FCP v DaVinci

[redcard]

As a complete newbie, I'm trying to work out which one to focus on. Most likely I will be looking to use the software on a casual basis, maybe doing some video for friends / local businesses and stuff like that. Anyway, assuming video editing becomes a regular hobby / side gig...

FCP and DaVinci Studio both cost €349, so do I use the 3 months free trial to learn FCP before buying, or do I use the free version of DaVinci, and hope that the free version covers my needs, and I save €349?

Let's say the local council asked me to make a 60 second touristy video using a drone for their website, could I produce a decent video with free DaVinci, or would the limited options make it too frustrating?

If I got to the stage where I needed DaVinci Studio, then I would probably need to consider if I should just go FCP, as that that seems to be better supported etc, so that would be a bit of a bummer have 'wasted' the time on DaVinci.

Also, after the trial, does FCP just stop working?

Thanks for any opinions!

 

[R S K]

Either will edit videos just fine and at a professional level as well as have options and features far beyond the needs of a "complete newbie". But then even iMovie could "make a 60 second touristy video", and it's literally a "light" version of FCP. But no one can know what it is you need, your learning capacity, your goals, etc., etc., etc., etc. So that's something for you to find out, no one can do that for you. No software can somehow magically make you a great filmmaker/editor.

Both also follow entirely different editing and organizational paradigms. As a trainer and you as a "complete newbie" I would most definitely recommend FCP over Resolve. The learning curve with FC is exponentially lower. And NO "complete newbie" needs the Studio version of Resolve of all things either.

But if cost is your main motivating factor, then FC obviously can't compete with FREE.

 

[JustinePaula]

There are a ton of options, and you need to figure out what is the best, one solution would be to watch a couple of noob tutorials, for both, for example, do you need the complex somewhat daunting interface of resolve? From your post I would suggest that maybe the tools found in Final Cut, the audition clip feature, the hide use media, maybe might be more up your list of requirements...

Sure use the trials, but do the research first, after all it is about the user and how they use the tools, the tools are only there to aid, you could use imovie or some random page 12 of the app store $1 app or spend $300 for FCP or Resolve Studio.. Or you could rent fcp for ipad, or rent adobe... choice is yours.

 

[redcard]

Either will edit videos just fine and at a professional level as well as have options and features far beyond the needs of a "complete newbie". But then even iMovie could "make a 60 second touristy video", and it's literally a "light" version of FCP. But no one can know what it is you need, your learning capacity, your goals, etc., etc., etc., etc. So that's something for you to find out, no one can do that for you. No software can somehow magically make you a great filmmaker/editor.

Both also follow entirely different editing and organizational paradigms. As a trainer and you as a "complete newbie" I would most definitely recommend FCP over Resolve. The learning curve with FC is exponentially lower. And NO "complete newbie" needs the Studio version of Resolve of all things either.

But if cost is your main motivating factor, then FC obviously can't compete with FREE.

Thanks for the response, some things to think about...

I was watching a video from a fairly prominent DaVinci YouTuber who said that the learning curve wasn't a concern, and that it's pretty much the same as FCP, so it's interesting that your view is the polar opposite.

As a newbie it's also a lot harder to find a comprehensive training course for FCP, but DaVinci have a complete course for free on their website.

Anyway, I guess it's just a case of picking one and dedicating the time and energy to learning it.

Thanks.

 

[JustinePaula]

Thanks for the response, some things to think about...

I was watching a video from a fairly prominent DaVinci YouTuber who said that the learning curve wasn't a concern, and that it's pretty much the same as FCP, so it's interesting that your view is the polar opposite.

As a newbie it's also a lot harder to find a comprehensive training course for FCP, but DaVinci have a complete course for free on their website.

Anyway, I guess it's just a case of picking one and dedicating the time and energy to learning it.

Thanks.

Resolve is very much like old Final Cut Pro 7, PremPro, etc, use standard timelines, Final Cut Pro [x] uses a magnetic timeline and a slightly different approach, which I find is "a bit better" once you get to understand how and why it works, and what you can do...

