Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

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anlaced
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Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by anlaced » Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:22 pm

Hopefully, this topic isn't redundant, I understand there are threads with lists of Mac compatible editing programs but I'm looking for a few very specific things in a program and it's really time-consuming to download every editing program and test it out so I'd rather just ask.

I'm a longtime AMV maker who has recently gotten a Macbook pro and I'm really comfortable with sony vegas. I've been experimenting with Premiere Pro but it just isn't working for me, I kind of hate everything about it so I'm hoping to get some recommendations for other programs. I don't need anything fancy since I mostly edit RAW but there are a few key features that are important to me.


-Pan/Crop similar to SV (specifically something with keyframes so I have more control)
-Markers (I usually mark up the song using the "m" hotkey, it's super important to my editing process)
-Easy to navigate
+what I like most about SV is that I can drop clips in the timeline wherever, they don't snap to each other
+I want to be able to just click a clip and press delete to get rid of it
+Hotkey for splitting clips
+Dragging two clips together creates a fade between them (not necessary but another feature of SV I used all the time that was quick and easy)
+Dragging the ends of clips in order to shorten or lengthen it
-Simple document setup (all I really need to control are the video dimensions, frame rate and file type)
-Easy way to preview work (I loved being able to highlight a section of my timeline, press a command and have that portion play smoothly)
-Brightness contrast controls with keyframes

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Tigrin
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:36 pm
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Re: Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by Tigrin » Mon Mar 13, 2017 3:18 pm

Premiere can do most of the things you listed, though maybe not as easily as Vegas... do you need some tips? I feel you though, Premiere is the program I use and I kind of hate it, it's just so buggy.

anlaced
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Re: Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by anlaced » Mon Mar 13, 2017 11:15 pm

My biggest gripe with Premiere is how finicky and slow everything is. It's not easy to click and drag things around, zoom into a spot you want, or split clips exactly where you want them, plus the timeline marker (I actually have no idea what the proper name is) often is a pain to move around too. Maybe it just takes some getting used to but I'm old and tired and just want things to move quickly. So if you have any resources on how to do any of those things quickly I'm all ears.

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Tigrin
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Re: Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by Tigrin » Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:09 am

Yeah I understand. @__@ Here are some quick tips:

- You can split a clip anywhere you want with Add Edit. The hotkey for this in Windows is Ctrl+K so the Mac shortcut is probably something like command K, but you can check under Sequence what it is.
- If a hotkey is not what you're used to you can change it under Keyboard Shortcuts in the Edit menu
- You can just drag and drop clips from the Project Editor onto the timeline. If you're getting annoyed by clips snapping to each other, you can turn off snapping under the Sequence menu. There's also a hotkey for it so you can easily turn snapping on and off.
- Something I often do for organization is cut up videos into Subclips and save those in bins in the Project Editor. You can save any clip as a Subclip by clicking on it in the timeline and choosing Make Subclip from the Clip menu or hitting the hotkey (it's Shift+S on my version) and then giving it a name
- Or, you can create clips from a video in the Project Editor by double-clicking on the video to open it in the Source Monitor, clicking and dragging the marker to the point where you want the clip to start, clicking the Mark In button (or hitting I, icon looks like {), then going to where you want the clip to end and clicking the Mark Out button (O, or }). You can then click Overwrite (period key) to put it in the timeline where your current time is, or you can click and drag on the video icon if you just want a video clip and not audio.
- You can hit M to set a marker on the timeline and you can just click on it and drag to move it
- You can zoom into a spot on the timeline quickly by dragging on the handles of the slider at the bottom of the timeline. it sucks though.

For some of the other ones you mentioned above:
- You can just click on a clip and hit Delete to delete it
- You can hover over, click and drag on the beginning or end of a clip to change its length... the cursor turns into a different icon
- You can drag and drop the Cross Dissolve video transition between two clips to make a fade between them
- For panning or cropping you'd have to click on a clip and adjust the motion by setting keyframes under attributes in the Effects Controls. Not as user friendly as Vegas I think.
- Same with brightness controls, you can drag the Brightness and Contrast effect onto a clip and use the Effect Controls to key it.
- To quickly set up a sequence with the same specifications as your footage, you can just drag the video onto the icon that looks like a piece of paper in the Project Editor

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Mol
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Re: Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by Mol » Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:29 am

You can give Final Cut a shot, thought it's kinda like "simplified down" Premiere imo ; d.
Still better than that MMO.
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shorisquared
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Re: Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by shorisquared » Tue Mar 14, 2017 7:37 am

Mol wrote:You can give Final Cut a shot, thought it's kinda like "simplified down" Premiere imo ; d.
I prefer Premiere to Final Cut because the former is much easier on my computer and imo gives you much more range in what to do, but that's just me.
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Kionon
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Re: Mac compatible editing programs similar to Sony Vegas

Post by Kionon » Wed Mar 29, 2017 3:03 am

It's now been a few years since I seriously tried using Final Cut Pro. And I never used Vegas, so it's hard for me to say. I am shortly installing Windows 10 on my MacBook Pro as a proof of concept for my labor union (we have a Mac and a PC, and I need to prove if we buy another iMac, as our current one is from 2007 and failing, that it can be made into a windows machine for those who prefer it), so I'll try to play with it. I'm also running for our IT director officer position in April, and after ten years of teaching, I'm currently interviewing for a position with Apple.

I putzed around with FCP and iMove several years ago (you can see how old my Mac Guides are, they need updating), but I don't know what they are up to these days as far as AMV editing. I've never really abandoned my use of Premiere, starting with 5.1c back in the 1990s. I didn't give up on 6.0/6.5 until 2009, and I'm now refusing to move from Premiere CS5 until absolutely forced. I'm a creature of habit.
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