Newbie's Guide for Running Final Cut on an Old Mac

Your first Mac for fan video editing (vidding) with Final Cut.

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This is a companion page for Mac Vidding on the Cheap. If you haven't already, I recommend you jump back to that page to read my overview on running Final Cut on an old G4 (for Vidding on the Cheap).

You're reading this page because you've been saying that you always wanted a Mac, are keenly interested in learning the industry standard video editor Final Cut, but you think you can't afford it. These tutorial pages are going to show you that by getting old hardware and using a slightly older version of Final Cut, you can get the Mac/Final Cut experience at a fraction of the cost!

On the Old Mac Buying Guide, you're told about some great old G4 Power Macs that can be found on eBay for bargain prices. Now you're going to learn more about the different versions of Final Cut that will run on these old Macs.

Final Cut Pro & Final Cut Express

Click on each thumbnail to see a larger screenshot.

Yes, if you look closely, you can see that these two screenshots are not from the same application. But the interfaces of Final Cut Express 4 and Final Cut Pro 7 are not that radically different from each other either. (The screenshot on the left is Final Cut Express, by the way.)

Many of you will naturally be wanting to use Final Cut Pro, and while I encourage you to get it if you can afford it, you should not be hesitant to get Final Cut Express instead if it's easier on your wallet. It contains many of the same features of Final Cut Pro (in fact many are amazed that Apple gives so much to Final Cut Express users!), and if you learn how to use Final Cut Express, you are well on your way to understanding how Final Cut Pro works.

Running an old G4 and an old version of Final Cut (Express or Pro).

The current versions of Final Cut (Express or Pro) may not install on your bargain G4 Power Mac. But do not despair! Older versions of Final Cut still contain many similarities to the newest version. While each new version of Final Cut adds some new feature or functionality, the interface remains surprisingly similar. If you familiarize yourself with an old version of Final Cut, the knowledge you attain can quickly and easily be translated over to the newest version of Final Cut (whenever you are able to start using it).

Click on thumbnail to see larger screenshot.

Yeah yeah yeah, another screenshot of Final Cut. But wait. Click on that thumbnail and look closer. See anything different in the upper left corner? That's right, the old Mac OS 9 Apple symbol. This is Final Cut Pro 2, from the year 2001. The second version of Final Cut available. (There wasn't even a "Final Cut Express" at this point!) And yet look at the interface—even when running in OS 9 (not our current OS X) it looks just about the same at first glance, doesn't it?

So put your fears to rest about using an old version of Final Cut Pro (or Final Cut Express). YES, of course there will be differences, little nuances you'll miss out on, added features that aren't available. But many of the main features and capabilities will be there, and the things you learn in your old copy of Final Cut will easily translate over to the newest version. A lot of the keyboard shortcuts are the same, and the way you lay down clips and get around the application—much of it is going to be similar in both old and new versions.

System requirements for older versions of Final Cut Pro (and Final Cut Express) and the G4s that should run them.

I've been doing a lot of research when setting up my latest G4 purchase, to see just what can it run, and what can't it run? Sometimes finding a list of "System Requirements" requires a lot of hunting on Google, so I'm going to try to make a semi-complete list here, so you know what to look for when you're shopping for your copy of Final Cut.

When you start looking at the System Requirement lists, you might be asking, "What is an AGP graphics card, and does my Mac have one?" The G4s recommended on the Old G4 Buying Guide should have AGP Quartz-Extreme-capable cards, but if you need confirmation, go to the top left corner of your desktop (the Apple icon) and click on "About this Mac" and then click on the "More Info" button. It'll list all your system info, including the type of graphics it has. As you can see from this screenshot of my Mac Mini's info, it has a PCI type graphics (which is the norm in many new Intel Macs).

If you haven't purchased your Mac yet and want to get one with AGP, go to Everymac.com and look at the system info listed for the G4 you want to know more about—it'll tell you if it shipped with AGP or PCI. (Be warned, very rarely you'll encounter a G4 that was a special "educational" model, and it has different parts. For example, my first G4—the Digital Audio—had a 16 MB graphics card, even though most other Digital Audios shipped with 32 MB cards.)

Recommendation for buying Final Cut Express:

While any older version of Final Cut Express is going to be fine, your best bet for an old G4 Mac is Final Cut Express 3.5, if you can get a copy. Only the faster MDD 1.25 GHz (and above) Power Macs will be able to run Final Cut Express 4. Final Cut Express 3.5 has many of the same features of FCE4 (except no FxPlug filters, and it lacks the ability to do AVCHD—which we fan video editors won't be interested in anyway), and yet its system requirements will even be within the reach of the el-cheapo 533 MHz "Digital Audio" Power Mac (which can sell for as little as $50 on eBay).

