FCP or CS4

[nomadix rob]

Im curious to see what other people are thinking! I have a dilemma, I have been setting up a edit suite and workflow for a feature i am working on. Up until now, i have decided to go down the road of FCP edit of ProRes files and then export to colour for CC. I was pretty set on this method until i started talking to some people about the newly released CS4 plugin for Red with Premiere and AFX. They say the fact Red is now native to CS4 so you can edit the R3D files in premiere and then do your grade in AFX all very seamlessly. This sounds great as the majority of our VFX and compositing will be done in After Effects. So in that sense, i guess it seems logical to work in Premeire as i will be working very closely with our VFX artist as we have alot of composited shots. Problem is, i havn't used premiere since high school! I have been all final cut since university and have grown to know and love that program!. I guess at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what you edit on, its the editor....but some thoughs on the FCP vs CS4 workflows would be great! Aside from that fact i like workfing on FCP, i really want to know how the two differ performance wise and ease of workflow.

 

[Uli Plank]

Well, to mention just two points:
- Check out Color Finesse or the possibilities for grading in AE itself vs. Color
- Adobe doesn't recognize look files from RA

If your project is VFX-heavy, Premiere/AE might be the way to go. What's your delivery target? HDTV or film?

 

[nomadix rob]

Our project is FX heavy as we are doing alot of a CGI bullet hits, squib hits and gun fire. So in that regards the premiere way may be a good option. Our intended delivery is primarily for DVD and Blueray, but we have been told that they want the option to go to film if the oportunity presents itself

 

[Uli Plank]

Well, if you need to keep the option for a film-out, you need to do all your VFX in DPX or another high-end format (consider Cineform with Adobe).

Editing is not the biggest concern then, since you can always edit offline and re-conform later. So, using FCP or Premiere is not the only point of decision. Remember: REDCode is read only, you need to convert anyway at some point in your workflow.

ProRes is fine for Blu-Ray or DVD..

So, it depends on the proper balance of speed, cost and skills – which is up to you!

Ask yourself these questions:

- Which system are your VFX folks experienced with?
- Are most of your shots containing some kind of VFX?
- What's your shooting ratio?
- Can you rather spend time or money?

IMHO, if a large part of your shots is tightly interwoven with VFX, the integration between Premiere and AE might be helpful. If you can make a clear separation between shots used as original footage and a few being sent to the VXF department, Final Cut Studio can do the job just as well.
Keep in mind, that both workflows are still far from mature, so go testing, testing, testing!