what advantages/disadvantages moving from mac(FC) to pc(sony vegas)

Chris Barcellos · October 28th, 2007, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

Hi Chis,
ony very simple thing in FCP (don't know about Vegas) makes editing MUCH faster then editing in Premiere Pro, is that you can with one button, unlink all the audio and video on a timeline. With Premiere Pro you have to do it clip by clip, which is a real pain, and I REALLY don't get why Adobe still doesn't get this. Don't they try to edit with their own software to test? (And I'm a Premiere Pro user!).

Yeah, I remember that as an issue. In Vegas, by default, the video and audio tracks are tied, but one mouse click on a button removes that linkage.

Glenn Chan · October 28th, 2007, 08:52 PM

Ok there are two issues here:

1- Your boss is an idiot.

However, you can simply tell him that Macs and PCs interchange pretty well nowadays. Files from PCs will open on Macs (e.g. jpeg, gif, psd, pdf, etc.). Office documents will open if you get open office or microsoft office (with open office, you can get the gist of the file; not all formatting is necessarily correct).
The file system differences is not a problem over a network; otherwise get macdrive.

If you need to deal with other editors, Final Cut is probably the most prevalent NLE out there. There is no NLE standard, but FCP comes the closest.
If you need to move projects between NLEs, it generally probably won't work. Though EDL and Automatic Duck are likely your best bets (depending on what you need to do). But it's far better if both sides are on the same NLE, with compatible versions and the same plug-ins and such.

2- As far as Vegas versus FCP goes, they have their pros and cons. IMO, Vegas is good for one-man army type work if you need to do your own audio, your own color correction, your own (basic) special effects, etc. All those tools are integrated into one program... you don't have to waste time trying to bounce stuff between programs. e.g. Sending a project to Color can be a big, big pain in the butt. Integration with the other elements of FCS is better.
But at the end of the day, they both more or less do the same thing. And they can both get work done reasonably fast.

In some other areas (e.g. working with SDI), Final Cut may be the better tool.

Disclaimer: Vegas happens to be my favorite NLE. :)

3- As far as learning Vegas goes (having learned FCP first), you might find Vegas weird in some aspects. Do read the shortcuts thread stickied at the top of the Vegas forum- it will show you the shortcuts to bread and butter tools that aren't obvious.
e.g. There is no blade edit tool in Vegas, you have to hit "s". That shortcut is not obvious in Vegas.

Nate Kadlac · October 28th, 2007, 08:54 PM

By switching platforms and software, he'll basically be buying a couple of more computers in the thousands of dollars he'll lose to you learning on the job. No offense to you by any means, but it's not the most business sensible decision if things are working currently.

Unless, you work this to your advantage and take that nice Mac computer home with you.

Cole McDonald · October 28th, 2007, 09:06 PM

Just re-read, you also said one of the reasons is the perception that the Mac won't play nice with the PC network/environment...if you can bring me specific problems, I'll solve them on here publicly for you...so everyone can learn from the exchange.

This is still one of the biggest misconceptions about macs...and I believe it's promoted by PC techs whose last contact with apple's computers (if they've had any) was back during the appletalk days. The networking problem most likely is due to a lack of information on their part. And their support network that they call on when they need answers probably doesn't include Mac technicians at all.

Ask them for specific problems, I'll talk you through fixing them...and the problems ;) ---Why can't we all just get along?

Simon Wyndham · October 29th, 2007, 02:05 AM

Definitely. In fact when I first tried a modern Mac (around 2 months ago) I found it utterly hilarious how the Mac Book Pro I was trying out connected to my Windows network with no problems at all and printed very quickly. While at the same time an IBM Thinkpad laptop with Windows XP Pro on it in the same building takes 30 secs to print anything at all, and often has difficulty connecting with various drives on the network.

The Mac is the most versatile computer. No need to buy another one if you need Windows. Just use Bootcamp or equivilent! :-)

Edward Pahati · October 30th, 2007, 07:37 AM

so my boss ended up buying Sony Vegas Pro 8, BUT he decided that we'd keep the Macs and use Final Cut still. Sony Vegas Pro 8 would just be for him and whatever projects he wanted to do, which mainly would be interviews (i don't know why he would need a $600 software just to put together an interview. could have used movie maker i think). with a buttload of help from you guys here (and some help from B&H), i get to keep my macs and edit the way i want. Thanks again, guys!

