Post-Production : What's your editing software of choice? by Angel Mateo

Premiere, though I do want to learn Avid. The bugs in FCP 7 were never fixed, and the last project I cut on it was a nightmare. It's very limited in terms of handling different file formats. I've found that so far to be seamless in Premiere.

Yes, i do agree with you, premiere is doing great for me. I used it to cut my last project and really i cant complain as far as performace, As far as for Avid, im like 85% fluent with it, i remember i used it to cut this car dealership commercial i was working on and lets say... It was not easy to get acostume to, but it is fast and it has alot of good widgets to play with. And now apple... Well, they no longer care about us film makers, i remember i always felt so proud to say i was "a final cut user" but with all the bugs / no updates / and the the introdution of my new nightmare aka FCPX, I dont think theres a reason for me to continue to spend thousand of dollars in apple equipment, when i can use adobe on a much faster windows based computer . so props to adobe, they really step up their game this year.

I use Premiere Pro as well in conjunction with Adobe After Effects. I love the Adobe packages. Premiere to me just seems to be more stable and easier to learn. I use it to cut my reels :)

I use Premiere CS6 for personal projects and things that I need to get done quickly, and Avid for most of my film work. Sometimes I consider completely switching to Adobe, but I've had Premiere crash on me way more than I'd like, and when I've got impending deadlines, I trust the Avid more than anything else. Also, FCPX is easily the fastest program out there in terms of pure editorial, but if you try to put it into an existing workflow with color, compositing, and sound software, you're going to lose way more time than you saved in editing. Not to mention that FCPX is about as buggy as any program I've ever seen.

I know a lot of editors who actually tried FCPX and found it to be an awesome editing tool,for $300.00 It is amazing.With a few plug ins you can do what you need to.You will have to unlearn what you know from fcp7, because the interface is completely rebuilt,but in my experience it is better once you get use to it.You can still use Photoshop and other adobe products if you own them.I saved my money and bought other editing tools to help my work flow.You can try it for free for a month .For what PMP costs you can buy a new iMac and FCPX.I believe this was what Apple was thinking when they released it,it's brilliant.Okay have fun exploring the possibilities.Gary

I've used Vegas but I'm not sold it's the best one out there. It is relatively cheap and very intuitive, but I have a few issues with it and it does get buggy sometimes.

Evan i heard alot of good things abouy vegas, im gonna give it a try. Im Downloading a trial right now

I've been a Final Cut Studio man for years after making the jump from iMovie , I've edited numerous music videos and features on it with no problems , I use the new Final Cut now and again but I've been using Premiere Pro CS6 for a few months now , very pleased with it but it has crashed a few times but I'm hoping that my new iMac sorts this issue out.

I wish I had a choice. I'm stuck with Windows Movie Maker... WOOO HOOOO!!! at least until I get outta this trailer...lol

I have been using Premier Pro more than FCP 7 recently. I prefer Premier Pro because I use a DSLR video camera and it really seems to work well with it. Premier also has some really good plugins.

Also formerly a FC7 (Studio) user. With the release of FCPX, I started to use Adobe Premiere Pro 5.5 but was on the fence. There were some quirks with the product, a certain lack of predictability. But with Adobe Premiere Pro 6, and all the point products that integrate so well (After Effects, PhotoShop, Encore, Audition) it has quickly become my preferred platform. Add in Adobe Story and it is hard to justify anything else. I did use FCPX recently because it was able to ingest files from an older Canon digital camcorder that I used for b-roll - for some reason Premiere Pro could not recognize the file content. Other than that, Apple lost a customer (on the software front, that is - still very much all Apple when it comes to hardware).

Michael, i pretty much feel the same way about apple. Im still trying to figure out , what the hell was apple and their developers thinking, when they decided that fcpx was going to become a Pro NLE... Software wise they lost a customer too. And believe me, im still devating on the hardware with their upcoming line of products aka non upgradeable laptops... A windows based super computer sounds very tempting right now

I've never used the Premiere CS6 or the new Media Composer, but I am certified in both FCP 7 and FCP X. Having used both on numerous projects, I can't imagine editing with anything other than FCP X. To be fair, Premiere may have some great tools. I just haven't used them. FCP 7 seems slow and clunky now that I've been using X for a while. Once you know the application, it is easier and faster to get a lot of things done. Mind you, X doesn't have a lot of legacy support, and is aimed at file based production. If you do a lot of tape or film based work, FCP X is not for you. If you rely on legacy 32-Bit plug-ins, FCP X is not for you. If you like editing quickly, and having access to amazing finishing tools built into your app, FCP X is for you.

Samuel, I'm curious what you mean when you say a Mac can't Cut. Are you talking about Cut/Paste?

