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TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
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!
 

-DH

macrumors 65816
Nov 28, 2006
1,070
3
Nashville Tennessee
Keep in mind that if you plan to edit other people's footage (both pro shooters and home hobbyists) you'll be likely to be required to handle many different codecs on many different types of media.

Most ENG shooters are shooting on Beta SP, DigiBeta or on Panasonic's P2 cards, but I'm also starting to see some Sony XDCam and HDCam. It's even worse for the consumer market; there are camcorders that record to MiniDV tape, Mini DVD discs, SD cards and hard drives. The common formats are DV, DVD-Video, AVCHD and HDV. So you'll need to be prepared to handle HD footage even if the final delivery method will be SD on DVD-Video.

HDV can be particularly problematic; for example, if they shot it on a JVC HDV camcorder, it won't playback on a Sony HDV deck and vice-versa. I seriously doubt any local TV station has the needed playback devices for all the formats out there you will likely encounter. When you're approached by someone with a tape format that you can't playback, make arrangements to use the original recording device to capture the footage.

Most of the consumer non-tape based camcorders record in a final delivery format such as AVCHD (an MPEG-4 variant), DVD-Video (VOB files) or MPEG-2 Transport Streams. If you use FCP, ALL of these formats will need to be converted to an editing format prior to importing into an FCP project.

For a computer, I wouldn't recommend anything other than a MacPro. You won't need more than one video (graphics) card - FCP isn't even compatible with more than one in use. The graphics cards that come with the MacPro will drive two large monitors easily. I'd recommend getting the cheapest card from Apple with the system, then purchase an ATI HD3870 from an aftermarket vendor to get the most use out of it for apps like Motion and Color (they both rely on the GPU power. http://eshop.macsales.com/item/ATI Technologies/100435928/

Also only get the stock 2gb of RAM with the system and load it with aftermarket RAM from Crucial. 1gb per processor core is recommended. You'll get 2gb with the system so add 6gb more (all MacPros are now 8 core).

For monitors, the Dell 24" 2408s are great and much less expensive than the Apple ACDs. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-6272

Another thing you should get from aftermarket vendors is 3 more internal SATA drives for the MacPro. You can find 1.5tb drives selling for just over $100.00 and the MacPro has three additional drive bays just waiting to be filled.

I would also recommend getting a large external Firewire drive for those times you need to take it to the TV station for capturing or transferring footage.

You'll need a good professional TV monitor and a way to connect it. Since you may have to work with HD footage, a video capture card or system like the AJA Io HD will come in very handy for both capturing and monitoring. http://aja.com/html/products_Io.html

You'll need a pair of decent nearfield reference monitors for audio.

For some of the pro HD formats, you may benefit from a eSATA RAID Array, but I'd wait and see if the need arises before purchasing anything.

And last, but certainly not least, get a sturdy, comfortable chair for those long hours in the edit suite.

-DH
 

TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
thank you for all this

A lot of this is very specific help about things that I knew generally (i.e. I know to buy the base model from Apple and the peripherals and upgrades from third party vendors, but I didn't know where specifically to look), but I think it's a little beyond what I was asking. That's probably my fault for being too general.

I have two major questions. The first is, I am leaning toward getting CS4 Production Premiere because it is end to end software for someone who might not have access to a lot of footage. I can blend pictures, graphics, and motion using Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and Premiere Pro to create impressive final products without having to pay a professional cinematographer or teach myself to be one. It's also (and this isn't a BIG concern) $100 less than FCS. But I have read in other posts in this forum that people have had a lot of trouble with Premiere Pro and Adobe's tech support. If I had to choose either FCS or CS4 Production Premiere, based on my needs, which would you choose and why?

The second is, based on my needs is the upgrade to Mac Pro necessary at this stage. I understand that as a professional freelance editor, I can't do work on a laptop forever. But considering that I'm not talking about running Maya, Smoke, or Flame, is the Macbook Pro decently usable with either of the above mentioned software bundles (FCS or CS4)? Or will it simply be too frustrating to even consider using? If the major difference between the two is render times, and it affects working in the interface very little, then I would be heavily leaning toward the laptop route at this point until I've proven that an investment in a much larger, better, and faster computer is likely to be a profitable one.

