Final Cut Express and Motion

[Caitlyn]

Hey guys!
I am getting more into movie creating and building projects in iMovie HD 6. I love it, but I am looking for some more advanced features to make the projects look more professional and to give me more options when making the project itself. So, first of all, do you think Final Cut Express would help me in this respect? If not, do you have a suggestion?

Also, Motion 2. What exactly is this used for? Animation? Can this animation then be inserted into your movie or something along those lines? I know I sound sort of "amateur" with in respect to Motion. I'm just curious as to whether it will be of any use to me.

Thanks!
-Caitlyn

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Hi,

Final Cut Express would be a good move as it's not an incredibly complex program but has a lot more to it than iMovie. Motion, on the other hand, is quite a weak program i have discovered. It's basically for creating motion graphics and colourful moving graphics, which can sometimes be a waste of time.

I would suggest getting Final Cut Pro instead of Express and Motion.

Good luck! and enjoy!

Rich.

Hey guys!
I am getting more into movie creating and building projects in iMovie HD 6. I love it, but I am looking for some more advanced features to make the projects look more professional and to give me more options when making the project itself. So, first of all, do you think Final Cut Express would help me in this respect? If not, do you have a suggestion?

Also, Motion 2. What exactly is this used for? Animation? Can this animation then be inserted into your movie or something along those lines? I know I sound sort of "amateur" with in respect to Motion. I'm just curious as to whether it will be of any use to me.

Thanks!
-Caitlyn

 

[THX1139]

Also, Motion 2. What exactly is this used for? Animation? Can this animation then be inserted into your movie or something along those lines? I know I sound sort of "amateur" with in respect to Motion.

I think Apple was hoping to come out with an application that would compete with After Effects.

Check this out:

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/motion/

Motion is part of Final Cut Studio, although you may be able to purchase it separately. It's a pro application so you need to make sure your computer is powerful enough to will run it efficently. It's also quite expensive as part of the Studio package. Not to discourage you, but going from amatuer to professional level applications can get very expensive. Both software and hardware wise.

 

[virus1]

motion is livetype on steriods. poorly designed workflow and difficult to work with.

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

If you are interested in Final Cut Studio, have a look at the cross-grade / upgrade options avalable now. IF you can find the latest version of one component (you would probably have to look in a store or eBay) you can get an upgrade to Studio (all the apps) for not much money.

 

[Caitlyn]

I read some Motion reviews and realized it's kinda useless for what I want to do. So, now my next two questions are:
1. It is possible to buy Final Cut Express seperately right? You don't need to buy the Studio to obtain it, correct?
2. And Final Cut Express is an advanced version of iMovie? Because in the end, that's really all I'm searching for.

Thanks!

 

[pashazade]

I read some Motion reviews and realized it's kinda useless for what I want to do. So, now my next two questions are:
1. It is possible to buy Final Cut Express seperately right? You don't need to buy the Studio to obtain it, correct?
2. And Final Cut Express is an advanced version of iMovie? Because in the end, that's really all I'm searching for.

Thanks!

Other way round really, FC Express is a cut down version of FC Pro. The interfaces are the same/similar. It's very different to iMovie. If you can get down to an Apple Store for a workshop. If you have a .mac account you can get training vids to see the difference. Or just check the apple site for details of the interface.

http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/

Your best bet now is either buy FCE and stick with that or take the opportunity to get FC Studio at a very cheap price. To get Studio you need to purchase one of the core apps and then pay the crossgrade fee.

eg

Buy Motion 2 ($299?)
Upgrade to FC Studio $199

Total Cost $498

Cost of Final Cut Studio $1,299.00

Details here

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/topquestions.html

It may also be possible to buy the Motion 2 Upgrade pack instead of the full Motion 2 pack. The proof of purchase is the DVD itself.

The only difference in crossgrade vs full version is the lack of paper manuals, you get the pdfs only.

Oh and Studio is universal while FCE won't be until the next full release.