Most professionals use a range of tools, for example they might use After Affects from Adobe, Edit in FCP, color grade and final export in Resolve, maybe use Protools from Avid, or stick to 1 brand.. It all depends on what your needs are, and what you want now, starting with one, does not preclude you using other apps later, it all depends on current needs, and 2nd more important, don't try and learn everything all at once, like trying to eat a giraffe, you have to do it bite by bite... Focus on an aspect, then another, over time..

 

[redcard]

There are a ton of options, and you need to figure out what is the best, one solution would be to watch a couple of noob tutorials, for both, for example, do you need the complex somewhat daunting interface of resolve? From your post I would suggest that maybe the tools found in Final Cut, the audition clip feature, the hide use media, maybe might be more up your list of requirements...

Sure use the trials, but do the research first, after all it is about the user and how they use the tools, the tools are only there to aid, you could use imovie or some random page 12 of the app store $1 app or spend $300 for FCP or Resolve Studio.. Or you could rent fcp for ipad, or rent adobe... choice is yours.

I get I need to figure out what's best, that's why I'm asking the question.

My instinct is to go with FCP and use the the free trial, but I'm struggling to see how the arguably reduced learning curve could compensate for the free product and free training that comes with DaVinci.

 

[JustinePaula]

Hi RedCard, I would suggest getting media, and playing with the software, teach yourself what the app can do, set yourself "tasks" and then go about trying to figure out how to solve those tasks, instead of being a slave to some else's ideas of how to do, this way you will learn the app in a way that makes most sense to you...

I have been on courses, done tutorials, and I found that they tend to overwhelm and intimidate and confuse, more than aid in the growth, so when I am tasked with teaching, I teach as little as I need to, to get the user to a point of functional, I leave out 98% of what is "taught" by trainers, as 98% of the material is not useful, if the new user has issues, I help them figure it out, I help them learn how to solve the issues themselves..

The only way is to play with the app, slowly, figure out what the buttons do, what does what, it does so much to grow confidence if you understand in the way that makes sense to you... What do I need to do? Where do I need to do this? What am I trying to achieve? Those are the questions I answer with every edit I do, professionally..

 

[redcard]

Hi RedCard, I would suggest getting media, and playing with the software, teach yourself what the app can do, set yourself "tasks" and then go about trying to figure out how to solve those tasks, instead of being a slave to some else's ideas of how to do, this way you will learn the app in a way that makes most sense to you...

I have been on courses, done tutorials, and I found that they tend to overwhelm and intimidate and confuse, more than aid in the growth, so when I am tasked with teaching, I teach as little as I need to, to get the user to a point of functional, I leave out 98% of what is "taught" by trainers, as 98% of the material is not useful, if the new user has issues, I help them figure it out, I help them learn how to solve the issues themselves..

The only way is to play with the app, slowly, figure out what the buttons do, what does what, it does so much to grow confidence if you understand in the way that makes sense to you... What do I need to do? Where do I need to do this? What am I trying to achieve? Those are the questions I answer with every edit I do, professionally..

I’m just looking for some advice on choosing between FCP or DaVinci. It’s really not that deep.

Thanks for your input. However, I don’t feel like education is being a slave to someone else’s ideas. I’m sorry that tutorials have overwhelmed, intimidated and confused you.

Your claim about leaving out 98% of what other trainers teach is just a bizarre claim that can’t be substantiated.

To say that education is pointless and everyone just needs to figure it by themselves is just odd, and suggests you don’t have much experience of formal education, or life.

You sound like the conspiracy theorist who says ‘just do your own research’ instead of sharing the evidence you already found.

Stop pretending to be an expert. You’re full of **** and it’s embarrassing.

I’ll just flip a coin and decide from there.

Thanks for nothing.

 

[ColdCase]

I don't think anyone mentioned that FCP has better organization, tagging, finding tools than anything else. Very useful when dealing with large libraries or putting together hundreds of clips on a multilevel timeline.... Which you may want to get into as a pro.

As far as editing as a hobby... free iMovie and time is all you need.

