Cut Pro again. That means I like it a LOT… other than that the only way I’d get a Mac for myself is if Jesus and Optimus Prime both appeared together before me and told me to do so.
“Macs. Macs are the path to the dark side. Macs lead to anger. Macs lead to hate. Macs lead to… suffering”
– Jedi Master Yoda
some people are spending more on upkeep than it would cost to get a new outfit of macs..
and if the computer is for personal use consider the hundreds of hours you’ll spend every year trying to find the right fix from norton on your crawling infected machine.
i have a 1.7 pentium 4 from a few years back and that thing never outperformed a g3 700 ibook. i still have the pc for the convenience of broad poduct compatibility but i never hook it up to the internet unless i have to do it. the antivirus startup alone is retarded. Funnier still is when i try to turn norton off it becomes a virus all its’ own. and i don’t bother fixing it anymore either. working mostly on macs i’m always amused when i hear from all of our clients at the same time that they’ve got the latest thing and are waiting for it to be fixed.
Just thought I’d clear something up. The bible doesn’t say that Jesus is the only way. The bible says Jesus is THE way. Now that that’s cleared up, carry on with the debate that is unwinnable! It’s all a matter of preference. If you want speed in render time, then the PC may be better. If you want editing power a mac may be the way to go. If you want a cheap consumer affordable system, definitely PC, but you have to be ready to deal with common PC problems. If you’re ready to bite the bullet and spend a lot of money on a system for the extra bells and whistles. Buy a mac. It all really depends on where you’re coming from and who you are working with. When you make your great film and your paying a great editor who is renowned for his work, you probably wont ask him if he uses a mac or a PC, but rather if it looks good! That’s all I care about! Just my 2 cents!
I’ve been looking around to find some honest evaluations and I had an epiphany when Chewbaka (I think) said something about ‘comparable price’. Dude, I do video editing and I do some cool stuff with my Adobe Premiere and a 3-yr old computer from Circuit City. Now that it’s time for me to upgrade, I’ve been looking closely as FCP 5 and Premiere 1.5 and I think it’ll a photo finish (if one beats the other). The only other parameter that matters to me (and to most people) is price. Dude, did you realize most Mac set-ups are twice the price of their windows counterparts?
Just take a moment and look at the numbers (software+hardware). I think people make up for their lack of creative juice with having cool tools. It’s almost like the rich kid (with a brand new M3) and you with an expired Jetta. He will get some of the girls and you will your fair share as well. You just have to know what you’re doing.
For our benediction, I think computer preference could be likened to a cult. Most people justify it’s relevance by virtue of the fact that they are in it. It’s like the bible saying Jesus is the only way. That will make sense to you if you are a Christian. Otherwise, that’s nonesense.
I’ve been looking around to find some honest evaluations and I had an epiphany when Chewbaka (I think) said something about ‘comparable price’. Dude, I do video editing and I do some cool stuff with my Adobe Premiere and a 3-yr old computer from Circuit City. Now that it’s time for me to upgrade, I’ve been looking closely as FCP 5 and Premiere 1.5 and I think it’ll a photo finish (if one beats the other). The only other parameter that matters to me (and to most people) is price. Dude, did you realize most Mac set-ups are twice the price of their windows counterparts?
Just take a moment and look at the numbers (software+hardware). I think people make up for their lack of creative juice with having cool tools. It’s almost like the rich kid (with a brand new M3) and you with an expired Jetta. He will get some of the girls and you will your fair share as well. You just have to know what you’re doing.
For our benediction, I think computer preference could be likened to a cult. Most people justify it’s relevance by virtue of the fact that they are in it. It’s like the bible saying Jesus is the only way. That will make sense to you if you are a Christian. Otherwise, that’s nonesense.
A comparably priced Mac will blow away any PC. You have to take into account the PC slowing down due to spyware and viruses, which in the real world affect all PC’s no matter the quality of the protection software. You can’t put a price on the convenience of having less viruses on Macs.
Enjoy the new PC Windows software when it comes out in ’06. I’m already enjoying many of the new features, such as dashboards, on my Mac. You’ll have to wait until next year to see the great os improvements that mac owners already enjoy…
Chewbaca-
Hah. Tell that to Walter Murch, bud.
ok, plain and simple. Macs are for little rich girls that dont know crap about computers. Anyone
that knows what they are doing will know that PCs are the way to go. John, I fully agree with you on your performance post. Sure, macs have a way good looking UI, but lets get real! People that want to get something done don’t sit in front of their computer and stare at how beautiful the UI is, while suffering overall performance.
