It doesn't make you a more professional editor at all, but FCP is probably the most commonly used NLE in small to medium production companies. Most editor jobs are in FCP. You are simply giving yourself the tool that will get you the most work.

Ah, the endless debate. Should I edit on a Macintosh or PC? Should I edit with Avid or Final Cut Pro or Vegas or Premiere? For post-production, the decision should be what software suite you want to run first, and the hardware platform second. Some software suites run on both Mac and PC, so you then have a second decision, others run on only one platform (like Vegas and Final Cut Pro) so in those cases the second decision is already made for you.

I've used both Mac and PC, I've edited with Avid, Final Cut Pro and Premiere, and personally I've chosen to stick with Macintosh and Final Cut Pro, but in the end, it's a religious issue (especially the Mac vs. PC thing) unless you're planning to make your living as an editor. If that's the case, in terms of making a practical decision based on hard statistics you can determine on your own and avoid all the religious posturing, take a look at Craig's List and other job boards, what I've discovered is that there are a number of professional editing jobs that require Avid experience, most independent film and small production company editing jobs require Final Cut Pro, and there's a small contingent of corporate video users who are working with Premiere.

This all reminds me of a back-page column Umberto Eco once wrote, La bustina di Minerva, in the Italian news weekly Espresso, September 30, 1994, you can find an English translation at www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_mac_vs_pc.html

Yep
 

I agree with Dylan on this one. Having worked in L.A. for the last few years, Final Cut is definitely more prominent among pros out here. I've only heard of production houses using Avid or Final Cut and I've never heard of any professional production houses using any PC based editing software. I'm sure they're out there, I've just never personally seen them. I had been using Premiere for years and years but as soon as I got to L.A. I had to make the transition. The good thing is, Final Cut is pretty much just like Premiere, so for me, it was an incredibly easy transition. Now that I've used Macs for the last few years I literally hate life when I have to use a PC for anything.

I found that it wasn't a religious choice for me to use a Mac or a PC - it was more being economical with my time, and retaining my sanity.

For the past two years, I cut and finished on PCs. Before that were Macs - FCP version 1 and 2, but the PC seemed less expensive and therefore, more economical. Despite being technically knowledgeable, I went through two in a short period due to hardware and then software conflicts, and moved back to the Mac. I'm far more productive due to the stable nature of the OS, and it's overlying apps (FCP Studio 1 and now 2). I'm a happier and more productive person using a Mac for all my needs.. and prefer the editing/compositing/audio/dvd/rendering programs of Final Cut Studio as well. Final Cut Studio 2 is a big, nice step up from FCS 1 (which was already great). My little story.

This is the old Ford Vs Chevy debate.

The answer to his question can only come from himself.

No matter what you use, you will make it work.
I think it's more important to have a great story.
I think it's important to get good framming,levels,exposure......

Then almost any NLE will do to cut/edit for the end product.

I use Vegas (cant wait for the new version very soon ) and love it on a PC.

Cheers
Simon

Vegas now runs on both PC and MAC :)

If budget is a concern, this a no brainer. Stay PC and get Vegas. You already have a PC and Vegas 6 is only $99. Vegas even comes with the cineform codec. Fantastic value. without debating the merits of Vegas, no one will argue it's the cheapest and also that it has the best audio features.

No doubt. Hands-down the fastest audio editor out there. I was using Vegas back when it was released by Sonic Foundry for audio editing purposes. Outside of it's third-party plug-in format limitations (which they have since corrected) it was a solid and fast DAW. Vegas Video applies the same speed and ease of the original to the video world with fantastic results.

I use both FCP on Mac and Vegas 7 on PC. I couldn't live without either.

Not all hardware is specific to Macs, especially hard drives and RAM, both of which can be used in either Macs or PCs, so the cost is equal. This is not the case for EVERY Mac, but newer ones (G5's, MacBook Pro's) you will find that RAM/HDs are interchangable. On top of this, newer G5's have an extra PCI-E slot, so pretty much everything you'd want to upgrade is upgradeable. Plus you never have to look at windows, which I'm always okay with. (not a Windows bash, just personal preference of UI's)

ya know, being a sound guy this thread sounds like a debate we used to have on another forum. It first started out just like this, Mac vs. Pc and ended up protools vs. Motu. As a Mac addict, I will tell you they are better, A PC addict will tell you they are better. how do you know for sure? you dont! aint life grand..............

my 2 cents,

I LOVE MY APPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Having been both a cheap-skate and a PC user for a LONG time I was a bit reluctant to fork out the extra cash for a Mac, but I decided to on the basis that FCP experience was more likely to land me editing work down here in Australia than any PC-based NLE that I could afford. So a couple of months ago I made the switch.

And I'm glad I did. Granted, the student discounts I was able to get on both the hardware and software for the computer were an added incentive. But using Apple's Bootcamp on my Mac Pro gives me two computers for the price of one, and anything I'd prefer to do on PC is no further than a restart away.

On that basis, I think it makes a great deal of sense financially - it's gives you two high-end computers (a Mac and a PC) for a much lower price than buying two comparable systems running seperate OSs.

If you like Bootcamp, you will LOVE Parallels which gives you the ability to run Windows and Mac OS X side by side on an Intel Mac running both Mac OS X and Windows XP seamlessly and at the same time.

Post experience
 

Hello

We just fiished a 90 minute doc and our experience when we went to a post audio house we needed to be on a MAC for compatibilty. Now I realize that you can export the audio tracks so they can mesh in PC suites, but it feels more comfortable to take Mac stuff to post Macs.

Cheers

I would say that you should get a Mac because macintosh has this software called Paralel Desktop that allows you to run two opperating systems at once. I would say a Mac with OS X and Windows Vista Ultimate edition is the perfect digital filmmakers tool.