As far as tutorials, there is a wide variety of FCP tutorials and tips available on YouTube, blogs, FCP sites, and the instruction manual is very good for the beginner. You won't find tutorials lacking, its a deep comunity.

Most artist prefer FCP but others seem to accommodate multi user projects a little better.

But its splitting hairs, you can't go much wrong with either until you find an advance technique lacking, and you won't find that for awhile.

 

[JustinePaula]

I’m just looking for some advice on choosing between FCP or DaVinci. It’s really not that deep.

Thanks for your input. However, I don’t feel like education is being a slave to someone else’s ideas. I’m sorry that tutorials have overwhelmed, intimidated and confused you.

Your claim about leaving out 98% of what other trainers teach is just a bizarre claim that can’t be substantiated.

To say that education is pointless and everyone just needs to figure it by themselves is just odd, and suggests you don’t have much experience of formal education, or life.

You sound like the conspiracy theorist who says ‘just do your own research’ instead of sharing the evidence you already found.

Stop pretending to be an expert. You’re full of **** and it’s embarrassing.

I’ll just flip a coin and decide from there.

Thanks for nothing.

I am no expert, never said I was, funny as I have loads of experience of formal education, never graduated, and maybe that is a good thing...

It is experience and a very long career through many formats, from u-matic 1 inch tape, through betacam and dvcpro, to now non linear, a career that was linear edits, to now visual non linear, for me linear tape based is so much more efficient than any non linear app on a phone or computer... But that is just my experience...

It took a long time before I realized that the official training done for Apple's Fina Cut Pro was really just an expensive demo of the awesome sauce that is Final Cut, it shows off the potential without getting you any closer, you may or may not find this same conclusion....

Flip a coin, but remember coins have 3 sides, what if it lands on the 3rd side? Apple- Resolve or-??

 

[R S K]

As a newbie it's also a lot harder to find a comprehensive training course for FCP

Then I suspect you either didn't look very hard or in the wrong places? Because there are endless resources out there. First and foremost an excellent basic introduction to FC from Ripple Training as well as the channel itself being chock full of FCP tips and tricks (and some Resolve for that matter). Beyond that, they also have paid training on their site that I can highly recommend. And while they are personal friends I get nothing for saying that. As a trainer of 20+ years myself I hold their work in high regard. And I might add that my channel is also full of more advanced and comprehensive FC tutorials.

You'll also be hard pressed to find any templates and plugins at the level of those available for FC. One of the most prominent makers being motionVFX. But there are even sites such as fcpxfree.

I was watching a video from a fairly prominent DaVinci YouTuber who said that the learning curve wasn't a concern…

Let's be honest… what else would you expect a Resolve user/Youtuber to say? 😏 And do we know he/she even knows the first thing about FCP? Because 99 out of 100 times they won't. And while I primarily train FC, I also train Premiere and even did Adobe's Premiere certification tutorials as well as use Resolve in production regularly.

And btw, I think it's safe to say that far more "prominent Youtubers" use FC than Resolve. Though I don't have any real numbers to back that up scientifically.

Stop pretending to be an expert. You’re full of **** and it’s embarrassing.

That, of course, was entirely uncalled for. You came here to get opinions and that was one. If you only want certain ones or an echo chamber, just don't ask. Or ignore it. Nothing he/she wrote justifies such belligerence.

for me linear tape based is so much more efficient than any non linear app on a phone or computer

That on the other hand is just an amazingly bizarre and ridiculous statement, sorry. There is objectively absolutely nothing "much more efficient" about editing linearly. Tape-based least of all! And FYI: that's coming from someone that started on a Steenbeck over 30 years ago.

the official training done for Apple's Fina Cut Pro

There is no such thing.

 

[JustinePaula]

I stand by my comments, there was an old version of the FCP X course, and it was a pure demonstration cloaked in the guise of a course with a certificate if you passed, it taught nothing, editing is a 2 part skill, one "the art of the edit" and the 2nd the mechanics of how to use a particular application.

It should be free, at no cost to Apple, to produce the course, the only cost, the exam, should not be more than $30 per exam... I wrote the previous exam, it was so easy, really.. I will not be re-taking the exam for FCP [X/10] as there is no point.

