AVID FreeDV, iMovie and Final Cut Pro - My Experience

[Laurie, Richard]

I previously posted by view on AVID Free DV. Bottom line is I
uninstalled it. I recently took the plunge to Final Cut Pro so thought I
would post my first 48 hours of experience to help answer the post on
how similar iMovie is to Final Cut Pro.
FCP does have a learning curve. And is different from iMovie. The set up
is more flexible since you can have two viewers open to show you your
movie, move the different pallets around the screen etc.

It is not as intuitive as iMovie but that is probably because it is much
more powerful than iMovie. I got up and running quickly however. The
nice thing is there are 3 manuals and one tutorial workbook - so there
is no shortage of reference material. Unlike AVID I was actually able to
edit and playback my short test movie. I think I will like all the
possibilities this will offer

FCP also comes with a few other programs bundled that integrate with
FCP. 

Sound track is absolutely amazing. It allows you to create your own
music, even if you know nothing about music. See the online demos on
apples website. My first composition was terrible, but I was just
playing around. The second one, I actually saved and may use.
Live Type- titling software with some amazing options, fonts etc. Have
only done one title but it is awesome.
Compressor it a compression utility for encoding your movies- have not
tried this yet...
Cinema Tools - have not used, only needed if editing from 35 or 70mm
film
Bias PEAK - audio editing, have not used yet.

All in all, I think this is probably overkill for someone who, like me,
is not making money from doing this but is a hobby I love. If you have
the money, I recommend it highly. If not, what you can do with iMovie,
QuickTime Pro and one of Erica Sadun's iMovie books is great and should
not be overlooked. I just want to do some more things to really set what
I create apart from what others are able to create. If you are looking
to make money off of your video editing, I think it is worth considering
upgrading. But understand that you will need to take the time to learn
this new tool.

Richard