Thank you!
 

Keebler

macrumors 68030
Jun 20, 2005
2,960
207
Canada
A lot of this is very specific help about things that I knew generally (i.e. I know to buy the base model from Apple and the peripherals and upgrades from third party vendors, but I didn't know where specifically to look), but I think it's a little beyond what I was asking. That's probably my fault for being too general.

I have two major questions. The first is, I am leaning toward getting CS4 Production Premiere because it is end to end software for someone who might not have access to a lot of footage. I can blend pictures, graphics, and motion using Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and Premiere Pro to create impressive final products without having to pay a professional cinematographer or teach myself to be one. It's also (and this isn't a BIG concern) $100 less than FCS. But I have read in other posts in this forum that people have had a lot of trouble with Premiere Pro and Adobe's tech support. If I had to choose either FCS or CS4 Production Premiere, based on my needs, which would you choose and why?

The second is, based on my needs is the upgrade to Mac Pro necessary at this stage. I understand that as a professional freelance editor, I can't do work on a laptop forever. But considering that I'm not talking about running Maya, Smoke, or Flame, is the Macbook Pro decently usable with either of the above mentioned software bundles (FCS or CS4)? Or will it simply be too frustrating to even consider using? If the major difference between the two is render times, and it affects working in the interface very little, then I would be heavily leaning toward the laptop route at this point until I've proven that an investment in a much larger, better, and faster computer is likely to be a profitable one.

Thank you!

definitely a mac pro. it simply has more horsepower for editing. i have a mac pro and a mac book pro and although the mpb handles the editing, it's not even close to the mac pro - and I don't even have an 8-core! just a quad 2.66. plus, as DH mentioned, the expandability is huge.

mac pro. you can check the refurb store for good deals.
 

-DH

macrumors 65816
Nov 28, 2006
1,070
3
Nashville Tennessee
A MacBook Pro is expandable to a certain extent. It does have a ExpressCard slot and, unlike it's little brother, the MacBook, it still has a Firewire port. So it will be able to handle most editing tasks.

On the downside is the limited amount of internal hard drive space, limited amount of RAM expansion and the fact that you can only have one ExpressCard device connected at any given time.

Comparing prices between a MacPro desktop and a MacBook Pro laptop, there isn't that much difference. When you compare what you get for the price difference, it seems to me that the MacPro is clearly the most cost effective choice.

So it really comes down to whether or not you need portability. If so, the MacBook Pro is the only real option.

I cannot speak for the Adobe package. I know many editors but none using the Adobe products exclusively. I know more folks editing with Sony's Vegas than I do folks editing anything on Premiere. Most of the editors I know and work with from time to time edit on FCP, but do use some of Adobe's titles, like Photoshop, Flash and Encore (for Blu-ray authoring only).

>>I am leaning toward getting CS4 Production Premiere because it is end to end software for someone who might not have access to a lot of footage<<

I have no idea what you mean by that statement. Final Cut Studio also is an 'end-to-end' package regardless of the amount of footage you have to work with.

I learned non-linear editing on an old Premiere Targa system years ago, but went with FCP (version 2.0) when I switched my own set up from analog (tape-to-tape) editing to digital. I'm glad I made the choices I did, but the NLE you choose is much like the computer you choose; they are both merely tools. You need to pick the tools that are best for your situation and budget.

-DH
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
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.
Pretty much for this reason alone you want a tower not a laptop. As others have said, dollar for dollar a Mac Pro gets you much better performance than a MacBook Pro and if you decide to upgrade it is much cheaper, and easier, to expand the capabilities of tower than a laptop.

