Am I the only one frustrated with the overall user experience?

[luke_5909]

I'm very new to PP, so I totally respect the fact that there is a learning curve, but some of the ways this program works seem very hat on a hat cumbersome. Then there are constant bugs for super basic things like disabling effects (open and disable then open again and click ok) or resizing clips (it just...won't select it) or randomly breaking video paths if you happen to save something in a new location. 

I know this is more or less venting, but I'm really struggling to decide whether I keep trudging through these early stages or just abandon this and go back to FCPX and/or DiVinci. Again, I really do understand the learning process can be fits and starts, I just really thought PP was going to help step up my game. But so far it's just tripling my time spent on simple stuff. Any advice?

[R Neil Haugen]

I work for/with/teach pro colorists. I've been more Adobe based. But due to the tutorials and testing I'm doing in Resolve 19 especially with the new Tangent "Warp Engine" addition to their mapping program, I've been testing user mapping of the Elements panel in R19 beta.

Which is to say, over the last decade I've had a lot of personal experience working in and around other Resolve users. And of course, hearing many comments from Avid and Baselight based people as well.

Once you know how to setup and work with any of these apps, you can tend to avoid most of the 'bugs' and odd behaviors. Yea, that can take awhile to do.

ALL these programs are differently designed. They all have holes, they all have bugs. Use whatever works for you right now. Yea, I'm a practical guy. Been making a living as an independent business person delivering images for many years. The work must get out, that's the main and really only usable caveat.

That said, I vastly prefer the look and design of Premiere over Resolve. And also, I've got nine custom Premiere workspaces, and you simply can't do the level of customization like that in Resolve.

Adobe allows any panel maker access to their entire API "call" list, so I can map Hades out of my Tangent panel in Premiere.

BlackMagic provides Resolve as a loss-leader to sell hardware. Period. It's a fine profit model, but does mean they barely allow any function from non-BM panels in Resolve. And from talking with their staffers at NAB and on their forums, tough kitty, that ain't gonna change. Understandable of course, but still irritating.

I don't have either the budget or space for several mulitple panels.

It's a lot easier for me to figure out the menus of Premiere. In Resolve, I'll hunt all over for some option or control choice, and have to go online to find that oh, that's only available in the Edit page if you have this panel maximized. And maybe it's Tuesday or whatever.

But then, at least they provide that 4,000 page manual on the program. And many tutorials also. Better documentation in general than Adobe, but without any indexing, and with so many things have a very unique name in Resolve, you may look for a week before finding something.

So ... as always, it's pick your poison. And some of us simply need to do all of the above.

[MyerPj]

LinkedIn Learning has a bunch of good tutorials on the basics, you can watch at a fast speed since you already understand editing, it will help you get going. PP has a most customizable interface, once you get a few things down, you will be flying high above the hats.

[PaulMurphy]

Learning any complex software is always a humbling experience—in many ways, it's like learning a new language.

We’re quick to see bugs and shortcomings in the software we're learning, while we call them "quirks" and "workarounds" in software we’re more familiar with.

The best approach is to try to understand how the software was designed to be used and see how you can make that work for you. It’s always valuable to add another string to your bow, and I’m often pleasantly surprised to discover new and better ways of doing things that I wish were available in my trusted and well-worn software.

[R Neil Haugen]

So true. I've always done some in Resolve, but worked mostly in Premiere. Due to work on creating training for using Tangent's new "Warp Engine" mapping tools in Resolve, I've had to spend a lot of time "over there".

Well, the two apps call the similar step or tool different names, group them radically differently, and ... are organized for how and where the options and commands are placed very, very differently. Which is really incredibly frustrating at times.

But ... those that are used to Resolve, and know where everything is buried so to speak, initially find Premiere very "opaque" as they're used to menu things splayed out all over the app. Not so much the more unified menu system of Premiere.

Both are just as workable once it's natural, but frustrating to start with. And like you, I've found new things and went oh wow, it would be nice to have this in Premiere ... and other things, where you go ... really, you don't have this obvious tool or step?

Yep. Life among Humans.   😉

[MyerPj]

Hey @PaulMurphy That is really a great comment.

<<We’re quick to see bugs and shortcomings in the software we're learning, while we call them "quirks" and "workarounds" in software we’re more familiar with.>>

I'm going to remember that.

Cheers! 🙂

[RobShultz]

Adobe's Classroom in a Book is excellent. I strongly recommend using it as a learning tool.

[luke_5909]

Just want to say thanks to everyone who has responded so far. I half-expected a scolding from experts or Adobe loyalists, and instead I got reasoned, empathetic replies which have given me a better perspective on this whole endeavor. 

Thanks and cheers to you all. Powering through and learning with humility. 

[R Neil Haugen]

You're most welcome. One thing I do ask is that people park emotional responses somewhere else, as there's no accurate way at all to infer emotional intent online. Betwen the various languages and cultures that "populate" a forum like this, word usage is bound to be all over the place.

Once a person gives allowance for that, and actually realizes the differences between all of us, then ... it is both more informative and enjoyable to partake. 

And there are some truly amazing brains offered for everone to pick from among the normal users here!