sony vegas vs. Avid --PC vs Mac

[Rebekah]

I'm going to study Cinema/Television and Journalism. Right now I use FCP & FCP Express at school, but I'm considering getting my own laptop - I'm more inclined to PC's but they don't support FCP - so the question is, if I choose pc, the 2 editing systems I'm looking at include Sony Vegas and Avid. What are the pros and cons of each? How easy is it to convert files from Sony Vegas and Avid to FCP?

[lordsmurf]

Because you're a student, I'll answer this.
Three things...

1. There's nothing to "convert". Final Cut Pro/Express is Apple, and uses Quicktime (MOV) wrappers + FCP files for saving projects. It's proprietary, period. Same for Sony Vegas, Avid, etc. All save proprietary project files. Windows systems use AVI wrappers, not MOV. You can somewhat move source files back and forth, but it's a nuisance.

2. You left Adobe Premiere off the list. Honestly, I'd put it above Vegas, which I'd put above Avid. I'd also consider Edius before Avid.

3. Apple shot itself in the foot years ago with video apps, and it's never recovered. Unless you're simply shooting DV and then creating DVDs directly, it's the wrong workflow for most projects. It's like running a contest with a broken foot and missing shoestrings -- it may work, but it will be an ordeal to get to the finish. You're not missing out on anything by not using a Mac. (Note: I use both systems, I'm not anti-Mac, just prefer using right tool for right job.)

some more thoughts...

If anybody tries to tell you that "journalists mostly use Mac", realize they're full of shit. Pick up a copy of Broadcast Engineering if you don't believe me. See how much Mac hardware/software you see discussed. By end of year, I hope to be shooting "sidebar-style" videos (B-roll to photos + written stories) on a Nikon D3s, and it will be edited in Premiere, and final-encoded in MainConcept Reference.

If nothing else, you'll be more job-ready by graduation, as you'll know FCP from class, and Vegas/etc from home.

There's some Premiere guides at The Digital FAQ, and then I'll be at that site's forum if you ever want to find me. PM me here or there, too.

You really should pay more attention to the concepts behind editing and how any NLE works, and not focus so much on the exact software itself. Software changes, goes away, etc -- concepts really don't. Keep that in mind.

Don't be afraid to prod your teacher, either, if they teach the software instead of the technique. That's crap, and they should be called to the floor for it. Software education will be obsolete by the time you graduate. Ask "technique" questions until he/she gets the hint.

Good luck.

[guns1inger]

Don't be afraid to prod your teacher, either, if they teach the software instead of the technique. That's crap, and they should be called to the floor for it.

Too right. Too many teachers know the software, but not how to edit. One of the schools I work with teachers a year 9 "film making" course. Neither of the teachers teaching it know anything about film making. One is a drama teacher with no practical knowledge of film making, and the other is a drama/English teacher with even less. They bring a guy in to teach the actual computing part because neither of the "real" teachers can be bothered (or aren't capable - I suspect it is both) to learn how to do it. So the girls are given a camera, told to shoot some footage, shown how to use iMovie, and that is the sum total of their 'film making' knowledge at the end of the day. In this particular case, the unit was introduced by the drama teacher solely for the purpose of getting a Mac into her department because she is firmly of the belief that you can only use windows for spreadsheets, and only Macs can be used for creative endeavours. And sadly, she is probably the least computer literate person in the school.

The basics of editing hold equally for film as they do for video. NLEs offer far more freedom and "what if ?" potential because it is so easy to try alternative cuts very quickly, but I can't imagine someone like Hitchcock caring too much. He had his films shot and edited in his head long before the clapper fell on the first take of the shoot. What tool you use to glue it all together is secondary to the art. If it wasn't, there really would be a "make art" button in every piece of creative software.

[redwudz]

This isn't Latest Video News. Moving to our Editing Forum.

And welcome to our forums.

[fitch.j]

Agree with LordSmurf and what he's said, i'd definately look at premiere. Also you may be interested to learn that you can open up yout FCP projects in premiere, can't say i've ever actually done it as we dont touch FCP at all, but its a listed feature.