Patrick...i really appreciate your input, im also a long time fcp user but unfortunately, all i'm going to say about fcpx is: "Magnetic Timeline"... there is nothing more annoying in this world, than not being able to control precisely where and how i want my cuts to be position. Im not certified on fcpx but i have taken a huge initiative to learn it. Like almost 8 tutorials plus live seminars and a ton of crash courses, i love the speed and the live integration of the effects and plugins, and background rendering. Sharing options. The new updates of 10.0.6 are pretty good , and just to make myself clear, i'm not bashing it, its a pretty good software, i used it for easy few projects . in conclusion, my personal experience comes from not having the feel of of control over my workflow, it feels fast but not a good fast, it felt like too much was going on with the cursor fast. at least for me... Just my 2 cents

Yeah i think he meant that... Lol

I understand. There are times when the magnetic timeline gets in the way. The "Position" tool ("P" on the keyboard) does allow you to move things on the timeline as you would in FCP 7. I'm a bit unclear as to what you mean about speed and the cursor, but I'd like to understand. All in all, you've got to use a tool you're comfortable with.

You are right, im just so used to the key "A" for movement , from grampa fcp7. What i meant by speed and the cursor , goes more into the way the software was responding to my workflow, while i tried to do stuff i would normaly do in fcp7 (sorry english is my second language and something i dont make alot of sense lol). But anyways im definitely not confortable with the software and the new shorcuts and it woulnt be fair not to say that, Due to the thousand of bad reviews at the apple store, i always felt a lot sceptical about it. It kinda disapointed me, i really wasnt ready for such a sudden change. But hey, at the end you got make work with whatever you have, as long as it comes out awesome!

I see what you mean. If you aren't comfortable with the product, it can really slow you down. I hope you find a product that allows you to work quickly and efficiently. Best of luck!

I'm really happy with my Mac hardware setup right now. I am very concerned about where MS is going with their OS's and I do not see any compelling reason to switch hardware. On the FCPX front - my understanding is that Apple was kinda forced in to an "all change" for its next release after FCP7. This was due to aging codebases I believe. So they decided to completely overhaul FCP using some of what they had learned with iMovie development. There are many things about FCPX I continue to dislike. There are workarounds for things like the magnetic timeline but I don't like workarounds. I have work to do, and need a tool that is intuitive to use and does not force me to work in a way that I find uncomfortable. I appreciate that Apple has taken on board much of the criticism leveled at them upon release, and from what I see and read, FCPX current version is a huge improvement over the original. However, I still question how Apple could have developed and released a "Pro" product, apparently with input from professionals, that came across as nothing more than a marginal upgrade to iMovie.

Samuel, I have been using Cut and Paste along with [command c] and [command v] on a Mac for some time with no problems. Is there something I am missing?

I use FCPX and I love it. This is probably due to having very limited experience of any other editor before buying it so it is pretty much my main experience. I did use Premier and Final Cut Studio a few years ago when I started messing about with editing. I love how fast you can work in FCPX and with the addition of plugins that I have bought over the last year it is suiting me perfectly. I haven't done any major projects in it as yet so maybe I will change my mind - I am just starting an instructional DVD project this week so time will tell...

Hi Samuel. I think that Robin Remde did a great job of describing this. I agree that Steve Jobs had his quirks. He didn't want arrow keys on his keyboards, for example. Nice aesthetics but a pain in the neck for the production user. All the best!

I think this thread is going a different direction now, but I wanted to throw in my vote. I started off using Premiere Pro around 2005 and have stuck with it. Currently CS5. I'm sure I could get used to another editor, but I love "Replace with After Effects Composition."

In our company we´ve switching from FCP 7 to Premiere CS6. Its not easy, neither cheap, but I´m afraid for professional intensive workflows FCP X hasn´t evolved enough yet. For one man crew and freelancers, it´s a fast and nice option. But Apple must continue working hard to regain FCP7 users, the latest upgrades we´re important improvements -R3D files, for example-. I hope Apple continues improving FCP X... I´d be happy if we only had one tool, today we have to still using FCP7 for older projects and Premiere for new ones. If you´re interested in editing, we´re working on a software productivity tool and need community´s help. Please, take a look at our survey and keep informed at www.imaginethru.tv Best from Spain,

Bart's right. FCP X can even open projects from Premiere through 7toX.

I prefer using Sony Vegas. There is so much less rendering involved, so the project takes less than half the time to edit. Most functions like stabilization, dissolves, cropping and green screen are much easier to implement, and in the end, the finished product has much less compression artifacting than the same project cut on Final Cut. But hey, if you're paying me by the hour, I'll be happy to use FCP.

