Reviewed: Class on Demand – Avid Media Composer for Final Cut Pro Users

With the recent release of Final Cut Pro X from Apple, it became quickly apparent that my facility was not going to be able to adopt the new software from them. This coupled with the fact that Apple has completely slaughtered their line of pro apps, it was clear that Final Cut Pro in general was a thing of history for us.

Some History

My first introduction into non-linear editing (NLE) software was back in the early to mid nineties using Adobe Premiere. It was simple, but worked, and was inexpensive compared to the other options like Avid. Around 1996 we got our Media100 system, which allowed us to edit video professionally with proper hardware ingest and output. As good (and sometimes bad) as Media100 was for us, it still allowed us to use a system that freed us from the huge expense of owning an Avid system, despite the high cost of the Media100 system itself.

Then came along Final Cut Pro and everything changed. I welcomed it with open arms; in a time when I thought the Macintosh itself was destined for the graveyard (we were slowly migrating to more Windows NT workstations at the time than we were Macs). I’ve owned every single version of Final Cut Pro since that very first version 1 release. I’ve beta tested and consulted for Apple for both Final Cut Pro (not for FCPX however) and QuickTime. In a nutshell, I definitely know my way around Final Cut Pro! read more...