Old Final Cut Studio on a New Mac.

[The Mastermind]

I have access to an old version of Final Cut Studio; the discs are dated 2005. Does anyone know whether it will work on my current iMac computer, which runs Mac OS X v. 10.7.3?

I understand there's a newer version of Final Cut, but was told that many features found on previous editions used by professionals are actually missing from the current version.

So, will the version I have access to run smoothly on my computer? Someone who knows first hand please answer.

 

[chilipie]

If it's from 2005 then it's a pre-Universal Binary version, so there is no Intel executable included in the app. Add to this the dropping of Rosetta in OS X 10.7 (which allows you to run PPC applications on Intel processors) and I'd say there is pretty much zero chance that this will run at all.

There is a much improved version of Final Cut Studio from 2009 that should still run on your Mac, but I think you'd be better off buying Premiere Pro at this point in time.

 

[knightly]

FCS2 & 3 will run on that machine just fine, probably just not the original FCS1... don't quote me on that though, you never know until you try it out (apple makes the info for old versions a bit difficult to get to online to see what the compatibility actually says... look at the side of the box for system requirement info, if it says intel, you're good to go.

 

[directorik]

It will run on “Lion” but it’s impossible to install without “Rosetta”.
In other words - if you have FCStudio already installed on your
pre-Lion computer, when you upgrade Studio still works. I know
there are ways to install Rosetta to Lion so you might want to
check that option.

The issues with FCPX are being addressed. Most of the professional
features have been added and more are coming. The biggest issue
(which has been addressed by a third party) was FCPX not allowing
import of previous projects. Most of the hysteria is now in the
past.

 

[knightly]

I'm personally still waiting for the ability to make the Magnetic Timeline Trackless thingy work with the way I post sound and deal with mountains of footage using tracks as my source pile (2-3 tracks per character, each with a different framing - I can then more quickly grab the footage I need as an immediate choice rather than having to find it, even keyworded, in the browser before setting in/out points and dropping it in -- much more speed in my editing this way).

The audio thing, however, works by allowing me to export audio as tracks to STP and apply an EQ on a single track for a character to put their voice in the right acoustic space, and not have to copy/paste effects. The audio workflow doesn't quite work for me yet, I appreciate that they're trying to pull it all into one app, but they're doing it by throwing away creative options and telling me how to work, rather than providing me a tool and letting me determine how it best suits my workflow/ creative process.

Back on track, the rest of the features really get me excited... once they pull motion tracking into the app for compositing and grade keyframing, I'll probably go ahead and make the switch (although I HATE lion for the same assumption of fundamental workflow type of changes).

I actually had lion, but went through the painful process of switching back and throwing away access to all of my lion only purchases because I disliked 1 or 2 things so much that after a week, I couldn't stand it any more.

My FCS1 box say intel on the system requirements, but at that time, it may have run under rosetta to do the install as Rik stated... a solution would be to boot from an external USB or FW 10.6 disk, run the final cut studio install onto the main drive, then try running it after rebooting... Although, I know the installer puts stuff in the system library that allows the app to run, you may need to do a full directory listing through the terminal before and after the install, then run diff on them to see the changed files to move over to the host lion system... it's techy, but it's doable.

 

[The Mastermind]

It will run on “Lion” but it’s impossible to install without “Rosetta”.
In other words - if you have FCStudio already installed on your
pre-Lion computer, when you upgrade Studio still works. I know
there are ways to install Rosetta to Lion so you might want to
check that option.

The issues with FCPX are being addressed. Most of the professional
features have been added and more are coming. The biggest issue
(which has been addressed by a third party) was FCPX not allowing
import of previous projects. Most of the hysteria is now in the
past.

So, then, you think I should just try out Final Cut Pro X? I'm just starting out and don't really have any past previous editing projects. Do you think Final Cut will regain the popularity it once had?

Right now, I've been trying out Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5, but the experience has been severely hampered by a strange technical problem I've been having that affects the audio, apparently only in Premiere. Additionally, someone I know who has more experience editing than I says Premiere is still not as advanced/respected a program as Final Cut (and certainly not Avid).

In any case, I'll download the trial version of Final Cut Pro and take a little test ride.

 

[directorik]

So, then, you think I should just try out Final Cut Pro X? I'm just starting out and don't really have any past previous editing projects. Do you think Final Cut will regain the popularity it once had?

I cannot begin comment on that. I have no idea how others will react
to the software in the future. I do know that many people (including
myself) who were very upset are taking a second look and that many
pro editors are enjoying the new version.

I think you should try it. It never hurts to try something you are
interested in. Premiere is an excellent program - a single audio issue
is not reason to abandon it. I know I am coming around to FCPX. I
sat in on a session the other day - a pro music video (major artist,
major director) - with an editor who swore off Final Cut but is really
loving it now. There were many things I saw that I really liked. This
editor at a major post house is not longer among the disappointed. I
will likely make the switch when I go into a big project at the end
of the year. Start fresh.

For you - it seems easy. You don't have full, professional needs yet
and you don't have past projects in older versions. Apple will grow
this software as it did the past versions, meeting the needs of pro
editors. You can grow along with it and never know the problems
of a few months ago.

 

[knightly]

For you - it seems easy. You don't have full, professional needs yet
and you don't have past projects in older versions. Apple will grow
this software as it did the past versions, meeting the needs of pro
editors. You can grow along with it and never know the problems
of a few months ago.

I think this is the most important statement here.

 

[The Mastermind]

Premiere is an excellent program - a single audio issue
is not reason to abandon it.

I might have stuck with Premiere CS5.5 through its unexplained audio issues, but, over time, those erratic audio issues have grown to be quite frequent and the sound is often dropping out during playback for no obvious reason. These issues make it nearly impossible to work efficiently in Premiere. This is too bad because I had really wanted to try it out.

I did try calling Adobe tech support, but they don't offer support on trial versions. I would have to buy a copy of the regular version first, though, the agent I spoke with said if I'm still having the same problem, I can return it for a refund.

As it stands, my next plan of action is to wait for Premiere CS6 to be released within the next few weeks. Then I'll download a trial version and see if this issue just goes away with that upgrade (as I sincerely hope it does).

I know I am coming around to FCPX. I
sat in on a session the other day - a pro music video (major artist,
major director) - with an editor who swore off Final Cut but is really
loving it now. There were many things I saw that I really liked. This
editor at a major post house is not longer among the disappointed. I
will likely make the switch when I go into a big project at the end
of the year. Start fresh.

For you - it seems easy. You don't have full, professional needs yet
and you don't have past projects in older versions. Apple will grow
this software as it did the past versions, meeting the needs of pro
editors. You can grow along with it and never know the problems
of a few months ago.

During the brief time I had used Premiere, I actually really liked the look and feel of its interface and tools. By comparison, those of Final Cut Pro X seem too simplistic, at least on initial use.

I'll take your advice and give it more of a chance during its trial run, but, during my group's editing review session today, I watched another, more experienced editor using the previous version of Final Cut Pro and couldn't help thinking that even the interface and tool selection seemed nicer than FCPX. It actually looked rather similar to Premiere. It's to the point where I'm wondering if I should try searching for someone who's willing to sell me a copy of the previous FCP.

This experience is just frustrating. Strange technical glitches in the application should not dictate which programs to use (not to mention slowing my progress to a crawl).