I guess, for me, it depends on what I'm editing. I've been with FCP since ver. 1.0 and now use ver. 7. In addition, the PBS affiliate I wok for uses FCP 7. However, I've been shooting mostly Red Epic footage as of late and have been using premiere CS 5.5/6 (w/Mercury Engine) for that. In addition, I have a lot of experience with AVID, Sony Vegas and Media100. There is no perfect system - each one has it's strengths and weaknesses. AVID's media management tools are pretty top of the line. But all-in-all, I think I'd have to go with Premiere...

All Mac users here? Could never afford a Mac or related software. Always been a fan of Dixv/xvid now exclusively output to h264 mp4. Never been a fan of mov or proprietory systems and files types. Found Avid, Vegas and Premiere too steep learning curve, with overburdened features and cpu overhead. Use Ulead aka Corel. Software cheap, intuitive. Renders fast, no bugs and outputs to what ever including html5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuNfcQ_bNMI

Avid all the way.

Premiere.

Premiere

Premiere. Final Cut is just a sharper Imovie. I use it for background sounds sometimes.

FCP, AVID I own both and both work for me.

I own FCP7 & X, Avid, & PP6, and teach all three, I recommend to my students to download the free trials, and recreate a segment of an old project, to get a feel for how they each work.

http://filmmakermagazine.com/56928-fcp-x-and-the-future-of-editing/

Avid Symphony 6

I personally feel its not about the tool one uses, the most critical factor is who uses the tool, and how well you can achieve a project with it. we all see differently, and i think one should just find which software (FCP, Adobe, Vegas, Edius, Avid, imovie, etc) best suites your workflow and go with it. Ehm! also putting into consideration your system's config and the rest of all that techy stuff....

Imovie!

A good editor story from Larry Jordan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGl27tkT5Pc&feature=player_embedded

sure you can create all sorts of camera moves in editorial... I do zooms, pans, frame corrections, "camera" moves all the time. it's even easier when you are delivering 1080p and the shots are 2K, 3K, 4K where you have a LOT of frame room. In 1080p, with a 1080p delivery you can get away with about a 5% zoom before you start getting a little bit of picture quality loss. You can even do a bit of 3D stuff to a degree from a flat image using other software tools like After effects and 3D tools.... No big deal. But that's not the kind of "cut on motion" that one talks about in "cut on motion"... Editing to moves such as body turns, hand moves, arm moves, door openings, picking up something is what is discusses in a "cut on motion" not necessarily on a "camera" move. Read the book "IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE", its' a great book on editing. One of the fun things you will learn is to watch the face of an actor, specifically the eyes, When an actor finishes a thought, they tend to blink. Its a really neat trick to work out the first place to cut to another shot, such as the reverse. In the end, though, the precise FRAME to edit is the magic frame, the frame that makes the cut seamless or makes the edit work. ( sometimes you don't want anyone noticing you did an edit, sometimes you want the edit to be glaringly obvious.... Editing is an Art, and need to be exercised and practiced to be good at it, let alone great at it.

Went from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro X...sorry, nothing to compare.

Fcpx is the best.

I've been using Avid Media Composer for 6 years now which has been the primary tool in the german TV industry. I do enjoy working with premier CS6. It has come a long way. Especially when it comes to working with mixed formats its pretty awesome because you can drop about anything in to your timeline and edit it. Also easy key-frame animation of images or effects. Avid however still is my first choice for bigger projects. It's also my favorite when it comes to color correcting a project.

It does not matter witch app do you use, all is in your skill and the feeling to edit, but if you ask I prefer Avid or FCPX

I have used avid media composer, adobe premiere, fcp 1-8, grassvally edius, Sony Vegas, Editshare lightworks, and Linux open shot and the other that begins the letter C. I have settle on three: lightworks, media composer and FCP. I will get the FCPx when the new Mac Pro gets release.

Sony Vegas!

I have been a long time FCP7 user but in January of 2013 I started using PPro and now I'm totally using PPro CC. The program is tracking forward and is fast and working great. They have been listening to FCP7 users. The only thing that I can say is lacking is the stock pluggins, but overall the program is leaving FCP7 in the dust. I'm still wondering about FCPX... whether it will cut some sort of wake for the future, but as of now, PPro is rocking... and being involved in the industry, I feel more comfortable with PPro CC currently than I do with FCPX.

I'm into FCP X now after being a long time FCP7 user. With the new Mac CPU's I think you will see a total 4K solution from Apple and the new Thunderbolt 2.o and multiple 4K monitors will be significant. http://kevinakent.com

Final Cut 7 or Final Cut 10 or X, it does not matter, is just a tool, if you do edition, is just the way you work, your creativity.

