I finally decided to go with Final Cut Express 4 as my primary multimedia and video editing software after way too much thinking about it. I spent the $200 and a friend smuggled the program into the country for me a couple weeks back. (It would have cost twice as much locally, and might have been in Spanish.) In retrospect, I can’t believe I have spent so many months thinking about which video editing software to to use, grinding my teeth over the $200 cost of Final Cut Express (FCE), not at all sure if it would do all that I want.
I’ve been using iMovie (post version 6) exclusively for more than a year-and-a-half, and the program began to frustrate me almost immediately. iMovie is certainly simple but using it has felt like trying to edit with handcuffs on. I quickly found there were certain things — seemingly very basic things — that I simply could not do. (I was disheartened to read many reviews that said that the “improvements” to iMovie made the program much worse than version 6.)
However, I reminded myself that I was learning basic editing and producing pieces that were making friends and family laugh, and I couldn’t justify the expense of Final Cut Pro ($800) or Adobe Premiere ($800).
Final Cut Pro Wary
Even if I had the cash for Final Cut Pro, I’m not sure I would have shelled it out. Everyone says the FCP learning curve makes learning Photoshop seem like a breeze. About a year ago I had the opportunity to play around with Final Cut Pro on a friend’s machine and the experience left me shell shocked — completely intimidated. I didn’t feel like my hands were handcuffed; I felt like I had no hands. I just couldn’t do anything.
I was starting to appreciate the benefits of iMovie, but I really needed to advance, but I held off buying, obsessing about FCE’s functionality.
What’s Wrong with FCE?
Upgrading to FCE would seem to be a no-brainer, but I found lots of detailed complaints about the program on the Web. There were also lots of five-star raves. I’m not sure exactly what the love/hate discrepancy is about, but I worried about being one of the FCE buyers who say, “Not worth it!” Maybe I really needed to go all the way to Final Cut Pro?
There seems to be a number of concerns with Final Cut Express in terms of codec issues that keep users from directly importing their video. This would certainly be a major problem — needing to use timely, frustrating workarounds.
I’ve also read about problems related to needing to “render” clips each time edits are made, which apparently can cause a major drain of time. Honestly, I still don’t understand this exact issue, but I didn’t want to be a victim of it.
Another Option?
A professional video editor told me that if iMovie was ingesting my Canon G9 files so would FCE. He also said that learning FCE would directly help me in my (presumed) path of eventually upgrading to Final Cut Pro, and would even provide a good base of understanding for working with the likes of Premiere. So fine. I was all set to buy, but then. . .
For a couple weeks I got stumped by the idea that instead of FCE maybe I should buy FotoMagico, highly recommended by Tony Wu (who is now using Final Cut Pro and who also said I wouldn’t go wrong with FCE). FotoMagico seems like a great, photographer-friendly program, and something I’d like to check out. But with FotoMagico costing $160, it seemed to make sense — derr — just to get going with FCE, even if I later end up working in both Final Cut Pro and FotoMagico and/or Premiere.
Seems Like Final Cut Pro To Me
Having finally bought and loaded Final Cut Express onto my machine, it seems incredibly powerful. I realize that it does not come with the sound editing software that is part of Final Cut Pro (Soundtrack Pro), and this makes me pause. Will this be a problem? Of course it will be a problem. One of your major goals, Ethan, is to edit sound. But this won’t be a problem right now.
Ethan, put this all in perspective: You’ve gotten a ton of mileage out of “horrible” iMovie and so of course FCE will be a great, next step — even though you will likely run into problems and frustrations. Now that you’ve got it, just put it to work, see how it goes.
What Video Editing Software Do YOU Recommend?
Are you a still photographer and an experienced video editor? If so, I encourage you to weigh in on this issue of Final Cut Express Vs. Final Cut Pro Vs. Premiere Vs. Who Knows What. Beyond tit-for-tat comparisons (always welcome), what specific and or general considerations should we keep in mind about video editing software as we work on bringing motion into our craft?