When I said I remove 98% of the course, by that I mean, I literally teach or help users get to a point in the task they need, knowing more is pointless, it does little in the way of confidence, to scare new users, into thinking there is a lot, YES, there is a lot to learn, but in tiny bites, as you develop confidence, you will grow, it is organic...

Playing with the app, figuring out for yourself is the best way, I have found over the almost 30 yrs I have been working, and studying, is that there is too much emphasis placed on knowing a lot, and very little time spent explaining the why, why do I need to do this...

For example, Apple suggests if you have external audio, and a junk track recorded on the camera, use Synchronize in FCP, when Apple knows that it is a broken very unstable unreliable system, you should rather use Multi-cam, then sync manually, nudge frame by frame if need be...

But if you follow official guildlines, will you find this out? Trust what some random bloke says on a tutorial video, as they say, you get what you paid for it...

I am explaining my thoughts, my experience and my conclusions, I too believed in the tutorials, and the official training, and then one day, whilst trying to get some sort of thoughts together, I started to think, and it dawned on me, the course was a demonstration of the ability of the app...

Training is about getting knowledge to complete a task, the training should be individual and unique to each user, a one size fits all policy helps only so few, the rest, what do they do?

Play with the app, try this and that, why is the app doing that, or why cannot I not do this or that? Struggle with the problem, I wish I could explain better...

All the big names in video editing apps, have some sort of training, some paid, some free, and some sort of certification, but none teach the actual "art of the edit" and that is a problem, and it should be everyone's problem...

Knowing a ton of shortcuts, and how to do a fancy macro, and and does not help if you cannot explain what a jump cut is, or how to hide an edit, or crossing the line.. Where is that taught? Is it important in the world of youtube??

 

[ColdCase]

Yeah none of the big name app developers teach art and how to make a video flow and hold togethr. They are basically demonstrations of the tool that, once you decide what you want to do, what it can do to help you achieve the results you want.

The local community college here has a nice 10 week course that teaches the basic concepts and what kinds of tools are available to help you put things together and release your creative genius. After 40 years of video editing, I'm still learning something new. Just the other day stumbled upon how nifty the built in Ken Burns effect can be when combined with key frames.

 

[R S K]

I stand by my comments,

You can stand wherever for however long you want. Fact: there is no official Apple Final Cut Pro training. Period. There was well over a decade ago, but that is irrelevant, sorry.

Never mind that you're conflating learning the app and learning editing techniques which are two entirely different and unrelated things. The latter not ever being something any exam of that kind has claimed to teach or test, unless you can show me one? Of course, you can't.

Functional vs. theoretical. Maybe learn some basic differentiation and context.

And if whatever exam is "too easy" and/or "too expensive" for you then maybe, just possibly, consider it's not meant for you. Just a thought. Because you're an all-knowing, demanding super-pro, yes, we get it. 🙄

For example, Apple suggests if you have external audio, and a junk track recorded on the camera, use Synchronize in FCP, when Apple knows that it is a broken very unstable unreliable system, you should rather use Multi-cam, then sync manually, nudge frame by frame if need be...

That is of course complete and utter nonsense. Wow.

the course was a demonstration of the ability of the app...

Duh.

but none teach the actual "art of the edit" and that is a problem

There are endless courses both offline and online that do. Maybe just take the course that teaches what it is you want and not take the WRONG one and be all artificially perturbed that, surprise surprise, it didn't teach what you were looking for? But then I guess you also enroll in a "How to use a Canon Camera" course when you have a NIKON and then are all super-surprised that you didn't learn anything about image composition. 🤦🏼‍♂️ Good luck with that.

how to hide an edit, or crossing the line.. Where is that taught?

So you don't know how to work Google either? My buddy Sven Pape for example does exactly that. And there are many others.

Oh, but let me guess… that's of course "too easy" and/or "too expensive", right? 🙄

stumbled upon how nifty the built in Ken Burns effect can be when combined with key frames.

