Not-So-Final Cut

vitalforce wrote on 3/23/2009, 2:10 PM
Even though I bought Final Cut Studio 2 last year and have taken a class and passed the certification exam for Final Cut Pro, when I wanted to redo the opening graphics in my digital feature project using some Motion 3 elements, I found it was far easier, once again, to just render the Motion 3 sequence (to a FAT32 drive which is necessary for switching between OSX and XP), drop it on the Vegas timeline and blend it into the timeline of my (Vegas) film project while adjusting the timing and volume envelopes of the accompanying music and sound FX tracks. Sigh. Good old Vegas.

Comments

Coursedesign wrote on 3/23/2009, 2:48 PM
Yeah, Vegas is unbeatable when it can be used...

No need for FAT32 if you use an NTFS driver on the Mac side or MacDrive on the Windows side.

So you don't care for SoundTrack Pro? :O)

BBC uses STP for most of their projects, but I certainly also miss Vegas when working in FCS.

There are very strong indications that there will be a completely rewritten-from-scratch FCP this year, probably announced at NAB and shipping after the release of Snow Leopard this summer (because it will need to use functionality in SL).

Brad C. wrote on 3/23/2009, 2:49 PM
I'll just take a minute to say that I don't regret going the Vegas route one bit. This is my first real NLE and I wouldn't have it any other way. I tried several of the free trials and for a new guy, they were daunting to figure out from a "open me up and start using me" standpoint. I tried my friends FCE and just did not vibe with the Apple ways/layout (and thats the baby FCP). Same went for Adobe PP. Not for the fain of heart. Now for someone with experience, I'm sure they could go to each of them and just dive in. But for someone who has never used a real NLE, none of these seemed very intuitive.

That's where Vegas came in. When I tried the "top of the line" offering from Sony that I kept hearing about, it just felt natural and I could start editing projects immediately even though I wasn't even using 25% of what Vegas really offers. I'm still not using all that's offered. I need to get some tutorial videos so that I can grow with this NLE and utilize all that it offers so that I can offer more for my future clients and make my life easier.

I may not be the elite experienced here or know all the "bugs" in Vegas yet, so I'm kind of oblivious about some things, but for the time being......

...thank you SCS.
I love Vegas.

-Brad
Coursedesign wrote on 3/23/2009, 3:43 PM
I really love Vegas too. It is the most wonderful NLE of all, thanks to its currently unique editing paradigm.

So it's the best of all NLEs.

Then there are times when I can't do what I need to do in Vegas.

Then FCP becomes the best NLE.

Finally, there are times when I do just heavy "elbow editing" of long form material.

Then Avid Media Composer becomes the best NLE.

So let's celebrate that we have Vegas, the NLE that is overall the nicest one to work with!

farss wrote on 3/23/2009, 3:53 PM
I think it's a bit like carpentry. It's not too hard to figure out how to use a saw to cut 12" out of a length of lumber but watch a master cabinetmaker, he'll spend a lot of time deciding which 12" to cut out.

Bob.
Coursedesign wrote on 3/23/2009, 4:04 PM
Well put!

...or like Michelangelo looking at a flawed huge block of marble and chipping off everything that wasn't "David" while avoiding all the internal flaws...

When I see Hollywood master editors working on an Avid, I get tears in my eyes from just watching the beauty of it...

Avids have lots of flaws too, but in a lover's hands it becomes a tool of passion and editing bliss.
Lyris wrote on 3/23/2009, 9:05 PM
I'm typing this on a Mac right now. I bought the Final Cut Studio 2 so I could use DVD Studio Pro.

But, I'm sorry... Final Cut Pro is NOTHING compared to Vegas. Sluggishness, audio sync problems, that damn bleeping which meant I had to re-render audio even after adding basic fades... I had nothing but trouble with FCP and after using it for one project, I decided to stick with good old Vegas. Nothing beats it IMHO.
Coursedesign wrote on 3/23/2009, 9:34 PM
If you're editing what Vegas can handle, it is unbeatable.

Unfortunately many high end pros don't have a choice but to put up with the idiosyncrasies of FCP or Avid, because only they can handle the jobs they are paid to do.

JoeMess wrote on 3/23/2009, 10:42 PM
I got to say, I am not a fan of FCP at all, but I do like DVD Studio Pro. Sure, it has stability issues, but I shipped 12 retail projects in 18 months with DVD Studio Pro. I don't think I could have done the same with DVD Architect. These projects were educational and regularly bumped up against the spec limitations on tracks and chapters. DVD Studio Pro provided me a pseudo debugging environment like nobody else has. When push came to shove, however, and I needed media to be fixed, it hoped the platform divide and got addressed in Vegas or Sound Forge.

Joe
Coursedesign wrote on 3/23/2009, 11:21 PM
DVDSP also supports register programming on DVDs (for creating interactivity), this is completely left out of DVDA.

vitalforce wrote on 3/24/2009, 2:36 AM
I live "in" Hollywood now and have to get familiar--in fact have to get proficient--with both FCP and Avid. But I'm glad Vegas was there to make it so very easy to grasp editing concepts, and create quality work, without being distracted by the tools. However--I admit that Vegas, never having made the leap to connect itself with film and broadcast in the sense that it can't output in-process multitrack project files that can be opened in Avid or FCP (despite some claims otherwise), will live on in the big boys' closet. Hate to sound pessimistic, but once you tour around one of the Sony U.S. entities (Sony Studios in Culver City), you see that by golly, if Sony wanted to develop a cutter and compositor by building up Vegas they have had the resources to build one that would actually be seen as a real threat to Avid (or FCP for the indies). But no.

Having said all that--as much as I enjoy playing in the pretty graphics world of OSX and FCS2, when I need to get something done quick, without switching between applications, I go back to Vegas whenever I can.
UlfLaursen wrote on 3/24/2009, 2:55 AM
when I need to get something done quick, without switching between applications, I go back to Vegas whenever I can.

I agree on that - Vegas is so easy to use, and yet powerfull.

/Ulf