The Nashville Filmmakers Guild is having a debate! A debate about non-linear editing software. In the spirit of the US presidential election cycle that we are now in, earlier than ever, we are hosting the 2015 NFG NLE Debate on December 14 at 7:00 PM at our meeting place Studio 615. This will be an evening of fun conversation, pointed arguments, lots of listening and hopefully some learning as we have 3 filmmakers who will be representing each of the Big 3 A non-linear editing software packages: Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Apple Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer. These are not company representatives but local editors and filmmakers who use the tools every day.

The Nashville Filmmakers Guild is having a debate! A debate about non-linear editing software. In the spirit of the US presidential election cycle that we are now in, earlier than ever, we are hosting the 2015 NFG NLE Debate on December 14 at 7:00 PM at our meeting place Studio 615. This will be an evening of fun conversation, pointed arguments, lots of listening and hopefully some learning as we have 3 filmmakers who will be representing each of the Big 3 A non-linear editing software packages: Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Apple Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer. These are not company representatives but local editors and filmmakers who use the tools every day.

If you spend much time in non-linear editing forums or group discussions around the internet you’ve most likely seen an impassioned discussion or two about why one NLE is better than the other. Sometimes these discussion are civil and well-reasoned but often they are just yelling and name-calling. And they are usually hidden behind the anonymity of the internet. We thought, why not bring editors who predominantly each use one of the big 3 NLEs out into the open, on a stage and have them debate the pros and cons of their choice face-to-face, presidential debate style! That way any name calling would be out in the open for all the world to see.

In all seriousness we hope this will be an fun experiment and a chance for those new to editing and post-production to get a taste of what editing tools there are out there as well as seasoned editors to hear pros of some of the other tools available. We hope to live stream the debate so keep an eye to the official 2015 NFG NLE Debate page for details and links.

Taking a cue from some of the presidential debates of the past we’d love to take some topics from the audience at large so if you have questions you’d like to ask the debate panel please post them in the comments below or ask them on Twitter with the hashtag #NLEdebate. We’ll ask some of them during the forum. If you’re in Nashville on December 14, please come join us!

• What: The 2015 Nashville Filmmakers Guild NLE Debate
• When: Monday, December 14 2015 2 7:00 PM
• Where: Studio 615, 272 Broadmoor Drive Nashville, TN 37207
• How Much: Free! (donations will be accepted after the event)
• Who: Meet the candidates –

Avid Media Composer – A native of Portland, Oregon, Matt Pfingsten has worked as an editor and shooter in the Nashville area for ten years. After graduating from Watkins Film School, Matt spent several years freelancing for the recording industry and various production companies before being hired by Quaver’s Marvelous World of Music, a video-based music education curriculum, where he has worked since 2011.

Apple Final Cut Pro X – Jeffrey Holland is a Director of Photography located in Nashville, TN. He has worked on a diverse set of projects including feature length documentaries, short films, music videos, commercials, and more with some of the most well known names in the industry. He has been a FCPX user and fan since it’s beginning, even attending the keynote at NAB when Apple first revealed it.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC – Joel Evans is an MTSU graduate with a Bachelors of Science degree. Originally from Belize, Joel has spent tremendous time developing his craft as a producer and editor.Over the years, the technology has evolved in an impressive way, and Joel Evans has been utilizing these technologies to hep enhance his productions.

Moderator – Scott Simmons was born in rural West Tennessee and didn’t really realize that movies and television had to be made by actual people until he went to college. After getting degrees in both Television Production and Graphic Design he was in one of the early graduating classes at the Watkins Film School in Nashville, Tennessee. During that time at Watkins he discovered editing. With well over a decade of experience in all areas of post-production he has edited a diverse number of projects ranging from music videos, to live concert productions, to commercials, to documentaries and everything in between.