Advice for a film student on a budget?

[jrv3034]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
YFor $46 more she gets a superior system that can grow w/her if she falls in love w/editing. If she gets the iMac and falls in love w/editing she's probably want to shell out for a tower (I know I would). Even if she doesn't like editing she still ends up w/a better machine than the iMac. The dual 1.25ghz would still be better and worth the extra $250, IMO. But if she had a hard budget of $2900 then the single proc PM would be the way to go.

I agree with you here, Lethal and jkaz. The single Power Mac 1.25 would probably be a better editing companion than the iMac, especially if she wants more expandability. I'm also not trying to get her to buy only the iMac. I've never owned one, nor used one to edit. I'm just making the point that she doesn't need a souped-up dual G5 system, which a lot of folks here seem to be pushing. The 1.25 Power Mac, 17" iMac, and eMac would all serve her well. Throw in AppleCare, and she's got an edit suite that's guaranteed to work perfectly for the next 3 years. And they would do everything they do now just as well 5 or 6 years from now. Computers don't stop working just because they're obsolete.

You're right, also, that we've discussed this way too much. In any case, I hope this thread helps your friend with her decision, wowoah.

Good night, all.

 

[disillusioned]

best advice yet

Hello. Could not help but chime in. Here is the REAL advice for your friend. Unless she has a relative or a very close friend with an established career in the film world, she should quit film school immediately and pursue a worthwhile discipline. She will never, ever get a job directing. And, her fabulous script will not get purchased. For every success story there are thousands of failures. I speak from some experience, having attended the world's top film school (the one Spielberg tried, but failed, to get into). If she has the means ($$) to buy a worthless degree, then more power to her, because it's a fun degree to get. Hey, Ridley Scott came to talk to my class, and that was fun. Jimmy Stewart too. And Kirk Douglas spoke at my graduation. Neato!

That aside, Macs rule, and FCP is really good. How about a laptop? Anything with a G4 is adequate for what a film student is doing (or should be doing) which is putting CUTS into their footage or very simple dissolves.

Dig it.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Re: best advice yet

Originally posted by disillusioned
Hello. Could not help but chime in. Here is the REAL advice for your friend. Unless she has a relative or a very close friend with an established career in the film world, she should quit film school immediately and pursue a worthwhile discipline. She will never, ever get a job directing. And, her fabulous script will not get purchased. For every success story there are thousands of failures. I speak from some experience, having attended the world's top film school (the one Spielberg tried, but failed, to get into). If she has the means ($$) to buy a worthless degree, then more power to her, because it's a fun degree to get. Hey, Ridley Scott came to talk to my class, and that was fun. Jimmy Stewart too. And Kirk Douglas spoke at my graduation. Neato!

That aside, Macs rule, and FCP is really good. How about a laptop? Anything with a G4 is adequate for what a film student is doing (or should be doing) which is putting CUTS into their footage or very simple dissolves.

Dig it.

And this, wowoah, sounds like one less person your friend will have to compete against once she graduates.

While disillusioned is correct that the odds are severely stacked against you (for every success I'd say there are tens of thousands of failures) but that is no reason not to try. What if Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Jimmy Stewart, and/or Kirk Douglas had never risked Hollywood?

A degree won't get you a job, but it will give you chances to make contacts, learn your craft, and get help/advice from people that normally aren't availible to non-students. Film school is what you make of it.

The key to making it in this business, be it Hollywood or Alaska, is endurance. In LA there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of people fighting for each and every job. It's kinda like the lottery. You've got to play to win. The longer you play, the more often you play, the more likely you are to win. Even if you are god's gift to film making you'll still gonna need endurance 'cause it takes time for the cream to seperate from the crud.


Lethal

 

[Hackcomic.com]

Funny, I didn't go to film school- never thought about a career in the entertainment field ever. Came to LA to do an internship and have had a successful television career as well as lots of attention for silly short films I did. Its all a crap shoot out here.

 

[wowoah]

Woah, been busy the last day or so and didn't check this forum and now it's exploded

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. It'll take me a good few hours to read through it all.

MacRumors Forums rule!

 

[Soire]

I'm in a similar predicament...

I've been biding my time, waiting for the new G5's to be released. I'm going to be using it pretty heavily for video production, but don't want to get ripped off. My general question is whether or not I should bite the bullet and get a 2 Ghz dual G5 now, or wait indefinitely for a price drop, or a top of the line next gen G5. But then, if I wait for the new suckers, won't they not ship for another couple months?

I'd like to have a computer to edit on within the next few months- but will I just wind up kicking myself when the following day unveils 3 Ghz DP G5s?? Pros and cons...

Thanks for lettin me post.

-A Student about to enter the harshness of reality.

