Avid or Final Cut Pro?

This is probably one of the questions that I get asked the most by everyone that I meet.  Lately, it has been on the top of the new intern question list as well so I thought I’d talk about it here and see if I can help make the decision a little more clear.  To understand which editing platform is best for you, it is best to have a brief understanding of the art and craft of editing itself.

Editing– the craft

To start, let’s examine the mechanics of editing and its role in the overall production process.  Editing is the process of bringing all of your gathered material (shot footage, music, voice-over, graphics and sound effects) together to form a complete story. In it’s basic form, editing began by cutting pieces of film and splicing them together with special tape so that the two shots are now one thought.  This happens over and over again, until a finished product is completed.  As technology began to take over the editing world, sophisticated editing systems grew out of necessity. These systems slowly evolved into the computer based non-linear editing (NLE) systems that we know today.  These NLE systems allow the user put together complicated projects in a fraction of the time.  Now for the first time in the history of television and film production, the average person can afford to use the same tools that production professionals use to edit television shows or major motion pictures.  It’s truly exciting.

Editing– the art

Even though NLE systems are now in the hands of the masses, there is a huge difference between a seasoned professional editor and an at-home enthusiast. Editing is as much an art form as is cinematography.  There are many different ways to cut a scene together, but it takes a true professional to develop a mood and feeling just by re-arranging a few shots.  If you don’t understand this concept you might want to rent the film, The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing.  It will give you a great idea how shot arrangement, sound design and music play an important role in editing.  Once you have been an editor for a while, you begin to get a feeling that makes your editing decisions more intuitive.  It’s something that can not be taught.  It takes years of practice to get it right.

Where to start

You may have an edit system at home that you use to edit home movies.  You might already be in school, learning about NLE systems.  Of course, you might have no idea what I’m talking about when I say NLE.  In any case, now is as good a time as any to begin purging all of the bad habits that you might already have and begin fresh.

Here are some tips that will help you in your editing career

1. Get organized
   It is vital that you become an organized person if you plan on being an editor.  Actually, any position in the production industry begs for organization, but editing is definitely at the top of the list.  Make sure that you begin each edit session by organizing your media in a way that is beneficial to you.  This keeps you moving at a fast pace and helps when you archive a project. Here’s a great article that will help with organization.
2. Understand the equipment
   This is a very important step that most editors miss.  You MUST understand how the system works.  This includes both the software and hardware.  In many cases, you will walk into an edit suite that someone else has been using.  They should normalize the system (this means reset everything back to industry standard) when they leave, but this doesn’t always happen.  If you know how the system works, you won’t have a problem.  If you didn’t take the time to learn the system, this will hurt you.  Ask the engineer or the senior editor how everything is set up in the facility and take the time to research all of the components and what they do.  This is an exercise that will only benefit you.
3. Understand the production process
   You can’t be a good editor by just editing.  What the heck does that mean?  Well it’s simple.  Editing is a culmination of all of the processes of production.  If you take the time to understand how all of the pieces of the production puzzle come together you will be a better editor.  Spend time with a producer to understand their job.  Go on shoots and watch what the director and DP are doing.  If I’m editing a project, I love to be on set for it.  It helps me to understand what the final piece is going to look like BEFORE it’s shot and it allows me to give opinions that will be helpful to the final product.
4. Start with the basics
   Nowadays, editing systems have plenty of bells and whistles.  There are plugins for just about anything.  Don’t be tempted by these “cool toys” when you start editing.  A good editor needs to understand the basics of cutting a piece together.  This means using simple cuts and dissolves to tell your story.  Effects editing and compositing play a very important role as well, but if you don’t master how to cut a basic story together using simple cuts and dissolves, your foundation will be shaky.  Master the basics first, then move on to more complex methods.
5. Don’t forget audio
   Audio is often neglected.  This is as true for editing as it is for production in general.  To be a good editor you need to understand audio, how it works and the best way to fix mistakes.  Being a good sound designer and music editor will help your projects stand out from the rest.  You don’t have to specialize in either craft because they are careers in and of themselves, but you definitely need to develop a sense of audio-awareness.  See my post “’A’ is for audio” for more details.
6. Know your audience
   This is a concept that writers, producers and directors have to master.  I feel that the editor needs to master this too.  More often than not, I will find myself in the editing chair forced to make producing decisions.  In a way, the editor is a producer.  You are sifting through material and making decisions based on what you think is proper for the story.  Therefore, it is vital to “know your audience” for the project.  If your audience consists of young kids, cut the project using a faster pace.  Leave out long-winded sound bites and get more creative with music.  If your audience is an older crowd, make sure that your piece is more descriptive.  Develop a story using the sound bites rather than a fast-paced music video type of edit that would appeal to a younger crowd.  These are general audience types simply for illustration purposes, your project’s audience will be much more defined.
7. Learn to collaborate
   You are in the editing chair, driving the session . . . but there will always be one or more people calling the shots.  They may or may not be in the room with you but in the end, they always have the final say.  This is where you need to learn to collaborate.  A good editor helps the client or producer understand why something may or may not be right.  Instead of fighting through a specific edit, use your time wisely.  Give opinions and show options.  You are the expert here but the client pays the bills.  Learn the art of selling your ideas but always remember to pick your battles.  In the end you want the client to be happy with their experience so they will come back . . . and ask for you again.
8. Find a community and stay up to date
   This might be a community of people in your area that get together to discuss editing or specific editing platforms or a community based website with user forums.  For the latter, I recommend www.creativecow.net.  I use that forum all the time and I have yet to be disappointed.  Just make sure that you search for your problem first.  Chances are, you aren’t the only one with the issue.  These forums are also a good way to keep up to date on software and hardware revisions and industry news as well.
9. Backup your project
   This goes without saying.  If you followed step one properly (getting organized) this step will be easy.  ALWAYS back up your project.  I like to save a back up project file to my FTP site each night.  I name it with the day’s date and put it in a folder named after the project.  This way if the studio burns down, I have something to show for my hard work.  When the project is approved and masters are made, take that final step and back up all of your project data.  If you need to re-visit this project again you will have everything at your fingertips.  It only takes one hard drive crash for you to start thinking seriously about this step.  I urge you to do it from day one – you will thank me later.
10. Practice, practice, practice
    It’s as easy as that.  Just practice.  Spend some time watching TV or films and become aware of each edit.  Take a look at complex scenes or commercials and try to break them apart.  Understand the art of the edit and then try to implement your style and creativity into each piece that you do.

Now back to the original question, Avid or Final Cut Pro

I can’t answer that for you. I tell everyone to make that decision for themselves.  Spend some time on each system. Avid and Final Cut Pro are certianly the most popular NLEs out there but there are also some other good editing systems available.  Adobe Premiere Pro is a good example.  It’s affordable and has a large following.  Sony makes an NLE called Vegas that might be more affordable for you.  Grass Valley makes an NLE called Edius that is also worth noting.  Many of these have free versions or trial versions available, so visit the websites and give them a test drive.  You will find that while all of them have different options, the same basic principles exist.  Find the software that fits you and your budget.

Photo by: Ivy Dawned