scottbre 0 #1 October 26, 2004 I'm considering getting a system that would be used primarily for video and photo editing, and am curious as to what other video editing folks are using and how happy they are with their current setup and what might inprove what they have. So... What are the system specs on your editing machine? How well does it work for your editing needs? What would be the most helpful upgrade(s) to your current system? "Your mother's full of stupidjuice!" My Art Project Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #2 October 26, 2004 Apple PowerBook G4 15" DVD RW Software: iMovie iDVD Final Cut Pro Adobe Illustrator Adobe PhotoShop Adobe After Effects iView Media Pro Roxio Toast I'm pretty happy with it. Pretty freekin' powerful. The only way for me to get any more serious would be to get a dual processor tower Mac.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chachi 0 #3 October 26, 2004 Apple Powerbook G4 1.5 17" with Software: DVD Studio Pro Final Cut Pro HD Adobe Illustrator CS Adobe PhotoShop CS Adobe After Effects Roxio Toast Starting to see a pattern here??? ~Chachi Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BETO74 0 #4 October 26, 2004 Geez I have the same thing and also Live type Flash Imovie with the "Slick" plug in (have you seen it?)http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflydrew 0 #5 October 26, 2004 Apple PowerBook G4 17" + 12" DVD RW 512, 768 MB 80GB Software: iMovie iDVD Final Cut Pro HD/Express Adobe Illustrator Adobe PhotoShop CS Roxio Toast Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zoter 0 #6 October 26, 2004 Did you mean a Non Linear Editing suite? Well to buck the trend of all them Apple users..... Dell Dimension 8250 PC 200GB Hard drive and 1024MB RAM Pentium 4 3GHz Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 Adobe After Effects 6.5 Ulead DVD Workshop 2 Runs like a dream.....nice and fast , never crashes during editing. Only thing I would like to improve possibly is more RAM and maybe a faster motherboard ....to speed up rendering That said with all that...I still have and use Windows MovieMaker2 ......for a free software download its an absolute beauty and still can produce some great looking transitions/effects....check the link below...this was all done on Movie Maker2...it has limitations that something like PremierPro does not...but then again it dont take ages to learn. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1574 (Direct link to download not provided out of respect for the rules of skydivingmovies.com) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #7 October 26, 2004 Dual G4 1.42 GhZ PowerMac 2G SDRAM 1.2 TB on 7 drives Superdrive FCP4 DVDSP2 Adobe CS After Effects Motion Reason Pro Tools Quark Flash Fireworks etc... This has been a kick ass setup for editing, but I'm still upgrading (expanding) to a dual G5 first of the year. My recommendation is to go with a G5 and the Apple Production Suite. The most helpful upgrade to my current system? In terms of editing would be a better deck and video monitor, and some self-powered speakers/mixer. pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #8 October 26, 2004 Mixers? Check out http://www.mackie.com/products/mixers/index.html and in particular the Onyx 1220 w/ FireWire I/O! Self powered speakers? Check out http://www.anchoraudio.com/anx.lasso very nice.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #9 October 27, 2004 Scott, what is your budget? Do you have a burning preference for PC vs MAC? Does does the machine have to preform other tasks (my systems also have to run PC only engineering software for example), games, surfing the net etc. Finally, how serious are you, and what is your intended format of the finished video (web, vhs tape, dv tape, DVD etc?). You need to know the job you are intending to do, in order to assemble suitable tools.You can literally spend as much money as you have on top of the range gear and software, or you can get by with a 'starter' system if its just for shits and giggles, I suspect you are after something mid range.-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BETO74 0 #10 October 27, 2004 Did you edit continuum? If so, in continuum II didi you used "slick" transitions?http://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #11 October 27, 2004 For a true stand alone NLE system take a look at the SCREENPLAY. It's what I use and it is very easy to learn and use."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakydiver 0 #12 October 27, 2004 Powerful PC, just as good as an apple and you can play games on it. Hell all I have is a Pentium 3 1000 mhz, 1 gig o ram, a pretty nice graphics card and 200 gig of HD space and I use Photoshop and Premiere with no complaints. As for wants, more speed, more memory, etc... Those desires never go away tho... It works great for me AND I can game it up when the need calls. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." -- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #13 October 27, 2004 QuoteDid you edit continuum? If so, in continuum II didi you used "slick" transitions? Yes, I edited Continuum II on this machine. Still not certain about the "slick" transitions--It sounds like it's an iMovie plugin or something along those lines--I don't do iMovie for the most part, with the exception of if I have to edit a tandem video non-linear. As I said in another post, if you describe which transition(s) you are talking about (ie: which section, what they looked like) I could answer your question a bit better. There were 3 sections of C2 that were edited on iMovie AND FCP4 by someone other than me. They may have used what you are talking about. PM me if you want... cheers, pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BETO74 0 #14 October 27, 2004 Sorry did not put 2 + 2 toghether.Slick the plug in here is the link http://www.geethree.com/DEMOSET.html go to the slick volume 4, check the picture in picture and split screen effects also I recognize some others, if I recall correctly is in C2 in the mexican cave jump right after or before that cli. Once again I don't use much Imovie but I think this slick transitions make a lot more easy things used to take a couple hrs on final Cut or Livetype. I really like both C1 and C2 execellent work, congrats Carlos Acostahttp://web.mac.com/ac057a/iWeb/AC057A/H0M3.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #15 October 27, 2004 Gotcha. No, all the split screen/PIP stuff was done in Final Cut. Takes about 10 min to do. It's really just a matter of editing in an environment that you're comfortable with--I like FCP. Glad you enjoyed C2! pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freekflyguy 0 #16 October 27, 2004 QuotePowerful PC, just as good as an apple and you can play games on it. Gotta agree with you there fella. I have an AMD 2700XP system 512MB, 260GB HDD, DVD R/RW running Win XP, Vegas 5, DVDA, Photoshop CS. My buddy has a G4 Powerbook and other than the software specific differences we puit out tandem DVD's in pretty much the same time. One benefit I do have over him ist that I can fit multiple DVD burners and burn multiple copies of DVD's through Nero. The MAJOR benifit he has over my PC is that he can take his Powerbook anywhere instantly. I am looking at running some comparisons between Powerbooks and Laptops to see if there is any difference speed wise between them. For the money he paid for his PB I am sure you could get a kick ass Lap Top with change. BuzzIt's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakydiver 0 #17 October 27, 2004 Yah but I can upgrade my home tower for a very long time in essence saving a ton of money. PCs are cheap nowadays, AND fun... Don't get me wrong, when I edited professionally, I used Apple's and turnkey systems as well, and if I could really have it my way, I'd have a G5 and a PC at home... -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." -- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BioJumper 0 #18 October 29, 2004 A bit off topic here, but how long does it take you to turn out a tandem or student video with these NLE systems? I currently use a rather basic mixing board and would like to go all digital, but previous attempts with premiere have not been efficient (read fast) enough to be woth while. Thanks, Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakydiver 0 #19 November 1, 2004 Even using premiere I'll bet I could bust out a student or tandem using a prefab edit line rather quickly. 20 minutes or so... -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." -- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
docjohn 0 #20 November 1, 2004 Using Premiere, it just depends on how fancy you want to get. I can crank out a quick & dirty video in about 20 minutes including music and transitions. But if I want titles, a still montage at the end, rolling credits, etc, it takes closer to an hour. From there I can make a VHS tape. Burning to DVD takes another 20-30 minutes. Doc http://www.manifestmaster.com/video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #21 November 1, 2004 "I currently use a rather basic mixing board and would like to go all digital, but previous attempts with premiere have not been efficient (read fast) enough to be woth while." I reckon, on a fair playing field, traditional linear systems will beat NLE systems almost every time. By fair field I mean competent operators for either system, and reliable equipment. Even a real time (zero render time) NLE will have more footage manipulation, ergo it will always take longer. The big win of NLE over LE is that if you bloob, you don't have to start from scratch again, and you have a wider range of control over effects with NLE.-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverjerry 0 #22 November 3, 2004 for video editing a panasonic wj ave 5 makes a 10 min video in ten mins for photo editing any scanner is good grabbing from video i use my laptop and phototshop 6, straight to the net stuff i just use windows own photo grabber but it depends on what you want to do. for longer friends fun jump video,s i use premier or pinicles video pro. but it takes a little time (like you get it next week man so stop asking) i suck at computers. ps anybody now how to programe a vcr?life is a journey not to arrive at the grave in a pristine condition but to skid in sideways kicking and screaming, shouting "fuck me what a ride!. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SabreDave 0 #23 November 3, 2004 I have a custom built PC. Did alot of research into the MACvs. PC thing as I really like Macs. In the end, I could not justify spending more money for less power. I have a 3.06GHz (800Mhz FSB) 2 GB Ram, DVD Superdrive. I run XP pro and use Photoshop7.0, Illustrator 10, Premiere Pro 1.5, Encore 1.0 and the thing has yet to crash while editing, capturing or rendering. A good site for comparing PC-Mac or just learning digital secrets is www.robgalbraith.com PC out;)SabreDave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