Bingo. Something you wouldn't have had to "stumble" upon had you taken a comprehensive functional course on Final Cut Pro before using it, no?

 

[JustinePaula]

Oh, I am sure the pharmacy has a cream for the rash you have, they have creams for all sorts of rashes... Not sure why you are so upset, but anyway, take a deep breath, breathe out slowly.. Relax, you may or not be right about anything you just posted, not sure you are correct, but we agree to disagree, thanks.

Official Apple certification for Final Cut Pro..https://fcpcertification.com/certifications/

 

[R S K]

Yep. Expected no less. The classic, sad ad hominem fallacy when one has nothing of substance to bring to the table.

"Upset". 😂😂😂 Sure.

 

[JustinePaula]

Yep. Expected no less. The classic, sad ad hominem fallacy when one has nothing of substance to bring to the table.

"Upset". 😂😂😂 Sure.

You brought nothing, I brought the official apple training link...

 

[R S K]

LOL.

I clearly must have missed that Future Media Concepts was bought by Apple. My bad!

Never mind that that only proves my previous point perfectly. Thanks! Unless of course you can quote me where it says "We'll teach/test/certify you on editing techniques" or "we'll explain what a jump cut is, or how to hide an edit, or crossing the line", to give even the tiniest bit of credence to your rant?

Oh, right. They don't. And you can't. Ah well.

👍🏼

Funny how I'm unable to find anything on the actual Apple site. Weird.

 

[JustinePaula]

Back to the original concept of this thread, in my experience, you need media to teach the app, and in teaching the app, the different tools and what the app can do, you use media, and they used to teach about the art of the edit, which was for a time a useful skill, very much abandoned now with streaming and youtube video, it is about getting the media to the viewer, regardless of how horrible the edit is..

If you compare the original final cut pro 6/7 training, the training you got with the books, and dvd, to the more "modern" online official version, the modern version is very much 100% showing off what the app could do, but it really does very little to teach actual usage, then again this is in my experience, my comments on the difference and this is rather troubling...I know you will not agree, that is ok...

 

[Ethosik]

Larry Jordan is also a great resource if you want to learn Final Cut Pro and Compressor. He does have some Davinci videos too.

 

[ColdCase]

Bingo. Something you wouldn't have had to "stumble" upon had you taken a comprehensive functional course on Final Cut Pro before using it, no?

It would have been lost in the comprehensive noise without specific media of an idea of a desired effect. Then I never got a lot out of a comprehensive courses, but was very good getting things done well in the real world. I just need to know where to look as things come up. This topic came up in a forum discussion on the art of zooming and tracking. Nothing like peer to peer discussions.

 

[smithdr]

Hello:

I thought I would provide my 2 cents on which application to use for video editing.

I began video editing in 2014 using Premier Pro/After Effects on my 2013 15" MBP. Editing was difficult with PP/AE because everything was just to slow. Files did not play back jittery and rendering just took forever.

I then tried the FCP trial in 2015 and everything worked so much better. So much so, that I purchased the entire professional suite. I used FCP/Motion successfully until late 2020. During that period I also experimented with DR, but never quite got the hang of it.

In mid-2020, I did a project that had a room with windows. As you can imagine, the room was significantly darker that the windows and there was no way I could mask the windows using FCP. The issue was that as I panned across room and windows went out of frame, masking of the windows broke down.

So, in mid-2020 I tried DR again as they had a way to mask (cloud masking) that when a window went out of frame, the masked area did not break down. This experience made me begin the process of switching from FCP to DR.

And, I have not looked back. I was so impressed with DR that I purchased Davinci Resolve Studio (DRS). I find things much easier to do in DRS from color grading skin tones, masking, etc. Even integrating an animation with Fusion was easier to do than than with Motion. I no longer had to open Motion, develop an animation, and then go back into FCP to keyframe the Motion project--that was a real PITA. Everything about DRS/Fusion was just so seamless and less painful than with FCP/Motion. Both FCP and DRS will get the job done, but I feel more comfortable with DRS.

