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Film Editing On Small Screens (Or Laptops)

Beatlesfan1225

Beatlesfan1225

Hey Everyone,

So I thought I'd throw this topic into the forum, because I'm interested to get your takes or hear about what you do personally when editing.

Normally, I do all of video editing on two monitor display - one is 23'' and the other is 17''. Now, I've even considered adding a third monitor, because when I have my file folders open, the audio files, video files, my editing software, my effects software, etc all running at the same time while editing, everything gets crazy really quick.

Now I'm off to college for film school, and while I know my college has many different 'editing rooms' available to me, I of course still want to be able to edit on my laptop. It's a strong laptop and can handle the work load, I just have no idea how I'm going to organize everything that's happening.

What kind of set ups do you use for your editing? If you use a small screen, how do you go about keeping organized?
 
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Two screens for sure maybe a third also. Most of the time i use two, one screen has the timeline and say a plugins window and the second screen would have the preview video and media pool. A third monitor is also handy for a sound console/mixer window.
 
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I edited most of my feature on a 13 inch macbook pro, but I wouldn't recommend it. There are lots of details that go unnoticed, even in full screen mode, that you'll only see once you switch to large screens. Not to mention the frustration of having to constantly resize and move windows around and rescale tracks and clips depending on what you're doing at the time
 
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Dude, you'll be fine. Just keep your face really close to the screen! :lol:

For real, this is a non-issue. There's no doubt that bigger screens are better, and multiple screens is even betterer, but you can edit on pretty much anything you want. You'll adapt, and the minor inconveniences will not ruin your day.
 
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Honestly, if you're on a low-budget, I think multiple-screen editing is a horrible thing to spend money on. The money you spend on that could get you a really great sound-guy, or some awesome actors, or some kick-ass costumes, or whatever it is that you need for your next production. Multiple-screen editing is a non-issue, it should not take priority.

Just work with what you've got, you'll be fine, I promise. :)
 
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Why don't you take one of your monitors with you?


I don't really edit much anymore these days, but my main edit computer is a 27" iMac with a second 21" screen, and a 42" plasma for full screen playback.

It's great to edit on. I keep my timeline, source/record windows and bin list on the main monitor, all the bins on the second monitor and of course fullscreen playback on the plasma.

I've also edited on a 13" MacBook Pro. I prefer the bigger setup, but I could still edit just fine on the lappy.

Make sure you get an external mouse though - using the trackpad was pretty horrendous.
 
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harmonica44 said:
I edited my first short on a laptop, then noticed on a big screen later, that a good amount of the shots were out of focus that you don't even notice on a smaller screen.
Click to expand...

Hm, that's interesting. This is the sort of thing I was interested in hearing about - I know it's not a big deal to use a small screen, nor am I really making it one, I was just interested to hear the experiences people have had with it, because there's a reason editing rooms and editors use half a dozen screens.
 
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