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Wonderlawn
Participant
August 14, 2018
Question

Moving to Premier Pro from Davinci

  • August 14, 2018
  • 14 replies
  • 5120 views

Hi guys, I'm mainly a Davinci/Vegas user for work. I'd like to move to Premier Pro as I believe it will give me better results when exporting etc.

How different is the workflow from the programs I'm used to to Premier?

Am I starting from scratch, or are there some transferable skills I can use?

This topic has been closed for replies.

14 replies

Legend
August 15, 2018

hehe, I know. It's like adobe is your child. You can make some criticism of some aspect of behavior or neglect or whatever, and then when someone else ( like me ) criticizes it you react like a loving parent ( "Who is THAT person to dare criticize my child ! "

funny... but understandable.

Thanks for being reasonable. I'll try to get over my own recent personal pressures in life and get back to work. That way I won't be a critic but become an artist again.

R Neil Haugen
Legend
August 15, 2018

I find it so odd that people make weird guesses about my emotions ... but then, as someone on the autism spectrum (would be considered high functioning aspergers in old-style terms) ... I probably look at things differently than people expect. I recognize my emotions but they are to me very different than "thoughts". For many I've talked with, they find that odd. I've been told I'm more "compartmentalized". For me, it's normal.

The Adobe apps are useful for me, and in general work together in ways other options don't. But they're not the only ones I use, as I so oft note. I prefer the mental image of the UI of PrPro over Resolve's editing page, and I'm more familiar with the keyboard shorts, layouts of things & such. That will lessen over time as I do more with Resolve. I do spend time daily with that app, and have been through some training with it also.

In the same way, though I can use AfterEffects, that app's UI is very dense to me. Something that worked as well with my editing that wasn't that obtuse in appearance would be most welcome. And the Resolve option ... ain't better for me.

I truly appreciated a man I knew as a kid ... he'd sold John Deere (primarily) from JD dealerships to farmers in South Dakota back in the 50's/60's. He could tell you the upsides of the Deere's against other tractors/implements. But he could also tell you the good stuff about the other company's products. And their troubles ... all very directly. Which for someone like me would have made it much easier to buy JD stuff from him. And feel like I knew when it was wisest to buy the other stuff.

I've told people here that they would be better served by several other apps, especially Resolve. Because ... they would. Why should they have the Adobe apps if what they needed was something else? You're working entirely in CinemaDNG? Um ... please, consider Resolve!

The work has got to get out ... that's really the only caveat.

And besides, anyone saying that any particular app is the ONLY worthwhile one that is available and everyone should use for this is blowing smoke.

Adobe's sales are their business and problem ... not mine. As long as they please enough people they'll have good sales. If they get behind we'll all be using something else and noting gee, how the mighty have fallen.

Again.

I look at some of the software giants back when we got our first computer ... no one even remembers the company name let alone the products they sold by the bazillion back then.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
Legend
August 15, 2018

Those who are helping others in this forum are truly wonderful people because most of them help users solve problems about technical issues ( how to do this, how to fix this, how to do what I imagine can be done ). It's really cool. And they deserve a lot of credit.

Because I love the arts in general and made my life in the film biz as a worm crew member I know for a fact that it's possible to work in the arts and make a living. My heart was ( and still is ) in it. Books, plays, operas, dance, ballet, you name it, I truly love how culture is influenced and improved through the arts. I think every high school in America should have music and sports and drawing and writing and all sorts of stuff to give kids the chance to discover the world and humanity.

Although I would never in a million years use a program that requires me to be a 'subscriber' with an internet connection to work on any projects I understand the reason Adobe went that way. It would be best if there were two options. Buy it outright and upgrade when necessary when you choose ( patches, etc. ), or subscribe. The problem is the piracy and the cost of sending discs and so on. It's a lot cheaper to just have YOU let them deduct money from your bank account every month and give you some internet download.

I couldn't care less really.. as I would never do that.

Legend
August 15, 2018

Where's Jeff the Bug ? I kinda thought he'd be back from vacation by now to delete my messages and arbitrate things for the sensitive people here ?

R Neil Haugen
Legend
August 15, 2018

Ah, but there's multiple of us here ... we can tag-team without even communicating, we're all psychic that way, don't you know! 

Jeff the Bug ... ha. Well, Rodney the Geez, you're welcome to post here. We all rant from time to time, I've certainly posted strongly worded criticisms. As long as one maintains civility, a grasp of reality, and avoids pointless insults/foul language, it's a discussion board.

It's clear I disagree with some of your thoughts. But I very much appreciate your years of experience, knowledge, and craft.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
Legend
August 15, 2018

That said, I totally understand people investing their time and hearts into specific programs and learning about riding the crest of the wave, the newest and greatest stuff ( tools ). Nobody is gonna have a booth at NAB that doesn't do everything they can to impress the visitor, and make their case to promote their product. And it's normal for people to make judgements based on their experience and position ( cog in the wheel ). So, of course an editor wants to believe he is the best thing since white bread. That's why some get academy awards.

