Comparison of Two Editing Applications in Relation to Career Pathway

Before this year, my main experience of an editing application was with the use of Final Cut Pro 7. At the time, it was a very popular editing tool for both professional and amateur filmmakers and editors. However, with the introduction of Final Cut Pro X, this application has now seemed to become obsolete in the industry all together, with no upgrades for Final Cut Pro 7 now available.

Avid Media Composer, however, seems to be the answer. It has always been used in a professional environment and seems to mainly put new learners off with its complex look and temperamental nature. This year I have had a lot of practice using Avid, however, and I do in fact see why it is so popular in the industry.

The use of keyboard short-cuts for more precise editing saves a lot of time, and with practice, an editor can become almost expert at simple commands to allow for faster editing. I also really like the easiness of creating rolling titles with the marquee tool and the quality of the exported product with the correct settings used for various uses, for example uploading to an online video sharer site.

I do not however like the way in which Avid projects are very difficult to move from one location to another, especially with a lack of knowledge of how to do this properly. This was not the case with Final Cut Pro 7.

I do feel that having knowledge and experience of both applications has greatly helped me during work experience tasks, but I will concentrate on Avid Media Composer, as I now prefer it and is the most widely used application in the television industry, which is my aim to be a successful editor in.