By Thomas Csercsa

What do the movies Super Size Me, 300, The Simpson’s Movie, and The Social Network all have in common?
Not much, other than the fact that they were all edited using Apple’s Final Cut Pro.

These successful films put Final Cut on the map as a legitimate option for production companies, but they still only represent a moderate sample of movies produced in Hollywood. That’s mainly because anywhere from 80 to 90 per cent of Hollywood films are still edited using Avid, a company that introduced non-linear editing software more than 20 years ago.

“There was a running joke in the industry that said Avid is now 99 per cent off, because Final Cut, for $1,000 could do everything the $300,000 version of Avid could do at the time,” says Adam Wiseman, a graduate of the Toronto Film School who has worked as a freelance editor for a variety of production companies using both Avid and Final Cut Pro. “I know an editor who mortgaged his house just to pay for an Avid system.”

Wiseman, who now works for 9 Story Entertainment in Toronto, says they are two very different systems, but they are the two main contenders in the market. Now that Avid’s software has been made available at a lower price, it’s become possible to compare the products on a much more even level.

The main consideration has to be that neither of these editing systems is flawless. What works for some editors is a complete deal-breaker for others.

“Some people, once Final Cut came out and it became more stable, were like ‘good riddance, I hated Avid, it’s too complicated, there were too many steps that didn’t need to be there,’” says Wiseman.

As an editor at 9 Story, Wiseman’s most recent project has been editing Almost Naked Animals, a weekend cartoon on YTV.

YTV’s Almost Naked Animals in Final Cut Pro- All photos courtesy 9 Story Entertainment

After editing an episode with Final Cut, Wiseman hands it off to co-workers who work with Avid, so the file must be in XML format to cross platforms.

“The limitation was previously that I could have all my edit points, but if I had a transition between scenes like a wipe or a fade, it wouldn’t preserve those,” says Wiseman. “XML preserves the edit points no matter what program you’re using, and then you can re-link the footage.”

Avid also has a solid reputation among experienced editors who were already working in the industry before competitors began introducing their own non-linear systems. “We get the question all the time from younger people: ‘when did Avid come around?’ For kids coming out of school, typically they’ve been using Final Cut, and when they see our tools, they think we’re new,” says Kent Petersen, senior application specialist at Avid Canada. “We’ve had to market towards young people so that the younger generations are more aware of our product.”

Although younger generations have yet to fully embrace what Avid offers, broadcasters across the country have been using it since it’s been available.

One advantage of using Avid in newsrooms is the ability to work across platforms, says Peterson. “In a news environment, they have always been very centered on PCs. Because our application is cross-platform, if you decide to change computer systems, you can do that without needing to buy new software.”

Avid’s industry-leading storage capabilities also help keep the system in Canadian newsrooms. “We’re offering not just editing, but shared storage,” Petersen explains. “We have a whole suite that works for the broadcaster, in the sense of shared storage.”

Craig Sansom has spent much of the last 27 years editing stories together in various newsrooms in cities all over the world, including Toronto.

When he first started in the business, non-linear software was a fantasy. He says the strides made in the past couple of decades mean the possibilities for the next few years are virtually limitless. “When the first Avid came out, it was like walking on the moon. It was amazing, the fact that you could manipulate a timeline.”

Although Final Cut Pro has expanded into the professional film industry, Sansom says Canadian newsrooms haven’t made the switch to Apple’s software but he can see that as an option down the road.

Andy Coon, an independent documentary filmmaker and producer, has used Final Cut Pro exclusively since he began working in the industry.

“I’m interested in learning Avid, but the problem is that it’s so expensive. You have to have top of the line equipment to use it, unlike Final Cut Pro, which will go on pretty much any Apple system,” he says. “You’ll see a lot of independent filmmakers using Final Cut Pro and even Hollywood filmmakers are using Final Cut Pro. I would say it’s creeping into the industry and it’s made a big impact.”

Gone are the days when using Apple’s editing software was disrespected in the industry. “I remember going to jobs and they would laugh at me,” says Coon. Now he’s teaching them.

“It’s come a long way.”