LEARNING A NEW EDITING SUITE: ADOBE CS6

After all the time and effort I put in with Final Cut Studio, I thought that would be the only editing suite I’d ever use. I had shortcut keys memorized, could quickly edit sound files in Soundtrack Pro, create lower thirds in Motion, export into any thinkable medium in compressor and even make an interactive DVD with DVD Studio Pro. So why in the world would I think about switching to a new editing suite? Final Cut Studio 4 never came but Adobe CS6 did.

If you haven’t already read Chad’s post on the switch to CS6, check it out. He has a really cool view as a director, editor and owner of a company with a team of editors. One of the reasons I was reluctant to switch to an entirely different editing suite is the time it takes to learn all the various programs. I currently work full time for a production company along with some projects I do on the weekends. I need to be proficient in the suite to meet the needs of clients. These needs include tweaking audio, coloring in a certain way, exporting in a number of formats, and even authoring the occasional DVD. When CS6 came out, I downloaded the free trial and played with some random video clips. Worked a bit like FCP 7 which is great. I decided to try a smaller project to dive in deeper.

Overall, my experience with CS6 has been a success. Although I am still learning, I am getting a lot of benefits editing with CS6. Editing DSLR footage without needing to log and transfer is one of the biggest pros of CS6. Another side benefit I found was that I didn’t need to get an extremely expensive MacPro. Although that would have been nice, I saved money and built my own PC and customized the parts for this editing suite. If you’re curious about that you can check it out here.

The key to mastering new editing programs is being patient, reading, watching tutorials, and reading some more. Be sure you have plenty of time to complete deadlines due to the fact you will be slower. Expecting to know how to do everything right away will only make you frustrated. Another tip is to have fun with it. This field is supposed to be fun, remember?

Times change and to be successful in any field, you need to keep up. Although keeping up costs time and money, if you aren’t willing to change, clients will leave you for the person or company who is pioneering the field. In the case of editing software, clients don’t know nor care what you are using. FCP 7 is a good editing system but it hasn’t changed in so long. CS6 is much faster and allows you to do your job more efficiently. For now, I am going 100% CS6. Once I have a solid grasp on the suite I’ll write about all the features I love and those that I don’t like.