Premiere Pro CC Vs FCPX 10.1 Vs Avid Media Composer 7

If there is one question that gets asked most frequently when two editors meet it is: What are you cutting on? I don’t think that the answer matters as much now ‘kudos’ wise, although you might get some raised eyebrows if the answer is something that falls outside of ‘the big three’: Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro or Premiere. But if you’re still trying to decide which one to learn first (or next) then, whatever your choice, hopefully this post will help.

In this short video Dave Dugdale shares his thoughts on which NLE you might want to go for based on an informal survey that he did on his site. Premiere Pro comes out on top – which is more a reflection of Dave’s readership – who are far more consumer than prosumer, or even professional. Either way, interesting stats from a different perspective.

Oliver Peter’s has written up an interesting comparison of these three NLEs, from the perspective of what working post production professionals might be thinking about and covers some interesting topics like how easily you are able to move the installation between machines. Ultimately Peter’s summaries:

There is no clear winner among these three. If you are on Windows, then the choice is between Adobe and Avid. If you need 4K output today, Apple or Adobe are your best option. All three handle a wide range of popular camera formats well – especially RED. If you like tracks – go Avid or Adobe. If you want the best application for the new Mac Pro, that will clearly be Apple Final cut Pro X. These are all great tools, capable of any level of post production – be it commercial, corporate, web, broadcast entertainment or feature films. If you’ve been on the fence for two years, now is the time to switch, because there are no bad tools – only preferences.

NLE Cost Comparisons

Another post that you might also want to check out is this round up I wrote over on PremiumBeat – which also compared the price points of the three systems, in which you can’t really beat the price point of FCPX $299 for a one-time purchase, although it’s a little like comparing one apple to an apple tree given the number of applications you get from Adobe for your money.

FCPX $299 | Avid Media Composer 7 $999 | Premiere Pro CC $49/month

That said, the only company still charging for updates is Avid – when making the jump between versions – while Adobe and Apple have made their updates completely free. (Well, Adobe customers are paying for them each month, so only Apple’s are technically actually ‘free’)

So, Which Editing Software Should I Learn?

The simple answer is – all of them! The more languages you speak, the most countries you can comfortably inhabit, therefore the more NLE’s you can use the more places you can work.

That said, a better question is – where do you want to work? If you want to work in any heavily established post-house they are more than likely to still be embedded with Avid, so learn Avid. FCPX seems to be capable of doing the most interesting things workflow wise, (see here and here and here) so if you’re looking to be more of a maverick then go with that. Premiere is the safe option for FCP7 shops moving forward, so if those are the kind of places you are likely to be working, then this is an obvious choice.

Understanding the differences between NLEs

If you’re wondering why anyone is using FCPX instead of Premiere or Avid then the FCPX Grill podcast series from digitalCinemaCafe will help you hear from editors who are using the software as an integral part of their workflow.

Another series that is well worth checking out is Oliver Peter’s month long series of NLE Tips, which will help you learn a few vital pointers for Avid, FCPX and Premiere.

NLE Tips for Avid Media Composer | NLE Tips for FCPX | NLE Tips for Premiere Pro CC