This Week's Showdown: Mac vs PC (Mid-Level Editing Software)

Last week was originally going to be a comparison between Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere, but once I started writing it, it quickly turned into Mac vs PC, and I figured that if I was going to start a Mac vs PC series of blog posts, I might as well start with the basics.  So i did Windows Live Movie Maker vs iMovie.  This week I'm doing Premiere vs FCP.

Now before I start, I'd just like to clarify that Adobe Premiere works just as well on Mac as it does on PC, and that Adobe is not affiliated with Microsoft.  The only reason I'm calling this "Mac vs PC" is because people tend to associate Premiere and the other programs in the Adobe Creative Suite with PC, probably because far fewer people use them with Mac.  Also keep in mind that I edit with Premiere at home, and I use Final Cut Pro at school, so I am fairly experienced with both programs.  With that out of the way, let's begin.

The first thing any frugal American will notice when comparing these two editing programs is the price.  Final Cut Pro 7, the most recent and widely-used version, costs 1,000 dollars.  Final Cut Pro X, the budget version, only costs 300.  On the other hand, Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5, the version that I edit with, is 800 dollars.  I know that it's not the most recent version, but I would guess that it's still the version that most people use because the newest one hasn't had enough time to catch on yet.

The next thing to look at is how well both programs live up to their intended uses.  Since they are both top-of-the line mid-level editing programs, it is safe to assume that the people who will be using them are mainly advanced amateurs, in some cases professionals, meaning that the standards that they have to live up to are much higher than those of Windows Live Movie Maker and iMovie.  In this category, Final Cut Pro has the best track record.  More big-budget professional movies have been edited in Final Cut Pro than in Premiere.  However, since the release of FCP X, which sacrificed several features to cater more to film makers on a tighter budget, Adobe Premiere has been considered more proffessional than FCP.  In a way, this is not fair to Apple, because the full version is just as professional as Premiere, but as they seem to have no intention of making a FCP 8 and instead plan to focus on FCP X, Premiere has the upper hand.

Until next time.



               

This Week's Showdown: Mac vs PC (Basic Editing Software)

Last week I wrote about French vs American literature.  This week it'll be part 1 of Mac vs PC.  I think I might begin doing a showdown every week as the format for my blog.  But anyway, let's get started.

It seems to be a commonly accepted fact that Mac is a better platform for editing video than PC.  Now, as someone whose sole purpose in life is to topple the Apple empire, my point of view may be slightly biased.  But regardless, I think the view that macs are more useful for editing is based entirely on the fact that iMovie comes free with Mac OSX.  But Windows Live Movie Maker, the free PC editing suite, is just as good.

The reason iMovie has become so popular is that it is a very user-friendly editing program.  Since the world has seen a huge increase in amateur movie making over the past few years, editing software that is user-friendly is in high demand.  However, Windows Live Movie Maker is even more user friendly, and can carry out any basic task required by an amateur movie maker.  iMovie can perform more advanced functions, but if someone who is in need of more advanced editing should most likely invest in a more advanced editing suite.

There is also the fact that while the newest version of iMovie comes free with a newly-purchased Mac computer, you must pay 15 dollars in order to unlock the updatable version of iMovie.  Windows Live Movie Maker is 100 percent free.

Tune in next week for Mac vs PC: Mid-Level Editing Software.

 

This Week's Showdown: French vs. American Literature

I'm in French 4, and we are currently studying Antoine de Saint-Exupery's iconic novel Le Petit Prince.  While most Americans know of this book, few have actually read it.  Most just assume that it is a children's book, and to a certain extent, they are right.

On the surface, Le Petit Prince is a cute story of a little kid who travels the universe to learn about life.  But on a deeper level, it is a criticism of the gap between children and adults just about every other flaw the author finds in human nature.  For instance, when the little prince visits a man who is obsessed with counting the stars, thinking that because nobody has claimed them yet they all belong to him, and that he must find out how many he has in order to determine their worth.

Le Petit Prince is comparable to several American classics, but the connection that I made as soon as I began reading it was to The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster.  The Phantom Tollbooth is another children's book that can be interpreted on many levels, starring a boy named Milo who goes to the Lands of beyond, where he meets all sorts of characters and places that are representations and criticisms of human nature, among other things.  For example, when Milo stops thinking on the Road of Expectations, he ends up in the doldrums, a place where people are encouraged not to think.  This is a criticism of oppression and the limited freedoms experienced by some, as well as of the human tendency to want to follow rather than to lead.