 

[Hackcomic.com]

For editing the dual 2 G5 is PLENTY fast enough. AS a matter of fact I gave up waiting and ordered myself a single 1.8 for $1699 at macconnection- and its mostly for editing. The only reason to wait is to save $300 or so on the dual 2.0 once the higher speeds come out.

 

[leftbanke7]

Re: best advice yet

Originally posted by disillusioned
Hello. Could not help but chime in. Here is the REAL advice for your friend. Unless she has a relative or a very close friend with an established career in the film world, she should quit film school immediately and pursue a worthwhile discipline. She will never, ever get a job directing. And, her fabulous script will not get purchased. For every success story there are thousands of failures. I speak from some experience, having attended the world's top film school (the one Spielberg tried, but failed, to get into). If she has the means ($$) to buy a worthless degree, then more power to her, because it's a fun degree to get. Hey, Ridley Scott came to talk to my class, and that was fun. Jimmy Stewart too. And Kirk Douglas spoke at my graduation. Neato!

There is more to film than directing and screenwriting. And there are more fields than just the movies and Hollywood in which a film major can use their talents. All the time I hear about how stupid my choice of major is because I will never get a movie shown or a screenplay bought or because I want to be the next "Kevin Smith". However, you'll never hear a person say that somebody shouldn't be a doctor b/c they will never save all their patients nor an educator because not all of their students will pass. I chose film because it was a way for me to express myself in a medium I enjoy and if my only reason for it were to become rich and famous, then I am the naive one.

 

[jkaz]

Re: best advice yet

Originally posted by disillusioned
Hello. Could not help but chime in. Here is the REAL advice for your friend. Unless she has a relative or a very close friend with an established career in the film world, she should quit film school immediately and pursue a worthwhile discipline. She will never, ever get a job directing. And, her fabulous script will not get purchased. For every success story there are thousands of failures. I speak from some experience, having attended the world's top film school (the one Spielberg tried, but failed, to get into). If she has the means ($$) to buy a worthless degree, then more power to her, because it's a fun degree to get. Hey, Ridley Scott came to talk to my class, and that was fun. Jimmy Stewart too. And Kirk Douglas spoke at my graduation. Neato!

That aside, Macs rule, and FCP is really good. How about a laptop? Anything with a G4 is adequate for what a film student is doing (or should be doing) which is putting CUTS into their footage or very simple dissolves.

Dig it.

sounds like someone is severly lacking in the talent department.

like some of the others have said, the film world is a gigantic field comprised of more than just the handful of people that make millions of dollars per movie.

there are often literally hundreds of people that work on a major motion picture ranging from extras, to sound designers, to accounting, casting, you name it.

the people that get these jobs certainly don't need a degree in filmmaking to get their foot in the door, but the people that do have the degree or education in the field will have an easier time rising up and beyond the first rung crop of movie employee.

and certainly anyone with experience directing, writing, and post production is more valuable on any one of the thousands of movies that get made every year than your typical filmschool dropout/loser/disillusioned.

and using apple computers and their editing software is a great place to start.


but back to on-topic issues:

Soire:

The G5 department, as far as I can discern, is a real gamble right now.

The last release was the dual 1.8s back in November or around there, as I'm sure you know, and if you read all the rumors around here, you can probably sense that they are due for a release at any time.

If you already have an apple, now might be a good time to look into some upgrades to tide you over.

 

[Soire]

Thanks jkaz for the advice. And yeah, I do read all the rumors, and can do nothing but hope that apple releases their new G5s by the end of february. If it turns out to be a june announcement with an August ship date, that would suck horribly. I feel like a junkie needing a fix. Ah, there's nothing a consumer can do.

Oh, and disillusioned - I feel ya, but what can you do? Supply always exceeds demand, especially in the entertainment industry. I just hope I can make enough to pay the bills.

thanks.

 

[hotwire132002]

Re: Advice for a film student on a budget?

Originally posted by wowoah
Hey all, this is a buying advice question for a good friend of mine that's a film student at school with me. She's looking into buying her first Mac and wants some advice on what to buy. Since I'm personally a history/intended pre-law student, I never do film editing, so I don't know what's good for that, so I'm deferring this question to you guys.

My first instinct is to recommend the iMac, since it seems like the most bang for the buck. At the same time, however, I don't know how effective the iMac is for movie editing (doesn't it have slower RAM, bus speeds, etc. than the PM?) The second option I guess would be to purchase an older Dual-G4 PowerMac.

Of course, the third option would be to shell out the dough for a G5 PowerMac, but I'm sure she'd rather not do that if it's not absolutely essential.

Any filmmakers out there have advice? Thanks.

I just completed a feature film (http://internetdetectives.coresoftcomputers.com) edited entirely in FCP3 on the original 800Mhz 17" iMac G4. So I would have to say that an iMac should work fine, though I suggest a pair of external FireWire GVP 200GB hard drives if you're working on a full-length film.