Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 vs. Final Cut Studio

Now, let's get in to these two pieces of work a little deeper...

I've always been intrigued by the Final Cut software (mostly because I'm a Mac user and video editing has always intrigued me).

Also, through the greatness of learning the basics of Final Cut (and also advanced editing features) with classes at Delta College, I found this program to be extremely interesting, user friendly and perfect for the style/purpose of my video projects.

The experiences I had, creating and producing video projects in my Media classes at Delta - I traveled in avenues and paths I had never imagined in my life - yet I was so glad that I came across them and traveled through them. With Final Cut, I was able to use cuts, fades, effects and sound cues that were easy to use and fit perfectly for my video projects. Using this program allowed me successfully complete ideas, styles and concepts that began in my mind and were beautifully painted on to the canvas of Final Cut, to finish on my final product of the video piece that I had created. My style of editing is sort of abstract and artsy, and Final Cut easily gave me the opportunity to express this style freely. Now, depending on if I was creating a commercial, demonstration video or music video - the purpose of my piece varied. Alas, Final Cut allowed me to use it's various features to accommodate (to my style) to what kind of piece or project I was trying to complete.

I had could go on all day about Final Cut Studio. But, the point of this post, is to not only explore (more in depth) Final Cut Studio, but also to explore and learn (more) about the 'other' video-editing software named, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 (the latest version).

Let's start with Adobe Premiere! First of all, let's go over some stats about this program:

--What can this program do?--

• Import video, audio and graphics in a wide variety of formats.
• Edit, manipulate and arrange these elements in a visual time-line.
• Add effects, filters, titles, etc.
• Export your edited video in a variety of formats, including video tape recordings, DV, DVD, and common Internet video formats.

Good. Sounds pretty snazzy to me!

-mediacollege.com

For additional information and features about Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, go to: This place!

Final Cut Studio:

First, the history:

• "Final Cut Studio was introduced at the National Association of Broadcasters in April 2005. It is the successor to Production Suite, and added new versions of all the Production Suite applications, as well as a 'new' program, Soundtrack Pro, which is really a new version of Soundtrack, formerly included with Final Cut Pro. In January 2006, Final Cut Studio became the only way to purchase any of the individual major applications. In March 2006, Apple released the Universal Binary version as Final Cut Studio 1.1. -- Wikipedia.org

Second, the components:

Final Cut Studio contains six main applications and several smaller applications used in editing video. The major applications it includes are:

• Final Cut Pro 6 - "real-time editing for DV, SD, HD and film"
• Motion 3 - "real-time motion graphics design"
• Soundtrack Pro 2 - "advanced audio editing and sound design"
• DVD Studio Pro 4 - encoding, authoring and burning.
• Color - a new color grading application adapted from Silicon Color's FinalTouch.
• Compressor 3 - a video encoding tool for outputting projects in different formats.

Additional applications included are:

• LiveType 2 - a text animation program.
• Cinema Tools 3 - tools specific to film processing.
• Qmaster 2 - a distributed processing tool.

--Wikipedia.org

Thirdly and last, but not least, general features of Final Cut Studio:

• Editing (obviously!)
• Compositing and Keyframing
• Working 3-Dimensional
• More technical aspects such as: Secondaries, Dialogue, ADR and Spotting
• Encoding for the Web (allowing your pieces/videos to be viewed via the Internet)
• Importing and Exporting
• Color Correction
• Filters
• Etc.

As you can see, I went in to further detail about the Final Cut Studio package.
This is not just because, well, I love the program so much (I definitely enjoy using this software and it is very easy to learn and is user-friendly) - but also because Final Cut Studio just offers more for the user. Better and more efficient features. Plus, the Final Cut package allows you to access a large array of different programs inside of the entire piece of software to expand your project(s), and build, improve and better your video projects in general.

In the end, the images/frames, effects, sound, graphics and overall outcome will be a better product. Better (in my opinion) in the end, than if you were to edit with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. One of the main reasons I prefer to and will continue to use Final Cut Studio is (not just because of the amazing reviews I've heard from users) this: The Final Cut Studio package just offers a larger variety of features for all aspects of video editing, and allows the user to expand his or her project to the fullest extent of that users needs. More programs to work on individual things such as the image, effects, sound (score), graphics, etc. Just more in general!

I gave you some good facts, some great links but mostly just my opinion (which is mostly based on my experiences).

For additional information and features about Final Cut Studio, go to: This place!

Hope that the links I provided really helped you out in learning about the various different things that I addressed in this post!!

Till' next time, have a good one! :)

Peace!

Dan T.