Avid just let 200 people go. 20K Films was seriously considering getting the entire staff trained on Avid’s Desktop Video Editing Software just to make sure that we still had a professional program respected by the industry. This is not the case with FCPX yet, although 20K Films’ Instructor, Andrew Gleason LOVES FCPX, and has us pretty convinced that sooner or later the film industry will respect FCPX. (He’s teaching a full two-day, intensive FCPX Lab this December 3 & 4 about how he uses this video editing software professionally and will show others how to do so.) But until that day is upon us, we were all going to learn Avid, due in large part to what we’ve heard about film schools on the West Coast all switching their FCP7 computer labs and courses to Avid. But if Avid is on the possible brink of collapse, this is obviously not a good move for 20 Films.
According to our amazing instructor, Andrew Gleason, (we are seriously so lucky to have him!), Premiere Pro CS 5.5 is the true contender. Andrew told us, “I don’t think you would like Avid much to be honest. Overpriced and mostly the same as it was 15 years ago. It you prefer track based editing, Premiere is likely the best option. It’s almost a FCP7 clone, only 64-bit.” We never would have ever considered Premiere Pro in the past (because frankly, the industry does not look at it as a professional video editing program), but with the loss of FCP7, and Avid on the rocks, we agree with Andrew, that Premiere Pro, for track based editing, is the most attractive option. Plus it comes with a full production suite, and photoshop and integrates well with its counterparts. Premiere Pro does seem to crash more frequently than FCP7 ever did, but FCPX crashes a lot more than FCP7 ever did as well.
Also, my (Laura, 20K Films’ Owner) one year old Apple laptops keeps freaking out, and not turning on pretty frequently, and we’ve had many many seemingly crummy PC computers and laptops, and they NEVER, not once, ever died. Plus Apple sent me a dead on arrival 24″ iMac 3 years ago that I had delivered to her house so I could do the first cut of Proceed and Be Bold! on, and then had to call customer support, and then get it approved to return which involved lugging that stupid thing out to an Apple Store. That computer is heavy. I was pissed. (Luckily I demanded and got a new iPod shuffle.) So to not have to be so reliant on Apple goods would be amazing. (honestly, they rush things out the door without quality testing enough, and figure they can just apologize to you with their stellar customer service and sexy stores and that you’ll forgive them). I will never forget, and if my one year old Apple laptop dies, I will not forgive them.
So 20k Films will be editing all future professional projects with FCPX and Premiere Pro CS 5.5, and we’re working with Andrew to put together a two-day intensive lab with Premiere Pro CS 5.5.
I do have to add that we also have another amazing instructor, Jeffrey P. Fisher, on staff as well. He wrote the certification courses for Sony Vegas’ video editing software and he’s teaching two upcoming intensive labs on Sony Vegas at 20K Films’ offices in partnership with VASST.
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