-edward

October 28th, 2007, 09:06 PM	#19
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	Just re-read, you also said one of the reasons is the perception that the Mac won't play nice with the PC network/environment...if you can bring me specific problems, I'll solve them on here publicly for you...so everyone can learn from the exchange. This is still one of the biggest misconceptions about macs...and I believe it's promoted by PC techs whose last contact with apple's computers (if they've had any) was back during the appletalk days. The networking problem most likely is due to a lack of information on their part. And their support network that they call on when they need answers probably doesn't include Mac technicians at all. Ask them for specific problems, I'll talk you through fixing them...and the problems ;) ---Why can't we all just get along? __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

October 30th, 2007, 07:37 AM	#21
Edward Pahati New Boot Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New York, NY Posts: 22	good news.... so my boss ended up buying Sony Vegas Pro 8, BUT he decided that we'd keep the Macs and use Final Cut still. Sony Vegas Pro 8 would just be for him and whatever projects he wanted to do, which mainly would be interviews (i don't know why he would need a $600 software just to put together an interview. could have used movie maker i think). with a buttload of help from you guys here (and some help from B&H), i get to keep my macs and edit the way i want. Thanks again, guys! -edward __________________ Mac Pro 2 x 2.66Ghz, 5GB, 7300 GT; Mac Book Pro 15in 2.16Ghz, 2GB, Radeon X1600; Martin DM, SP lights

October 28th, 2007, 08:52 PM	#17
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Ok there are two issues here: 1- Your boss is an idiot. However, you can simply tell him that Macs and PCs interchange pretty well nowadays. Files from PCs will open on Macs (e.g. jpeg, gif, psd, pdf, etc.). Office documents will open if you get open office or microsoft office (with open office, you can get the gist of the file; not all formatting is necessarily correct). The file system differences is not a problem over a network; otherwise get macdrive. If you need to deal with other editors, Final Cut is probably the most prevalent NLE out there. There is no NLE standard, but FCP comes the closest. If you need to move projects between NLEs, it generally probably won't work. Though EDL and Automatic Duck are likely your best bets (depending on what you need to do). But it's far better if both sides are on the same NLE, with compatible versions and the same plug-ins and such. 2- As far as Vegas versus FCP goes, they have their pros and cons. IMO, Vegas is good for one-man army type work if you need to do your own audio, your own color correction, your own (basic) special effects, etc. All those tools are integrated into one program... you don't have to waste time trying to bounce stuff between programs. e.g. Sending a project to Color can be a big, big pain in the butt. Integration with the other elements of FCS is better. But at the end of the day, they both more or less do the same thing. And they can both get work done reasonably fast. In some other areas (e.g. working with SDI), Final Cut may be the better tool. Disclaimer: Vegas happens to be my favorite NLE. :) 3- As far as learning Vegas goes (having learned FCP first), you might find Vegas weird in some aspects. Do read the shortcuts thread stickied at the top of the Vegas forum- it will show you the shortcuts to bread and butter tools that aren't obvious. e.g. There is no blade edit tool in Vegas, you have to hit "s". That shortcut is not obvious in Vegas.

October 28th, 2007, 08:54 PM	#18
Nate Kadlac New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 6	By switching platforms and software, he'll basically be buying a couple of more computers in the thousands of dollars he'll lose to you learning on the job. No offense to you by any means, but it's not the most business sensible decision if things are working currently. Unless, you work this to your advantage and take that nice Mac computer home with you.

October 29th, 2007, 02:05 AM	#20
Simon Wyndham Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Malvern UK Posts: 1,931	Definitely. In fact when I first tried a modern Mac (around 2 months ago) I found it utterly hilarious how the Mac Book Pro I was trying out connected to my Windows network with no problems at all and printed very quickly. While at the same time an IBM Thinkpad laptop with Windows XP Pro on it in the same building takes 30 secs to print anything at all, and often has difficulty connecting with various drives on the network. The Mac is the most versatile computer. No need to buy another one if you need Windows. Just use Bootcamp or equivilent! :-)