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Help--I'm new to Mac AND movie-making!

J

justchristine

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 12, 2011
1
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Hi! I've been a PC user my whole life, but have always loved my friends' Macs and their user friendly styling. With that being said, I am in the process of writing and pre-production for some documentaries. I will be editing and doing everything myself and am looking for a new computer to purchase with my financial aid.

I've been told the MacBook Pro would be the best option for me, but am not sure what screen size or anything else I would need. I'm kind of a novice in most computer things.

Any help would be welcome!! Thanks :)
Christine
 
I guess if you have the money go as high up as you can (with some common sense of course). If this will be your only computer the best screen size will be 15", which is right in the middle. It will still be portable and contain power. If you plan to use this as a desktop at home, you should consider buying external peripherals.

It really depends what else you are planning to do with the Macbook Pro and how you are going to be using it.
 
There are two questions I want to ask in this situation. Is money a big issue, and do you need the machine to be portable?

The reason I ask those is because if you want to do movie-making, a Mac Pro may be better suited to your needs. Granted, a decent Mac Pro new can cost upwards of $3000. Of course, you could also buy used/refurbished ones that perform similarly for much less.

However, if you need to be mobile, I would recommend either a 15" or 17" MacBook Pro with the 2.66 GHz i7 processor with a hi-res antiglare display. If you choose the 15" and funds allow it, you may want an external display as well, since with movie-making, you want all the screen real estate you can get. Good luck and welcome to the Mac world!
 
Macbooks aren't the most ideal solution for video production - they're just too underpowered.


As already suggested, a Mac Pro would be sufficient if you want to outlay the cash.
 
justchristine said:
Hi! I've been a PC user my whole life, but have always loved my friends' Macs and their user friendly styling. With that being said, I am in the process of writing and pre-production for some documentaries. I will be editing and doing everything myself and am looking for a new computer to purchase with my financial aid.

I've been told the MacBook Pro would be the best option for me, but am not sure what screen size or anything else I would need. I'm kind of a novice in most computer things.

Any help would be welcome!! Thanks :)
Christine
Click to expand...

If you want portability, go for a 15" MBP with either i7 CPU (2.66Ghz or 2.8Ghz) with an external monitor for work at home.

If you don't need portability, then go for a Mac Pro if money is no object and you do serious/intensive video work, or get an iMac for best value.

What are you using for a PC right now, and how do you rate its performance, e.g. not enough - need more power/speed, it's all I need, etc.?
 
Last edited:
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