I'm a Broadcast News Editor in a medium sized market (Birmingham, AL). I currently have no system of my own but am looking to purchase a new computer and editing software and need help deciding on what to purchase.
Right now, I am looking at doing solely editing work i.e. I will not be shooting any footage myself. And I shouldn't have to worry about transferring footage or outputting final copies too much because working at a TV station means that I have relatively free access (it still costs my time) to equipment that can convert almost anything into almost anything else. I will not be offering any HD editing at this time.
Some of things that I'm hoping to do with my future system are...
1) Offer to take friends' and family's home movies, transfer them to my future computer, do some light editing and retouching, and package them as DVDs
2) Cut local talents' reels (cinematographers, actors, and of course the TV on air talent that I have connections to)
3) Do light web animation/gfx work for people who are looking for more modern looking websites
4) Do promotional/training videos for local companies i.e. nothing for broadcast just yet
For instance, I've been offered a job to create a promotional video for a church through a work contact, which I haven't agreed to yet (I don't know the details), but I'd like to be in the market for that type of work.
5) I want the ability to expand my business assuming that I get business, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on something that I'll have to sell at a large discount in a year because I need to upgrade my system because of all the editing that I'm doing
I don't have a budget per se, but for what I've listed above, I obviously don't need the best computer on the market. I don't have experience working on systems that I built myself (I've only worked my college's hardware and that at the TV Station), so I want to make sure that I get just what I need and don't over or underspend.
Softwarewise, I don't know if I should get FCS2 or CS4 Production Premium (I've worked with Final Cut Pro before and am using lynda.com to immerse myself in Studio's other assets as well as the CS4 programs). I'd be getting the education discount on a new product, so I'm looking at about $100 difference between them. I've heard that parts of Adobe's line can be buggy when it comes to video editing but don't know myself. Do I need the upgrade for what I'm looking to produce? Since I'm hoping to produce most of my content myself, is Adobe's suite the way to go because I can create a promotional video from end to end using graphics done just with their software?
Hardwarewise, I assume Apple is the way to go based on the software, but I wanted to confirm that. And if so, is the processing upgrade from a Macbook (or Pro) to a Mac Pro (desktop) going to be worth it for my small level production? What sort of min level requirements do I need in terms of RAM, graphics card, and HD space. Again, adaptability is great here because on the off chance that people really like my work, I want to be able to expand quickly and cheaply.
Thanks in advance for reading this and any advice that you can offer.
P.S. I know that multiple graphics cards mean that you can run more monitors, but do they help with rendering or previewing for one monitor? I.e. with the Mac Pro, you can have 4 graphics cards running 8 monitors, but if you have 4 graphics cards running one monitor, will rendering times be less? Will RAM previews be faster or cleaner? Thank you!
Right now, I am looking at doing solely editing work i.e. I will not be shooting any footage myself. And I shouldn't have to worry about transferring footage or outputting final copies too much because working at a TV station means that I have relatively free access (it still costs my time) to equipment that can convert almost anything into almost anything else. I will not be offering any HD editing at this time.
Some of things that I'm hoping to do with my future system are...
1) Offer to take friends' and family's home movies, transfer them to my future computer, do some light editing and retouching, and package them as DVDs
2) Cut local talents' reels (cinematographers, actors, and of course the TV on air talent that I have connections to)
3) Do light web animation/gfx work for people who are looking for more modern looking websites
4) Do promotional/training videos for local companies i.e. nothing for broadcast just yet
For instance, I've been offered a job to create a promotional video for a church through a work contact, which I haven't agreed to yet (I don't know the details), but I'd like to be in the market for that type of work.
5) I want the ability to expand my business assuming that I get business, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on something that I'll have to sell at a large discount in a year because I need to upgrade my system because of all the editing that I'm doing
I don't have a budget per se, but for what I've listed above, I obviously don't need the best computer on the market. I don't have experience working on systems that I built myself (I've only worked my college's hardware and that at the TV Station), so I want to make sure that I get just what I need and don't over or underspend.
Softwarewise, I don't know if I should get FCS2 or CS4 Production Premium (I've worked with Final Cut Pro before and am using lynda.com to immerse myself in Studio's other assets as well as the CS4 programs). I'd be getting the education discount on a new product, so I'm looking at about $100 difference between them. I've heard that parts of Adobe's line can be buggy when it comes to video editing but don't know myself. Do I need the upgrade for what I'm looking to produce? Since I'm hoping to produce most of my content myself, is Adobe's suite the way to go because I can create a promotional video from end to end using graphics done just with their software?
Hardwarewise, I assume Apple is the way to go based on the software, but I wanted to confirm that. And if so, is the processing upgrade from a Macbook (or Pro) to a Mac Pro (desktop) going to be worth it for my small level production? What sort of min level requirements do I need in terms of RAM, graphics card, and HD space. Again, adaptability is great here because on the off chance that people really like my work, I want to be able to expand quickly and cheaply.
Thanks in advance for reading this and any advice that you can offer.
P.S. I know that multiple graphics cards mean that you can run more monitors, but do they help with rendering or previewing for one monitor? I.e. with the Mac Pro, you can have 4 graphics cards running 8 monitors, but if you have 4 graphics cards running one monitor, will rendering times be less? Will RAM previews be faster or cleaner? Thank you!