Video Editing

[Bryan]

I ordered a new PC101 and I'm just starting to get my feet wet in regards to video editing.

Basically, I'd like to play around with making movies in different formats and creating my own DVD's.

I've done some research on the web and quickly became overwhelmed with all the different options. I'd like to get some input from someone who has been in my position. What hardware and software recommendations would you make for someone just starting out?


Thanks

[3ringheathen]

I use Edit DV (the updated version is called Cinestream). I'm very happy with the overall quality and versatility, but I get the impression from reading a mail list dedicated to it that maybe the company that makes it no longer puts too much effort into support and development. If you can afford it, I hear that Premier/Final Cut Pro are the best, but have no personal experience with them.

As for hardware:
Get the biggest hard drive(s) you can afford. Video uses a lot of Gigs, and make sure they read and write fast i.e. 7200 rpm.
Lots of RAM really helps software performance, too. It's getting so cheap now that there's no reason not to max out your expansion slots on it. A while back I picked up 256MB for $30 at crucial.com
A fast processor helps, too, but I wouldn't spend too much on the latest greatest: it'll be considered slow in a couple of months. IMO, it's better to set it up to render and go pack or have a beer while it works.

Finally, professional video editors heavily favor MAC systems, they tend to be a lot closer to "turn key" but I've had pretty good luck with my PC.
-Josh

[3ringheathen]

Just to clarify one point:
256Megs of Ram isn't really enough, I've got all of my expansion slots filled with 256 cards, not 256 total.
-Josh

[georgechurchill]

Apple Mac G4, OSx, with a 60 Gig Harddrive, Final Cut pro 3 and 256 megs of RAM is as good as you'll get for the money.
Try Kazza for Final Cut Pro.
PC's are getting good for editing but MAC's are really built for the job.
My 2p

George

[georgechurchill]

That was meant to be KAZAA just search on the internet

[BASE 700]

P4 processor in my PC, 512 ram, 100 gig HD just for video, all my other stuff is on a diff drive, I've got at least a couple of hours worth of DV footage on there and its less than half used. I use Priemere 6.5, I've only been using this setup for a couple of months and it is my only exposure to editing on a PC, so my vid's aren't great yet, but they look kewler than anyone else's....except of course my friend 697 ;)



BASE700@comporium.net

[David P]

I have a PC with a Athlon1700 512M ram two 40 gig hd, one for program/system files the other for video work in progress files. I also have an 80 gig drive in a firewire case and because it was really cheap a 40 gig drive in a usb2 case. I am using Vegas Video 3. If you go the PC route you should download the demos of premeire and vegas and see which seems more intuitive to you, what works for others may not work for you. Vegas works a whole better than I do, I have not crashed it once. Vegas can do just about anything I want it to do creatively, it also comes with a nice capture program that detects scenes as its capturing.

3ring, I owe you some footage do you want it on the usb drive, or do you want the tapes?

[Bryan]

O.k. I've been on Sony's website and used their "customize your own" feature and think I came up with something workable. It's the VAIO RZ series of desktops. Here's what I've got:

2.0GHz, 512MB RAM ,120GB 7200RPM ,533 MHz FSB
6 USB ports, 2 Firewire ports (4pin and 6pin), integrated media slot, Nvidia G-force 64Mb video card and a crap load of bundled software. All for $1200(exluding monitor) Sounds like a pretty decent deal, so far.

What about video capture cards?

Thanks

[Skinflicka]

The Sony probably has DV in as standard (my parent's PC does). The bundled software will allow you to capture and cut scenes but is very limited for creative editing. I recently had a DVD cut by a pro outfit and they advised Premier for the semi-pro / advanced home user. They used a Mac themselves because Quicktime is the industry standard. Their system was slick with a twin monitor system allowing a system screen and a video screen. They also advised a good quality flat screen as opposed to LCD due to the cost effectivesness. Secretly they yearned for LCD but couldn't justify the cost. Hard to believe when they charged me $1300 for capture and 6 hours of editing and 2 DVDs. I'm glad I wasn't paying.

7800 rpm hard drives are a must. A TV out port on your video card will allow you to see an interlaced picture too (How it will look when played back on your TV as opposed to your progressive scan monitor).

Cya,

[David P]

You shouldn't need a capture card, the firewire port with some capture software (usually included with the NLE software) takes the place of a dedicated proprietary capture card. Only a few consumer/pro-sumer nle's are still using a proprietary capture card, Canopus comes to mind.
Most of the NLE's are using a OHCI compliant card which hopefully the sony is using. Make sure they say OHCI compliant, not OHCI compatible, and you should have no problems.
HD speed is not really an issue, if it is you have other issues. I have captured to the usb2 external drive that has a 40gig 5400rpm disk in it. The best advice I have gotten about preventing dropped frames is to shut down all processes that you can while capturing, especially things like anti-virus and screen savers.

[Scarface]

Yo Josh, what's going on, yo?

I am still trapped in my world. Tell me what is going on in your world since the big change, B!

[3ringheathen]

>Yo Josh, what's going on, yo?
>
>I am still trapped in my world. Tell me what is
>going on in your world since the big change, B!

Gork?
My hard drive crashed, so I lost your e-mail addy.
Drop me a line! I heard you were thinking about moving up here. I highly recommend it! I could probably even get you temp work if you don't mind getting dirty.

I'll sort of answer your question here because I think it might apply to a lot of us:

I spent years of my life working in an industry that I really disliked, afraid to leave because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I always thought it was a bit odd that I could risk my life skydiving, and later BASE jumping, yet couldn't muster up the courage to quit a frigging job I hated.

I'm not sure what finally flipped the switch for me. Maybe the growth BASE has given me helped. At any rate, I just up and quit my job during the worst economic period since I started working about 16 years ago, and in the state with the highest unemployment in the country, no less.

So there I am unemployed, up to my ears in debt, no clue what to do next, and a mortgage to pay.
I was in a complete panic for about two days. We're talking supremely freaked out.
This was followed by a euphoria that I've rarely experienced outside of BASE and pharmaceuticals. I guess it needed to be done. Everyday I was at that job was a day I wasn't happy, and I'd finally shrugged it off.

Well, things just seem to fall into place when you take a chance:

I managed to eak by on tandem vids and side jobs for about four months. I never tried to find a real job because I had no idea what I wanted to do.

On one job my friend and I did, they ended up asking me to stay on for a bit and help them get caught up. To make a long story a bit shorter, today I was hired as a fulltime employee with a really cool company in an industry that I'd never thought of. The people are cool, too. No one seems to think there's anything wrong with BASE jumping, they work hard, play hard and are generally really positive.

Take chances! I wish I'd learned that lesson a lot earlier in life. Thanks to all the BASE jumpers that I've met that have helped me to live rather than exist.
-Josh

[3ringheathen]

>
>3ring, I owe you some footage do you want it on
>the usb drive, or do you want the tapes?

Either firewire it to me, or send/burn quicktime files.
Thanks!
-Josh

[Scarface]

Hey that's super good to hear dude, congratulations! Your description of how you felt about your old job pretty much matches my situation right now.

Anyway, I'll email you in a bit. Finally seeing reputable doctors and getting MRIs and Xrays for my neck, they pretty much said "it'll go away on it's own", which seems kinda untrue given the length of time it's been hurting. If I make like 4 skydives in a day, I really feel it the next day.

Anyway, talk to you later yo!