Let's Compare Apples to Apples (No pun intended l ; )
sonnyboo said:
This is like asking "which is better - Picasso or DaVinci?" ((and if you want to throw Final Cut Pro in, add another artist))
All of the higher level editing programs do exactly the same thing & it's 100% preference, nothing more. Play around with all the programs & whichever one feels right to YOU is the one you should use.
Comparing these editing programs is like Picasso & DaVinci holding their paint brushes & arguing "My brush is better than yours! How can you paint with that thing?"
Agreed, but the cost of some of the paint brushes are a bit different. With all due respect, Premiere cannot hold a candle to FCP in price, ease of use and straight up editing power, in my humble opinion. As far as AVID is concern, their price are a bit HIGH for the Indie filmmaker, nor do they really care at all about them. They are interested in jacking up prices and making $$$.
I was an AVID editor for 8 years and I saw what they did to the industry. Only when Apple released FCP and Media 100 hit the streets did they start to bring down their prices. The AVID is very good, powerful and for the most part fast (depends on your CPU), but as an Indie Filmmaker you will get MUCH more bang for you buck with Final Cut Pro.
Let's compare:
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Apple's Final Cut Pro Production Suite
Final Cut Pro 5
Real-time editing for DV, SD, HD, and film.
Make videos and movies in any format with Final Cut Pro 5, a major upgrade to Apple's award-winning video editing application. It features powerful new multicamera editing, native HDV support, precision editing tools, scalable real-time effects processing, advanced real-time color correction and image manipulation filters and audio control surface support.
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Soundtrack Pro
Precision audio editing. Powerful sound design.
Introducing Soundtrack Pro, Apple's revolutionary new audio editing and sound design application. Use action-based editing to creatively design new sounds, instantly repair imperfect location recordings, add perfect sound effects or musical Apple Loops, save hours bringing audio in and out of your video editor thanks to seamless integration with Final Cut Pro and more.
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Motion 2 is Apple's award-winning professional motion graphics application offering breakthrough functionality and seamless workflow to artists, editors and independent producers. Whether you're animating broadcast graphics, corporate presentations, feature film titles, or DVD menus, you'll find an original, fresh toolset and new features such as GPU-accelerated rendering, amazing new filters and effects and more.
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DVD Studio Pro 4
Redefining professional DVD authoring. Again.
Whether you produce demo reels, complex commercial titles or anything in between, DVD Studio Pro 4 offers simple, powerful tools for authoring DVDs. The latest upgrade introduces the next-generation of DVD delivery with HD DVD support for both H.264 and HDV and advanced authoring options like Alpha Transitions and multiple video and audio tracks.
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Livetype 2 - Motion Graphics
Cinema Tools - Film Editor
Compressor 2 - Compression Software
$1299.00
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/
Nuff said.
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AVID EXPRESS PRO
Platform: PC & MAC Format: CD
Professional strength editing at an affordable price
Loaded with features and functionality, Avid Xpress Pro software lets users edit DV, mix resolutions in the timeline, and save space using the new 15:1s offline resolution. Editors can access 24 video and 24 audio tracks with unlimited layers, apply 2D and 3D OpenGL-based effects, edit true 23.976 media, trim and edit using JKL keys, and customize their workspaces. Built-in software "experts" such as AutoCorrect and NaturalMatch color correction, DV Scene Extraction, AutoSave, and ExpertRender let both new and experienced users focus on the creative process, not the technology. And with both Mac OS X and Windows XP software included in the same box so you are ready for the future, no matter what system you're using when you get there.
Professional Tools
Video, audio, film, effects, DVD authoring and encoding tools in one box
Scalable Real-time Hardware and Software Architecture
The most customizable effects and simultaneous streams in its class
Automatic Expert Color Correction
Innovative One-Step AutoCorrect improves an entire sequence in one click
Advanced Software Experts
Focus on the creative process with features like DV Scene Extraction
Powerful Film Support and High Quality Output
Supports 23.976 projects, multiple offline film resolutions, and the Panasonic AG-DVX100
Avid Compatible
The perfect, portable "companion product" for any Avid system user.
$1695.00
http://www.avidstore.com/index.cfm?...00-03675-01&manufacturerid=17&productid=55997
Note: You get ALL these features with FCP (and then some) and you already have HD or SD capabilities, no software upgrade needed (You will need to buy i/o card or box to input DIGIBETA or BETA SP 10-bit uncompressed video, ranging from $400 - $1995) but the G5 Macs have the power to handle that bitrate and there is no need to buy external hard drives, not true with AVID or Premiere).
All the tools are there. To get the same "real time" tools and features, you need to buy a AVID Mojo
(
http://www.avidstore.com/index.cfm?...10-06812-01&manufacturerid=17&productid=58276) for another $1695 and that is just for Real time effects and out.
Bottomline: You get that an all of the above OUT OF THE BOX with FCP.
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Adode Premiere Pro
The Adobe® Video Collection delivers a comprehensive toolset for Windows® based video production, providing the power and control you need to put your ideas in motion for film, video, DVD, or the Web. Choose the Standard edition and get Adobe Premiere® Pro, Adobe After Effects® Standard, Adobe Audition®, and Adobe Encore™ DVD software. For even more powerful features, get the Professional edition, which includes After Effects Professional and Adobe Photoshop® software.
http://www.adobe.com/products/dvcoll/overview.html
$1695.00
Very little hardware support, and costly at that. You need to purchase tons of extra hardware to do even the simplist DV short film (again completely depends on your PC). After Effects is powerful....very powerful and it's a good deal for that alone but Premiere's editing software, from this editor's humble opinion, is very much of a rip off of AVID and FCP. Not very user friendly, and it's work flow is a bit amaterish. Not powerful at all. There is a reason that there has been no major motion pictures edited with Premiere.
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Again, it is truly what you feel more editing confortable with and what magic you can create with that editing system, but all brushes are not equal when it comes to price and what you get for that price. Just my humble commentary ; )
Happy editing to all (with whatever software you use: AVID, Premiere, FCP, Vegas, Media 100, Edit, Smoke, Imovie, DV Free, Pinnacle, Matrox, Video Toaster, etc.) and may all your project be successful ones.
Alex
http://www.whatisbroken.com
http://www.enigmafactory.com
http://www.alexferrari.com