Another Conversion: Is Adobe Premiere Better Than Final Cut Pro?
I have to admit that this is a difficult blog post for me to write. I love Apple. I love Final Cut Pro. This brand has given me the feeling of professional prowess since my beginnings as a video editor at the ripe young age of 15. However, a time has come for me to make a very big decision. Does Apple‘s lack of compassion for the professional editor mean it’s time to abandon ship? Is it time to become an Adobe enthusiast?
Now, I’ve questioned my allegance to Final Cut Pro ever since the release of Final Cut Pro X. It was during that time that the mainstream editing public realized that our beloved Apple was taking a turn towards the consumer. We all hoped that they would learn to appeal to both the professional and the at home enthusiast, but within months Apple made it clear that they were no longer interested in playing in the professional scene.
So what did I do? I held on tight. I held on tight to my Final Cut Pro 7 serial number. Heck, at Video Blocks we even ordered another! This program had given my colleagues and I so much over the years, there was no way we could turn our backs on it now.
But then it all started to unravel. A lack of Final Cut updates, an increased number of errors. Frustrations around the office grew, and some people started to make the switch. Adobe Premiere had a good reputation, and being part of the Adobe suite, it was easily available.
It wasn’t until yesterday afternoon that I, too, was convinced that Adobe Premiere Pro may be the way to go. While working from home as Hurricane Sandy made her way across DC, I found myself needing to do a few quick edits via remote connection. I went to my first love, Final Cut Pro, to get the job done, but as soon as I tried to begin an edit, I would get the doomed “General Error” note. (This error is seriously the least helpful piece of literature Apple has ever put together.) After multiple attempts, it became clear the Final Cut Pro wasn’t going to get this job done. I had to use Adobe Premiere Pro.
It was effortless. I opened the program, made a simple timeline and exported it directly to the codec I needed (thank you, Media Encoder interface!). Not a single error came up, not a single problem with the entire workflow. Is this what everyone else has already learned? Is Premiere really this easy to work with?
It turns out that, yes, Adobe Premiere Pro really is the way to go from here on out. Not only is the program reliable, it’s also affordable. With Adobe’s new Creative Cloud licensing, every video editor can easily get their hands on this software. Plus, Adobe has proven that they are committed to developing their products. They’ve released multiple updates and have proven that they are still interested in the professional community. Sure, there are plenty of technical specs we could dole out to prove why one program is better than the other, but when it comes down to it, don’t you want a program that gets the job done in any circumstance?
What about you? Do you have a Final Cut Pro conversion story? Or have you decided to stay loyal to the program? What do you think is the most important aspect of editing software? Leave us a comment below or head over to the Video Blocks Facebook page to let us know what you think!
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Well I have FC7 suite and have Adobe ordered. With no much changing is video format, and Adobe being able to run so much natively with support and updates.There is a total lack of support in FC7 now. If I am to rely on software to make my living, how can I not change.
I agree completely. I was, once too, a final cut enthusiast throughout my college film program. After working on a pc at home, I found out how smooth it was to deliver quality between the applications in Adobe Creative Suite. Adobe continues to update its interface to appeal to both the Professional and Consumer.
“Cut with intention, then drink with convinction”
I don’t know, I used pinnacle and had horror stories Lucifer would enjoy, I’m really afraid of the whole BS business process, these compression schemes, video editors, and interference from just about every know consumer junk idealism makes the world cannibalize your psyche all too appropiate. No strict regulations mean buyer beware beyond your wildest dream! The TV industry doesn’t even set the TV’s properly for normal or standard viewing, and even the sound on the TV’s flat response can be set to surround with no mention at all in the manual. We truly are in a total corporate fascist state! I’ve checked out over 70 TV’s so I Know!
Here is my issue (and I’ve sat with a Adobe person on the phone now for 2 hours, and they can’t seem to help me trouble shoot the issue):
It is with Adobe Premier Pro, and trying to capture (import) video (8mm & MiniDV) straight from my camcorders into the software. Basically, as these are typically clients home movies, the tapes tend to jump a bit, or have a natural break in-between the days they shot the video onto the tape. My problem is that each and every time there is a break, Premier Pro automatically stops the import, and breaks it into a small clip to log individually. Awful problem for me because I need the entire tape rolled into, as one file, and need the ability to start the import, walk away from my computer for hours at a time while I attend to other work.
Adobe techs keep telling me it is a problem with my tapes, but I know that this is not true because I am able to fully import these very same tapes into iMovie without a hitch or a break in the importing (however I can not control where I save the initial imports with iMovie i.e. I just import directly onto the external hard drive I provide to my clients – saving me a lot of hours and an extra step of later uploading onto the jump drives)
Please, please help! :)
Thank you!!
Open Premiere Pro, click file, click capture, capture window opens up. Make sure you’re video device is on and connected to an input (Firewire, USB, eSATA) on your computer.
At the bottom right in the Capture frame make sure the Tape box is selected and Scene Detect is not checked.
Start the capture, the program controls your device. If the Tape box is selected (not the in/out) the capture should go until the end of your program.
You might also want to make sure that the ‘Abort capture on dropped frames’ is Not checked. This is in the Settings tab, next to the Logging tab