My Professor is Lame

RewiredRewired Member
edited January 2005 in Internet & Media
I was all pumped up for my 2D Animation class. Today was the first day. I assumed we’d be working in Flash MX 2004, which I have a great passion for, but instead we’ll be working in FinalCut Express 2 all semester. :banghead: We started with some video edited exercises. I asked the professor why we’re working with a video editing program in an animation course and he said we would be animating video. I didn’t get the impression that the professor knew a whole lot about FinalCut as he couldn’t help me implement a transition properly and he had to keep referring to his book. Anyways it looks like I’m stuck. I use a PC at home and I would like to know if there is possibly FinalCut for the PC or if there is an equivalent PC program (Premiere, Pinnacle, etc)? Optimistically I would like to be able to work between my home PC and Mac at school. Would that be possible under any circumstance? Has anyone used FinalCut Express? What’s the word on it? Ok. Thank you for your help and insight. I appreciate it. :thumbsup:

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    Well, final cut express is definitely mac only. You're way out of luck with that one. It sounds like he doesn't know what he's doing, right off the bat... FCE is a non-linear editing program (a lite version of Final Cut Pro), and you're right on - it's not for animation. That's a very strange program to use in an animation class.

    The closest thing you'll find on the PC is Adobe Premiere Elements. It's also a great NLE program (the lite version of Premiere Pro), also not at all for animation, and completely different and incompatible with Final Cut Express. :(
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    "animating video" ;D
  • CammanCamman NEW! England Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I agree with prime, I'd go with Adobe Premiere Elements for your home editing. I just recently found it and I absoloutely love it. It's got a very quick learning curve but contains all the power options you'd expect to find in a professional editing software package. Best of all, it retails for about $100, Premiere Pro is like $500. Although, I was under the impression that Premiere Pro was also a Non-Linear Editing solution, prime, correct me if I'm wrong, I just thought it was.

    Anyway, Final Cut is great, I also wish they made it for PC, but alas the money hungry Apple (dont deny it folks!) won't release it for Windows so they can force people into buying their hardware, 'tis a shame.

    It's very strange that a 2D animation class would use FCE as it's main component. Like everyone else has said, it's a video editing program and really has nothing to do with animating, at all. At a very stretch you might be able to say a program like Adobe After Effects is "animating video", but, FCE (and Premiere) are purely for editing and doing transitions. Very weird, I'd question about getting a refund on the class if you were looking for animation.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I didn't think I said Premiere Pro wasn't an NLE... :confused:
  • DexterDexter Vancouver, BC Canada
    edited January 2005
    A 2D animation should be Adobe After Effects or Flash...not Final Cut.

    Personally, I would be asking the instructor for a copy of the course outline, then head down to the admissions office and ask them why you are paying money for an animation class where you are not learning animation. If they are making an animation class a requirement for a diploma, they need to offer the class properly. If they don't have anyone to teach it, they should not be making you pay to learn something else.

    What school is this?

    Dexter...
  • RewiredRewired Member
    edited January 2005
    Thank you all for your responses. I glad to learn that I should be as frustrated as I am and my professors explanation of animating video sounds like a croc. I go to Nassau Community College on Long Island. Asking the professor for a course outline is a good idea but I can’t imagine he has one prepared. He’s probably a smart guy he just seemingly is not the right person to be teaching 2D Animation. I can’t drop the course. I mean I could but it would mean having to register for a new course because I have to have a minimum of 12 credits. I don’t know what to do. I guess I should go out and by a camcorder. :shakehead

    I downloaded an emulator called PearPC that will hopefull allow me to run Apples OSX and inturn FinalCut.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    by using that emulator, u will probably be able to run OSX, but it will be too slow to do anything.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2005
    I sympathize with your situation. When I went to WVU I had a Journalism class (part of my double-major at the time) which was taught by a guy with no teaching experience who had spent his entire life in the advertising world.

    We heard lots of funny stories about Madison Avenue, but learned precious little about Journalism... :shakehead
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    PearPC is awful, very beta, I wouldn't bother relying on it for any sort of work... :(

    Currently, there is no even remotely decent OSX emulation on PC .. There IS really good Windows emulation on OSX (Virtual PC), that works amazingly, almost uncannily well....

    Maybe it's time to get a mac mini :rarr:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    primesuspect wrote:
    Maybe it's time to get a mac mini :rarr:

    prime, when you say things like that sometimes I wonder how someone so insane can manage to run a successful business.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    hehehehe -- hey, the right tools for the job... :vimp:
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    prime, if the $500 version mac mini, had a slightly faster CPU and more ram, i would seriously consider buying just for my parents to mess around with.
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