Is there something special about the MPEG encoder used by FCP that
would make a customer prefer NLEs?

I can see possibly DVD media brand but that is silly.

This part is a joke:
Find a old copy of FCP and place your computer on top of it.
"We edited your project ON FCP."

It is probably not snobbery, it is buzzwords. Someone told them that he needs to get it done professionally and mentioned that a lot of professionals use Final Cut.

Buzzwords carry a lot of weight in TV production. That is the main reason that AVID and FINAL CUT are considered pro, because the buzzwords have stuck (just like KLEENEX for facial tissues. How many people ask for PUFFS even if that is what they want.)

Dave T2

Jay just tell them that you cut with the same thing that ABC Nightly News cuts on, and that's NOT Final Cut.

Dave

Dave, in my opinion buzzword = snobbery.

Same thing applies when clients as for PROTOOLS instead of other DAW (digital audio workstations). There are plenty other programs that can get the job done. Sonar, Nuendo, Cubase, Logic, to name a few.

... tell them that you cut with the same thing that ABC Nightly News cuts on, and that's NOT Final Cut.

That's good... Wish I had thought of that!

[edit]

Didn't Douglas post a list of "professional" users (like ABC Nightly News) of Vegas? I'd like to find that!

It's actually ABC Nightline.
Belo Group out of Dallas (one of the largest broadcasters in the US)
Fox Sports
Playboy television
Penthous television
NBC Sports teasers are cut in Vegas by a few of their editors
Food Network has a couple shows cut in Vegas
Several MTV pieces are cut in Vegas
There is quite a long list that I have internally, but haven't posted a comprehensive list for a while.
While I agree that tossing a "name brand" around is frustrating sometimes, it's equally frustrating to build a project in Avid or FCP, and try to ship it over to Vegas, Premiere, Canopus, or other application that doesn't share specific attributes. Having one system in the house means everything is compatible at all times, not only internally, but externally as well. This is changing bit by bit, but there are strong corporate reasons for wanting compatibility and system interchangeability. Dave Hadden demonstrated a small piece of the Sony puzzle that brings FCP, Avid Liquid, and Vegas together over a LAN, and it works wonderfully. But, it's for corporate users, not desktop editors.
One thing that makes it very difficult to post who is using the product, is that on more than one occasion, Avid has seen the name "Vegas" associated with a particular broadcaster, and had a few things to say to the broadcaster about their name being associated with Vegas (or any other NLE). Avid doesn't like that much, and they've got serious weight to throw around. I know of one senior director who was fired for talking about where/how/why they use Vegas.

I knew it was ABC something with the word night in it.

Dave

Thanks for the list, Douglas. Maybe someday when you're bored (!) you can come up with some others.

Too, I understand what you're saying on a corporate level, if the work had to be passed off to another editor. But this job was for a "family DVD."

I looked at the assistant's e-mail address, it was mac.com--a Mac-head told his boss it was the only way to go. I'd bet Dave's life on it! ;o)

The best answer for that is: I don't use FCP . I use high end software. FCP and premiere are used by professionals on restricted budgets and some independent low budget productions.

And that is actually the truth.

So after everyone's life has been bet, it could turn out that what the customer meant was nothing more than "be sure that the work is done at a professional level, not by a noob playing with iMovie."

The ".mac" address (probably not mac.com?) made me think that "Final Cut Pro" to them was just Apple-speak for "professional quality", and that no specific product was implied per se.

I could be wrong, but I'll bet Dave's life I'm not. :O)

Bjorn, go back and re-read the quote from the e-mail. FCP was a requirement. Dave looses! Tell his wife to cash in his life insurance policy.

In all this hoopla, I haven't yet what their response was when you asked them why they think FCP should be a requirement.

You did ask, didn't you?

Rob

Rob, I never heard back from him, and I don't expect to, really.

30 vhs tapes , most likely home movies arggggggggggg,,, get me a gun,,,,you didnt want that gig anyway

Jay,

What people say and what they mean are often miles apart.

I really think they were referring to "FCP" as a "quality level" rather than a specific tool. Especially if they were on .mac which is not common among video production folks.

I'm working on a course on the subject of verbal communication, covering both "how to know when you reasonably need to verify your interpretation of what somebody said," and "how to communicate so what you say can't easily be misunderstood." (It's a backburner project, so it will probably not be out before spring.)

It is impossible to completely avoid misunderstanding, but there certainly is a lot that can be done to reduce the risk of it happening.

Like not diseschewing double negatives, for example.

:O)

"What people say and what they mean are often miles apart."

Especially when it comes to video file formats.

We are constanly getting people requesting Quick Time files for their website. But IF we give them QT, they say "How come I can't see it on my computer?"

Then we determine that they really wanted is an MPEG file. Since MPEG 1 can be played on both Windows and Mac, we generally assume that they want an MPEG unless they specifically request Quick Time and give us the specs for their needs.

So we have to interpret each order for what they say and what they want.

Dave T2

Bjorn, for heaven's sake, read what he said, 'Do you edit on Final Cut Pro?' You can't get much more specific than that.

I would not have even digitized the tapes. Use a $100 DVD recorder and dub the VHS straight to DVD. One pass...done...$20 per linear hour please, thank you.

JAB

..."I would not have even digitized the tapes. Use a $100 DVD recorder and dub the VHS straight to DVD. One pass...done...$20 per linear hour please, thank you."...

Exactly. To do it any other way is a complete waste of time.

If they have deep pockets and want the BEST possible job done here's what I'd be offering them:

All VHS will be restored thru a S&W Archangel and dubbed to Digital Betacam for archiving. DVD is NOT a suitable medium for archiving.

DB tapes will be ingested via SDI and encoded using the CinemaCraft Pro encoder.

All DVDs will be recorded onto MAM Gold archive DVDs.

Cost $1K/ minute of content.

They want the job done to the best possible standards, that's what's involved and that's what it costs. Tonka Toy systems like FCP have no place in the process.

Most of my DVD authoring work comes from FCP users. Even they admit they cannot get an encode out of Compressor that's free of artifacts. Some of these poor saps have thrown a lot of good money at the problem and still can't get a good result.

Bob.

He required editing.