Things are not all roses with DRS. While both DRS and FCP will render files at the same speed, there are issues with rendering Fusion compositions. Motion compositions render 3x faster than Fusion compositions. But I find the seamless integration and the ability to keyframe Fusion compositions within timeline more than makes up for the slow rendering speed.

Since I left FCP in 2020 I believe they have improved things with respect to cloud masking an integration with Motion. But, I would never go back to FCP. DRS just works so much better for me.

With respect the training, there is good free web training for both. I agree with Justine. Just learn what you need to learn to accomplish a task. If you attempt to learn to much at one time it will never be absorbed--there is just too much. Some great free YouTube channels for DRS are Casey Farris and Darryl Mostyn. All of their stuff is very modular and allow you to learn that aspect of what you need to learn. Casey also has payed for education.

Hope my experience helps with your decision.

Don

BTW. If you are doing any talking head stuff, you are also going to need an audio editor. I did not like Logic X. Currently, I use Acon Digital Acoustica. A good free YouTube channel to learn how to improve the sound of your audio is Curtis Judd.

 

[JustinePaula]

Hi Don
Your experience with FCP is quite common, and often the reason folks give when they explain why they went to Resolve, what has been missed is the deliberate decision by Apple, which I agree has not been well explained by anyone, Apple made the decision to leave FCP unfinished, for a very good reason, that is plug in's..

FCP works extremely well, maybe on par if not just a little better once you get used to the idea of using 3rd party plug in's so that you extend the functionality of FCP to beyond what is stock, tracking is a huge issue for a lot of folks, and yes Motion and FCP with a large number of plug in's along with coders writing great extensions to allow the use of "decks" for the mac, so that you can use hardware to drive the app...

FCP should be seen almost as an operating system that you add function to, yes it is very limited without any extensions/plug in's, I too was disappointed when I first bought FCP, and saw the lack of things, once I grasped the idea of plug ins, and what they can do, asking Apple to do this, is almost a silly thing...Resolve tends to not have the same huge community of plug in contributers, Resolve tends to be a bit limited...

There is no one tool that is perfect for all jobs, the idea is to start with something, and progress, it makes more sense to edit in FCP and Grade in Resolve, give the editing ability of FCP with Audition clips, as 1 example, then you grade and finish in resolve, or mask in resolve, edit in fcp, grade in resolve... There are options now!!!

 

[smithdr]

Hi Justine:

I agree there are lots of plugins for both FCP and Resolve. However, they all cost money beyond purchasing the base application. I purchased two plugs-in for FCP--Color Finale and Hawakey (I am not certain I spelled that correctly). But there always seemed to be issues with plug-ins when FCP was updated. I found that Color Finale did not give me that much more benefit over the tools included in the FCP. Hawakey was better and did a good job with green screen that was absolutely awful with the included FCP tools.

I find the included tools with Davinci Resolve to be far better than FCP. Included tools like masking, tracking, and if I need something special I can quickly whip something up in Fusion all inside one application. Even the included Fairlight audio is editor is not bad. I can duck the music with ease using the tools provided. Not certain if FCP has a way to do ducking. Maybe there is a plug-in. And there is so much room to grow in Resolve with things I have yet to discover.

If I had to do it all over again I would have started with Resolve. But I can say this, because my earlier efforts were made in Premier and FCP it did make learning Resolve so much easier. Because of FCP, I knew which questions to ask (half the battle) and then get answer using Google on how to do it in Resolve.

Don

 

[ColdCase]

Yeah, not one tool is best for everyone. One guy's masking function is a must have vs another guy's keyword tagging is a must have..... but then I think I saw a couple years ago ago a clever way to solve that masking thing without resorting to a free plugin or a different app.

It is like the apps are more intuitive to the strengths one side of the brain than the other. So left side brain folks would prefer one app where right side dominant brains prefer the other

Anyway, there are work arounds within either app that just cost a bit of time, and time is money.

It seems apps like Topaz and Boris is better integrated into FCP (saves time will less chance of error). I seem to be working with a lot of substandard old SD media lately or security camera footage thats lacking. And then there is that motion thing.

Plug in supports seems to come and go more often than built in app functions.