A PC half the price as a Mac will beat the shit out of it*PERIOD*.
so if you didnt care about money and wanted the best video editing set-up..you would buy FCP5? I don’t really play any games and want the best over all editing set-up thats not a total brain screwing like I think avid might be. I couldn’t really care about the hardware…and I hate Microsoft..:P
I love Star Wars man.
Hello “Mr. Jobs”
How did my last PC treat me? Well… let me put it this way. A nearly 3 year old laptop had it’s hard drive die…. and that’s a LOT better than how my buddy’s Mac Powerbook treated him after 7 months.
Cheers
how did your last pc treat you john? quit being so bloody stubborn and get yourself a real computer.
To all my Mac loving friends:
Sorry… I’ve worked in a visual effects production house and wored as an Editor. Without exception, any $3000 PC that I’ve put up against a $3000 Mac always won hands down in terms of overall speed in Rendering. No.. Seriously… it did.
If Mac had proved to me that dollar for dollar it could out perform a PC based system in terms of pure power and rendering… I would be a Mac user today. However, in every head to head comparision that I personally did in production… the equally priced PC destroyed the Mac. Even when using a superior editing software like Final Cut. It’s just 1+1 folks.
Someone show me otherwise.
I’m not being sarcastic either… someoe show me some actually redering clock comparissions to equally priced machines and I’ll convert!!!
oh, c’mon now seriously give me a break. Only buggers would want to keep a slow Windows machine operating under their loyalty (you are now officially Bill Gates’ hundred millionth bitch). Flamers love it when you whip out an ipod, but who wants one anymore? Regardless, you are no hacker my dear John. Hackers are allowed to say that Macs are gay, because they are inpenetrable… Don’t tell me that you play “Star Wars Revenge of the Knights of the Old Republic/ Battlefield/ Whatever The Bloody Hell” on your pc when you aren’t giving us the daily nutrition of your scoops.
If you don’t like Macs, then that’s understandable, because in a sense now, being an Apple fan is such a fad. But, unless you are truly hip with the world of coolness and whatnot, then you’d have a linux os on some cheap barebones Korean port and be spreading copies of “House of Wax” to everyone.
And Yoda was made on Macs.
oh, c’mon now seriously give me a break. Only buggers would want to keep a slow Windows machine operating under their loyalty (you are now officially Bill Gates’ hundred millionth bitch). Flamers love it when you whip out an ipod, but who wants one anymore? Regardless, you are no hacker my dear John. Hackers are allowed to say that Macs are gay, because they are inpenetrable… Don’t tell me that you play “Star Wars Revenge of the Knights of the Old Republic/ Battlefield/ Whatever The Bloody Hell” on your pc when you aren’t giving us the daily nutrition of your scoops.
If you don’t like Macs, then that’s understandable, because in a sense now, being an Apple fan is such a fad. But, unless you are truly hip with the world of coolness and whatnot, then you’d have a linux os on some cheap barebones Korean port and be spreading copies of “House of Wax” to everyone.
And Yoda was made on Macs.
Yeah Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 is a pretty damn good PC-alternative and not a great deal different to FCP. But FCP is still the winner there.
If you want to learn Avid (which many of the pro’s use), then Avid Xpress Pro is a good place to start. It takes a while to learn properly but it’s industry standard.
Any suggestions for PC Video Editting Software? No MACs for me, thanks.
FCP is definitely the best. A few commercial post houses I know in NYC just got rid of all their Avids and are now completely FCP.
Also, you might me interested in reading a great book about Walter Murch, Cold Mountain and FCP, titled, “BEHIND THE SEEN”.
And John, give the Mac OS a month or so and you’ll wonder how you could have ever used Windows!
Check out my short comedy, “HEADTRIP” that was created with an XL1, FCP and a Mac in my living room at:
http://www.mymoviefest.com/movies/740.html
you cannot possible consider XP a better platform than osx. I mean really. If you were a hardcore unix guy who lived only for a command line,then i would understand or a gamer that had to have every single title, but XP? I have both varieties on my home lan. But the only time the brand new xp box is turned on is to check cross platform design issues.
Final Cut Pro is awesome. So are iTunes, iPhoto, and garage band. You just have to quit PC cold turkey. It is like a smack habit!
:)