Editing software for iMac

well....there is only one version of final cut...it comes in the final cut studio 2 package. it basically an all-in-one type of thing.

probably the most widely used non linear computer editing system in the world is the Avid system...

then there is other ones like adobe premiere and i think sony vegas....

i have Avid, FCP, and Premiere....i like final cut the best personally but have to use Avid right now because its the kind of editing classes im taking in college...i havent even really used premiere at all and Avid is just kind of.....well i dono its really just personal preference i think.

as far as pricing goes...if your a student, or know someone who is then you could probably get the student discount pricing which would get you final cut studio 2 for like $699 instead of $1200...i think i bought Avid Xpress Pro for like $275 or something with student discount but its just not as all inclusive and what not as FCP...i find it way harder to learn and use....im taking classes for it and am just teaching myself FCP on the side and feel more confident at final cut pro so i mean who knows...

but yeah definitely try and find someone whos in college or something to get the student pricing.

there is other really cheap or free editors like iMovie or final cut express and stuff but those arent really for someone who is serious about making movies....more of a regular consumer type of editing system.

Thanks for the response. I was confused with Final cut because on Amazon you can buy older versions of FCP like FCP3 or FCP4. they are all say upgrade. I would assume that means you must already own FCP and are adding this to it. So FCP 4 wouldn't be a stand alone program, I would have to already own FCP to use it, correct? Thats what I didn't understand. I was a student actually, but I dropped out to pursue film making on my own. I am very serious about making indie films but was hoping to save a little and get FCP as cheap as possible since I just spent most of my money on other gear and a camera. I'll have to see if I can find a student to get me the discount price. Thanks again for the speedy reply.

Mitch

I have Final Cut Express and Final Cut Suite 2. If I were just editing DV, I'd only have Final Cut Express. FCE can do most of what FCP can, but doesn't handle as many different formats, and is missing some high end features you will probably never need. I'd still be editing with FCE, as it handles HDV quite nicely. The primary reason for buying Final Cut Suite was to do development work on plug-ins, and I find Motion to be useful for overlays in commercials.

I highly recommend FCE for editing on an iMac. They were made for each other!

Doug

p.s. If you have any questions about features that may or may not be included with FCE, you may address them to me. I still use both FCE and FCP; FCE is on my laptop, now.

well i dono botu the old ones but id think if it said for example "final cut pro 3 - upgrade" you could upgrade from FCP2 with it...etc...

FCP4 could be a stand alone....as long as its not the upgrade version...which is just that...an upgrade...not a full version.

no, the upgrades on Amazon are upgrades from that version to the most current version of studio...that's how I bought it...it assumes a $1500 purchase has already been made to get FCP in the first place.

Express is a nice package that edits DV and HDV. If you need to move up to more pro formats, you've got a much more expensive camera and can probably handle working in the cost of FCS into the purchase of the camera (as a related expense to enable you to use the camera with your software). The only thing you'll miss with FCE is the 3-way color corrector, but you can fake it with multiple Color correctors limited to each of the 3 luminance ranges.

Oh, and if it's a new iMac, it already comes with iMovie which does a pretty good job on its own...although limited in scope, you can edit with it.

It is a new iMac. I have messed with iMovie a little bit but it seems extremely limited. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can't even find a way to add titles and such. I wanted the intro to be a solid black screen and have some text appear with some music. I couldn't find anyway to add the text. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. I want some software that I can use and get a good professional look. I think FCE would do the trick. I also wanted to use Vision Lab to add effects. I have a demo of it and it seems quite useful, granted it seemed slightly complicated as well but with time I'm sure I could figure it out. Thanks guys for your input and advice.


Mitch

You missed some features of iMovie. It does do titling, effects, transitions, and audio. However, it does not do compositing, so if you've got your heart set on an external titling tool, you'll want something in which you can layer your title tracks over the top of your other tracks. Final Cut Express will do this.

I should warn you, there will be a learning curve. Don't be too quick to write off your tools, as FCE will take some time to get used to, and it's worth spending some time with the book. Also, Apple's on-line forums (if I dare mention them here), are great for getting help with Apple software features. Final Cut Express is very powerful, allowing 99 layers of audio and video, nesting of sequences, keyframing of effects, motion effects, etc. It does not, in my opinion, have a great titler, so it's good you plan on using something else. I believe it comes with LiveType, which is pretty powerful, but yet another tool to learn.

Doug

http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie

There are plugins out there that will allow you to superimpose and greenscreen (I was on an iMovie forum that no longer exists before I came here), they're about $20 or something like that.

iMovie is way more powerful than it looks, it just has to be used creatively

True, but you can't use my plug-in for chroma-keying with iMovie!

so go get the iMovie plugin sdk and write one...much wider audience for purchasing your plugin ...just have to have it handle pulling in the top clip within the plug and having that apply over the clip in the timeline.

Knightly, don't make me come up to Minnesota and smell up your nice home!

Seriously, though ... I never considered iMovie as a viable option until someone pointed out that there was a chroma-keyer plug-in for it. By that time, I was involved in too many projects, and I didn't want to compete with a $20 tool; especially if it meant writing a lot of new code. I still have a lot of work to do on VKey2, as it is. I've been swamped with boring database work (which pays better), and commercials (which pay Ok, but are more fun than writing code all day).

Back on topic: Having used iMovie in days of old, and having used FCE exclusively for a couple of years, I'd recommend FCE, because it has almost no limitations, and the time you spend learning a tool is generally the biggest investment you make in the tool.

Doug