However, there is a lot of competition for copies of Final Cut Express 3.5, so you might want to ask yourself—do you save money on a slightly older Mac that can't run Final Cut Express 4.0, but end up paying more for a copy of Final Cut Express 3.5, or do you pay a little more up front and get a Mac that'll run FCE 4 (which is—at the time I type this in early 2010—in plentiful supply). That is up to you!

While I love Final Cut Express 4, Apple cut down on its costs (lowered its retail price from $300 to $200) by eliminating Soundtrack (okay, I didn't use Soundtrack that much) but also getting rid of a lot of the LiveType media. Just look at the disk space requirements for FCE 3.5—a total of 16 GB for all the Soundtrack and LiveType media. Compare that to the 500 MB needed to install just the LiveType media in FCE 4.

If you don't know what LiveType is, it's a title animation app that has all sorts of textured and animated backgrounds, and can come in really handy for making lively titles or other animations for your videos. While this is an extremely tacky example, look at this "No Clip Theft" video to see some of the features of LiveType.

Final Cut Express HD (3.0) is also pretty good, and also has the extra media for LiveType and Soundtrack. The biggie that it lacks is keyframes for filters. But still, there are workarounds for that, and there's a ton of great things that Final Cut Express 3.0 can do, so if you can get a copy of that, you're doing well. (My first experience with Final Cut was Final Cut Express 3.0, by the way, and I LOVED it.)

Final Cut Express 1 and 2 do not have the added apps of Soundtrack and LiveType, but they can be found pretty cheaply on eBay, plus they'll work on old, old Macs. Final Cut Express 1 (and of course 2) have plenty to offer the new Mac vidder. In fact I was so impressed by how much can be done with Final Cut Express 1 that I made this funky little YouTube video called, "In Praise of Final Cut Express 1." So if you have any doubts about its features (or the features of any of its successors) hopefully this video will put those doubts to rest! LOL.

Buying Guide for Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Studio

I didn't go any further back than Final Cut Pro 3, because older versions are harder to find, and will not work with Mac OS X.

Recommendations for Buying Final Cut Pro/Final Cut Studio:

The easiest one to go with here is Final Cut Pro 5. It runs on the old el-cheapo 500 MHz G4s (though some of the other apps in Final Cut Studio 1 might not) and it's got a lot of features. Of course both Final Cut 4 and 4.5 are also good choices. If you are happy to stick with Mac OS 10.3 (Panther) you can use Final Cut Pro 3.

Final Cut Pro 6 (part of Final Cut Studio 2) is also a good option if you have a 1.25 GHz MDD G4 or above, but since G4s (with the exception of the dual CPU models) are going to be "lower end" for Final Cut Pro 6, you might have a happier editing experience if you stick with Final Cut Pro 5.

I was able to get a good deal on Final Cut Pro 5 on eBay. Then at the time (late 2006) Apple made a "crossgrade offer" to all Final Cut 5 users to switch over to Final Cut Studio for a low cost. I snapped up the offer and transitioned over to Final Cut Studio 1, for a very reasonable cost!

One of my favorite apps in Final Cut Studio 1 is Compressor. This video conversion app makes converting a bunch of clips over to another format very quick and easy. It's also very useful for adding a quick watermark, or tweaking other aspects of a video. Motion is another app in the Final Cut Suite that can be of great use for vidders, but it's got high system requirements, so unless you get a high end MDD G4 with a qualifying graphics card, it may not install.

I can switch back and forth between Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express easily. While I am completely enamored with Final Cut Studio, I am also a big advocate of Final Cut Express, because it offers so much for such a reasonable price.

Buying Final Cut Express/Pro

Two good places to get Final Cut are eBay and Amazon marketplace. Prices will fluctuate depending on the season, but the prices I'm seeing right now are several hundred dollars for old copies of Final Cut Pro (and you have to be patient and wait for copies to come on sale). Final Cut Express is easier to buy; there are a lot of copies of Final Cut Express 4 (which needs a faster G4) for about $150 ($50 less than the full retail prices), and fewer copies of Final Cut Pro 3.5, 3.0, 2.0 and 1.0. There's a demand for Final Cut Express 3.5 (prices can sometimes inch above $100), but occasionally older versions of Final Cut Express can be had for $50 or less. Be patient!

Downloading Final Cut

It's just a reality that many people will go to Google and look for *ahem* alternate downloads. (I talk more about that at the bottom of my "Switch to Mac on the Cheap" page.) While I'm not going to advocate doing this, I can understand why some users might avail themselves of such downloads while they wait for a good deal on Final Cut Express or Pro to appear on Amazon or eBay.

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