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MPW

If you were new to filmmaking (as I am) what computer (PC or Mac), DV camcorder and editing software would you get and why?
 
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....what you are going to find is that the editing systems you will most likely want to use are Mac based, with the exception of Adobe Premiere. Avid and Final Cut Pro are Mac based.

...I would think that eventually it will be personal preference. I was Avid trained, however, I intend to get a Mac and install Final Cut Pro. Avid is a great system and so is Final Cut, but I found that in terms of being user friendly, Final Cut was the best choice for me. Avid has alot of bells and whistles, Final Cut not so much, but I also found that alot of the bells and whistles that Avid had, I wasn't using. Final Cut seems to have streamlined some of its extras and offers the things that you really need....

...once you learn one editing system, you will find that alot of them are similar. If you can figure one out, you will probably be able to figure out the others. Avid and Final Cut Pro are systems that are industry standard and many movies, Hollywood and Indie, have ben done on these systems....

...so, IMO, get a Mac G4. Edit system: Final Cut Pro. I don't know what kind of camera to suggest to someone just starting out. My Panasonic DVX 100a is an expensive investment for a beginner, but it is also a really good camera. Ask on this site about a good camera. There are lots of people who can help you make a decision on a new camera.

--spinner :cool:
 
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spinner

Would a G4 be able to run Motion?


directorik

Well the price of the Power Mac and a camera and Final Cut kind of scares me.
I’m still trying to decide. But I am VERY serious about filmmaking so I will probably still get one.

Shaw

I want a Mac that I can upgrade and use for three years or so, and be able to handle the more advanced film making programs that I will not use right know. So price is not as important but somewhere around $2,000 to $3,000.

With the camera, I am not going to get a Panasonic DVX 100a just yet. I just want a DV that is under $400 that I can learn the basics with. Later I will get a good camera.

I heard that you don’t want to use your good camera to feed video into your computer so I will use the cheap one for that purpose.

For the editing I was thinking of getting Final cut Express and then upgrading to Final Cut Studio when I am read and have the money.

What is the different between Final Cut and Final Cut Academic besides the price?
I heard that you can’t upgrade the Academic version but I am not sure.


Thanks for the help everyone
 
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On your other thread on the same subject - here - I recommend the iMac G5 as a great computer to run all the programs you need and it fits into your price range. I have cut over 10 feature films on a G4 iMac and just recently moved to the G5. There really isn’t a reason to go back to the G4 - sure a G4 is cheaper but a G3 is cheaper than that.

When you are starting out you don’t need top of line equipment. Frankly some new movie makers get bogged down in affording the very best equipment and don’t make movies. There will always be better equipment out there.

Make a couple of short movies using a cheap miniDV camera and iMovie (free with every Mac). Learn your craft, find your voice, meet more people. Then you can bump up to a better camera (or even find someone with a better camera) and bump up to Final Cut when you’re ready.
 
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Directorik is absolutely correct. Use imovie to start with. You will be able to do plenty of stuff with that. Once you get a better camera is the time to move up to FCP (or similar). Definitely a good idea to wait on getting a good camera though. If you don't know how to use it all the advanced functions won't do you any good! And I presume there will be a nice crop of HD capable cameras out by the time you are ready to buy a higher end camera.
 
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MPW said:
Ok I am getting the iMac with iMovie. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
You said that about the PowerMac and then started another thread....


Just fooling around with you MPW. I've seen you on other boards asking the same question - you're getting a lot of good advice. I bet it gets confusing.

I used that Panasonic for a documentary recently and really liked it. Lens isn't very good and no input for an external mic makes it not great for "pro" shoots. But it's a good starter camera with 3CCD's.
 
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directorik said:
I thought you had decided on the PowerMac. What happened?
Click to expand...

...I still need to be able to log in the field, so I need a laptop. Is there a difference between the PowerMac
and the Mac G4? I have never had a laptop or a Mac so I really don't know much about the differences between the two. I did decide on the 15" screen instead of the 17" and was planning to get extraneous monitor and keyboard.

...would you reccomend something else? I prefer to have too much information about this purchase than to not have enough. If you can give me brief pros and cons to the two computers I would greatly appreciate the comparison...maybe I'll also go back to that thread... :yes:

Thanks!
--spinner :cool:



MPW...

you don't need a DVX yet. If you are just learning you can begin on just about anything...there are second hand shops maybe where you can find something until you get a feel for what you can do and what you want to do. Maybe try that
 
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you can definately get into it cheaper the PC route, as the hardware is typically cheaper. Although I think Mac's tend to retain their resale value longer.. I think that is purely an image thing, not a performance thing.. the good news there is that you can either, a: get a mac and sell it later for close to what you paid for it (depending on how much later it is..) or b: buy a used PC for much less....

spinner said:
....what you are going to find is that the editing systems you will most likely want to use are Mac based
Click to expand...
How could you assume that?
 
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Will Vincent said:
you can definately get into it cheaper the PC route, as the hardware is typically cheaper. Although I think Mac's tend to retain their resale value longer.. I think that is purely an image thing, not a performance thing.. the good news there is that you can either, a: get a mac and sell it later for close to what you paid for it (depending on how much later it is..) or b: buy a used PC for much less....

How could you assume that?
Click to expand...

...it's just an opinion... I figure many people use Premiere, but I don't know of any movies that have been edited on Premiere that have gone big. Just don't know of any. Hey, I don't pretend to know everything, but there is an industry standard and I assume it is Avid.

...I have observed that many indie editors use Premiere...

--spinner :cool:
 
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We all make assumptions:
Will Vincent said:
Although I think Mac's tend to retain their resale value longer.. I think that is purely an image thing, not a performance thing..
Click to expand...
I don't think I've ever met a Mac user who is loyal because of image over performance. Not saying that aren't out there - just that I don't think the typical Mac user is image over performance.

I really like Final Cut. I have used Premiere and find it lacking. though I've heard the new version is great. But they lost me a while ago.

Performance over cost and image.
 
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Yeah FCP is great. Love it.

Premiere Pro is really an entirely different beast than 6.5. It's a pretty darn nice NLE now though some stability issues exist. Personally, I haven't had much trouble with this but some people have reported them.
 
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...did I confuse everybody with that last post? I confused me alittle, I should remember I am not the only one with a question on the boards :D That's what I get for trying to read fast when I am at work. :D

...I still need to be able to log in the field, so I need a laptop. Is there a difference between the PowerMac and the Mac G4? I have never had a laptop or a Mac so I really don't know much about the differences between the two.
Click to expand...

...I am still working on the terminology

...would you reccomend something else? I prefer to have too much information about this purchase than to not have enough. If you can give me brief pros and cons to the two computers I would greatly appreciate the comparison...maybe I'll also go back to that thread...
Click to expand...

I could still use some advice if anyone still doesn't mind passing it along again.

...I'm going back to the other threads on computers and see again what I can find there...

--spinner :cool:
 
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