Legend
August 15, 2018

revisiting ( might be old by now ) basic premise re: editing and work flows.

In my opinion there are some people who would like the tail to wag the dog.

Editors make decisions about what camera and format to shoot in. Editors tell DP what LUT to use when using specific cameras. Editors telling those who MAKE the product how to make the product.

This goes to simple things. A writer puts down on paper a STORY which becomes a film script. Just to keep it simple.

Each page is about 1 minute and all that stuff. The thing is "picked up" or "green lighted" to produce and shoot and get distributed.

Now, the thing is shot and made in weird puzzle pieces. Scene 10 might be shot on first day of shooting. X number of pages shot per day, various scheduling and shooting stuff adjusted according to weather, locations, real world problems. Constantly in flux.

Ultimately the thing is put together ( the puzzle pieces ) in post, along with SFX, music (composer ), etc.

To imagine that the editor is in control of this is the tail wagging the dog.

To then imagine that some specific TOOL (software editing program) is the ONLY tool to do this right is ludicrous.

And on top of THAT, to have an attitude about this whole business based on a stupid editing program boggles the mind.

Legend
August 15, 2018

oh, how cool !  going gold means it's not in beta anymore !  That was fast …

Legend
August 15, 2018

Jim, what does that mean, " it went gold ," ?

dutchy_on_a_bike
Known Participant
August 15, 2018

If Resolve does what you need then stick with it, unless Premiere has a specific feature you need. I am about to jump from PremPro to Resolve. I have used PremPro for 5 years since I jumped from FCP7. Up until the past 18 months PremPro has been great but somewhere along the way there just seems an awful lot of bugs, on Mac and PC. Most of the bugs do seem to get squashed but for ever bug they fix, new random ones appear. It's quite frustrating, and they take months to fix them, if at all. Just my thoughts. Mark

Inspiring
August 15, 2018

Check out the Davinci Resolve Forum at Black Magic.  Even though Resolve 15 is in Beta 8, users continually report bugs.

Legend
August 15, 2018

Even though Resolve 15 is in Beta 8

It went Gold on Sunday, August 12.

Legend
August 15, 2018

How different is the workflow from the programs I'm used to to Premier?

There's definitely a leaning curve going either direction.  I recommend anyone using either company's software read the full manuals.  Don't just think you can jump into one because you know the other.

With that said, the most obvious difference is that Resolve can be used to organize, edit, add effects, work on color and mix audio all in one program with very simple, elegant and near flawless switching between tasks, whereas Adobe uses separate programs to accomplish the same work, often with less than perfect results when switching between tasks.

Legend
August 15, 2018

I believe it will give me better results when exporting etc.

I question that idea.  While each program has export options the other doesn't, they do have the majority of options in common.  Additionally, probably the most common export for delivery these days is H.264, and on that front I believe Resolve is the very clear winner on quality.  It's export engine is superior to the MainConcept engine used by Adobe.

Inspiring
August 16, 2018

I do not see any definitive difference in the quality of videos(H.264) created by Resolve or Premiere.  Resolve produces much larger files than Premiere.  Resolve does not have the option to export H.265 as does Premiere. 

Legend
August 16, 2018

For myself, I found the Pixel Peeping quality of Adobe's H.264 options less than satisfactory.  I switched to exporting DI's and using x264 to encode my deliverables, and found noticeable improvement.  That was a while ago.  I haven't tested Adobe's H.264 in a few years.

Using Resolve, I found the High Quality preset nearly indistinguishable from the original and Medium quite sufficient for client delivery.

H.265 would be a good option for C4K/UHD delivery, as I've found that not all devices can read exFAT formatted USB thumb drives, which means I'm limited to FAT32 formatting and 4GB files for client delivery via USB stick.  I'm hoping Resolve will add H.265 in the future.  For now, I still use x265.

Legend
August 14, 2018

I am so happy to hear of the recent improvements you've witnessed and experienced with adobe stuff !  How cool is that ? !!

R Neil Haugen
Legend
August 15, 2018

Cool, yea ... but they also seem long overdue. Plus & minus all rolled together, which is part & parcel of human endeavors.

Still, I did love the old days. I've often thought if I could snap my fingers and make all digital imaging go away, requiring film again, I'd tick off a LOT of people. Sure wouldn't announce it had been me!

So, you hang on, take what joys you can. BM is really popping stuff into Resolve as a general editing app. How well (and how effectively) will Adobe respond to that? Will be interesting. Avid ... many of the users I've talked with or listened to at NAB say yea, its got a huge took-set and it works but sheesh ... they look at PrPro, Resolve, even FCPx for some of the features there, and go ... when?

It's an unsettled time for many users of the video-post software. And the companies involved perhaps. No clue how this will play out, other than we'll have software to use. I've had to change nearly every software vendor I've ever used over time. I'm still working, some of them are long gone.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...