In did I use two software the first is AVID and the other is FCP X, in my point of view FCP X is a good tool for editing. If the next hardware is the right thing it could be powerful. Yes, FCP X is a good tool for editing.

Adobe Premier!

I would like to see PPro could handel 6 Thunderbold 2 and PCI express SSD, usually Adobe has failed in the big changes of hardware!. Now the answser is what you have under the hood, and all reduces at the speed at work!.

I got 16 gb RAM , I5 processor right now, plan on upgrading to an I7 in the future. 500 storage.

Able to handel 1920x1080, up to 250 Mb/s SATA. Is simple Adobe in history always failed in the hardware changes. At last if you would like work 4K you need at least 600 Mb/s.

Ok Adobe is a good tool for designer, but if you do not mind I prefer Corel Draw

Avid MC and FCP7 editor here. If it's a short/medium size project with tons of CG on it, you should go with ADOBE PREMIERE. If it's a huge doc or a feature film, enjoy the speed and the power of Avid MC. BTW... Apple just screwed things up with FCPX. And FCP7 is obsolete.

I'm moving toward Avid MC and Adobe PP, to use both of them.

I am not going to argue for a tool. I use yo work in Avid and FCP X and I do it with all my creativity. I do not need to center my life in a a simple fact, if I write, film or edit I just use the tool that I need, in did is just the 1% the 99% is the creativity, how to tell a story and how will you will go to tell it!. How about to chat about how to use a literature genres to edit. I think these kind of stuff has more benefit than we were fighting for nothing! End of the story!.

Or do you remember when you use to film in 35 mm and we did a better job editing manually cutting and assemble the film!.

Werner, of course you're right. Of course the content and storytelling and the cinematography experience has a lot more value then a tool. BUT WE'RE HERE JUST ANSWERING A QUESTION AND COMMENTING ABOUT THAT. Man, please, take it easy. I'm just like you, i hate these guys that just rely on technology. But since we're working on it almost 24/7... isn't it worth talking at all?? I think that the problem is ONLY CARE about those stuffs, but that's not the case. That said, i agree with you that with FCPX you can do great stuffs, by the same mentality that some painters did incredible work on Paintbrush instead on a real canvas or with Photoshop. The problem with FCPX is that Apple took away the control from the editor and putted it on the software. It's a prosumer program. Not a robust one. Pardon me for the huge comment. My best! Great talking to everyone.

I edit on Avid, Final Cut and Premiere. I have found that working with multiple formats (DSLR, P2, RED), usually on site for recap videos and on the spot edits, Premiere works the best. If I am working on something narrative though, I prefer Avid over FCP and PP since the trim mode is very easy to manipulate scenes. Each program can go to and from VFX as easy as the next, just have to understand the workflow.

I have Final Cut 7, Sony Vegas Pro 10 and Premiere. For most work I find Sony Vegas to be faster and less complicated. I do like to do some feature length edits in Final Cut .

FCPX is easy and fast with the right price.

I agree that FCPX is an OK program for many applications. However if you want to get into high level color correction and gamma adjustments as well as a number of other technical techniques it is a bit under powdered compared to FCP7. I think they were looking for the non-pro home editor market, so they simplified FCP and dropped the price.

Only if you don't know how to use it and if your doing high powered color correction you might want a get additional program like Davinci.

After initially hating it, I am a total FCPX convert. I have been editing professionally since the early 90s and FCPX is the first editing package that gets out of my way and gives me complete freedom with the story without me ever saying "I'm not going to make that change because it's just too darn much effort to change it at this point." The media keywording and searching are best out there and the magnetic timeline and connected clips make it vastly less likely that I'm going to accidentally overwrite a clip when I rearrange things. All-in-all I have never been faster as an editor. It takes a lot of unlearning for experienced editors, though. All those workarounds we had to figure out just don't apply any more! :-) (and it has color-correction with animated masks and multiple grades -- I still have Color installed on my system but I haven't needed it with FCPX...)

FCPX is robust and you can't beat it for the price I highly recommend buying motion with it for only $50.

PREMIERE PRO + DAVINCI RESOLVE with OFX FilmConvert Plugin

I have Final Cut Pro. We used to edit on Premiere because one of my collaborators was a Windows-based video guy. And I do think Preniere is very good. But I'm a Mac/FCP person.

I use Lighworks Pro and Premiere Pro, never been an Apple user, so I 've never used FCP

I use FCPX 10.1 and love it. FCP has now re-emerged as a top notch product - most users of 7 will now be able to upgrade and be happy with the software. I used Premiere years ago, but I like FCPX much better. Especially on the new Mac Pro hardware.