Final Cut Pro HD

[mutinyco]

It just arrived today and took over an hour to install everything. It's so big the software is on 4 DVDs. So up to date that before I could install it I had to download the most recent updates of OS X and QuickTime. I skipped over FCP 4, so going from 3 to this, which is technically 4.5, I can't say what the exact differences are. But the LiveType program alone has me shitting. Also, if you're importing graphics from Photoshop, it will import each LAYER as an INDIVIDUAL VIDEO TRACK -- enabling you to access and animate each layer however you want. This is fucking insane!

[metroshane]

Yes, it does have some nice enhancements (I downloaded a few weeks ago)....however I don't see what the HD benefit is.  FCP4 already had HD capabilities....FCPHD was supposed to allow you to import HD via firewire...but dig into the specs and you still need a 3rd party capture card.  The cheapest I found was nearly 2K.  Not sure what the HD benefit is....

[mutinyco]

It's a catchy name, that's all. Final Cut Pro HD sounds better than Final Cut Pro 4.5.

I won't be using the HD for now, so it's not a hassle.

[Ghostboy]

I also skipped v.3, going from 2 to 4, and the differences were astonishing. The color correction tools are my favorite new feature so far. Really powerful stuff there. The Photoshop import feature is great too, although it doesn't import layer styles -- so Adobe After Effects isn't COMPLETELY unnecessary yet. Although I just got Shake, and once Motion comes out, I imagine AE will rarely be of any use to me.

[mutinyco]

I almost never hear After Effects spoken of anymore.

[mutinyco]

You're right, the color correction tools are sick. I spent the entire day color timing an old short.

[Dtm115300]

Hey guys im a newbe i want to learn how to use final cut pro. How do i go about doing this. Should i just play around with it till i figure it out. Or should i get a book or a video or maybe take a class or something?

[metroshane]

Did you buy the software?  It comes with a nice little tutorial.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Just experiment. It's completely intuitive once you know the basics. Just open a DV file, mark in and out, drag it to the timeline, and play around with it.

[Dtm115300]

I don't even have a Mac computer yet. Im working on that. Which is my next ?. You guys know a place where i can get a good deal on Mac for editing?    

  Im not sure if i should go DeskTop or Laptop

[Jeremy Blackman]

www.ebay.com

But don't get a laptop unless you absolutely need the portability, especially for editing, because you'll sacrifice a lot of power and you'll probably need an external hard drive anyway.

[mutinyco]

Or just go to Apple's website. If you buy from eBay, make ABSOLUTELY SURE you get an Apple Care warranty!

[Ghostboy]

www.macwarehouse.com is a little bit cheaper than Apple's site. That's where I've purchased my Macs.  Plus I think they have quality used stuff, if you want to take that route.

[mutinyco]

Just make sure you get the Apple Care plan. It saved my life. My G4 iMac had a screen problem, and I "lucked" into a situation where they'd just discontinued that model. So they couldn't replace it with the same computer. G4 towers were moot too. So Apple replaced my computer for free with a dual 1.8 G5 tower and a 17" monitor. All because it was under warranty.

[Jeremy Blackman]

That said, a friend of mine has one extremely aggravating dead pixel in the middle of his G4 laptop screen... and Apple won't fix it, because only one dead pixel meets their definition of "perfect."