>>I am leaning toward getting CS4 Production Premiere because it is end to end software for someone who might not have access to a lot of footage<<

I have no idea what you mean by that statement. Final Cut Studio also is an 'end-to-end' package regardless of the amount of footage you have to work with.
I think he was trying to get at that the CS4 PP suite has more gfx creation capabilities than FCS 2 (which it does in Photoshop and Illustrator). But as you said, horses for courses. Depending how much, and how complex, GFX work the OP wants to do 'independent' apps like GIMP, Blender, and/or Pixel Monger might fit the bill just as well.

No one else has mentioned it, but I would advise against getting the educational versions of either software package. You are not a student w/no income looking to expand their horizons you are a professional looking to start a side business. Don't abuse the system. Knowing you have a system to pay for is a great motivator (even though it shouldn't take very many jobs to pay for the computer + software) and if you are afraid to invest in yourself what kind of message does that send to your potential clients?


Lethal
 

TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
Comparing prices between a MacPro desktop and a MacBook Pro laptop, there isn't that much difference. When you compare what you get for the price difference, it seems to me that the MacPro is clearly the most cost effective choice.

I must have been comparing Macbook (not Pro) and Mac Pro. The 15 inch 2.53 GHz Macbook Pro at its base value is MORE expensive than the 2.8 GHz Mac Pro with everything else stripped, and I'm assuming that they'll be a similar price refurbished with peripherals, etc. That pretty much answers that question.

>>I am leaning toward getting CS4 Production Premiere because it is end to end software for someone who might not have access to a lot of footage<<

I have no idea what you mean by that statement. Final Cut Studio also is an 'end-to-end' package regardless of the amount of footage you have to work with.

What I mean is that Final Cut Studio, as far as I know, can't create something out of nothing. There is no graphics program like Illustrator in the package I believe. With a CS4 set, I could, ostensibly create a set of graphics, animate them with After Effects, voice them with Soundbooth, tweak the final cut with Premiere Pro and output it with Encore and have a finished product. I believe that you have to have some sort of footage for FCS; I could buy JUST Illustrator and FCS and accomplish the same thing, but each program is so expensive when not in a bundle.

For example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK6J4pV7lro. I don't think this is very good, but it was all done in Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects. You can't make a gfx based piece like that with FCS as far as I know.

But now Apple is offering a $300 discount if you buy a new computer with CS4, which makes the savings significant and sort of seals the deal for me.

I know that all professional editors work on FCS 2 or Avid Media Composer but other than the fact that everyone does it, is there a specific reason why?

Almost anything though would be an upgrade over what we have at the news stations that I've been to. I've interviewed at 5 different stations so far in my life, two were still doing beta tape to tape editing, two used a very basic program NLE called NewsEdit made by Grass Valley that is like iMovie but worse. And only one of them used Avid.

I work on NewsEdit and just making a Ken Burns effect is about a 20 minute process.

Again, thanks. I'm definitely leaning toward the Mac Pro now, so the above response will probably be more beneficial than I originally thought. However, I probably won't be making an official decision until I get my tax refund back, which should be in a couple weeks.

P.S. Do you use or know of a different forum for work evaluation? Once I get up and running, I'd like more established editors to take a look at my work. I already have a work blog, but I won't be putting anything up until I get the new comp.
 

TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
No one else has mentioned it, but I would advise against getting the educational versions of either software package. You are not a student w/no income looking to expand their horizons you are a professional looking to start a side business.

I am a recent college grad and a p/t editor for a news station (I make less than $13K/year). I learned storytelling skills in college and on the job, but I don't know the technology. My best contact in post-production isn't going to let me jump on his computer to practice, much less make a product to finance a system of my own. If I want to advance, I have to buy a computer, and a one to two thousand dollar difference is monumental for someone like me.

The jump from being a news editor to being a commercial editor is a significant one, and I'll be using this system almost exclusively for education for several months while my technical tools catch up to my storytelling tools. I may not be enrolled in classes, but I am enrolled in lynda.com. I will be using the machine to educate myself in the tools of my business like home schooling. That may be fudging things a bit, but I feel comfortable walking that line.
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
Since you want to focus on learning new tools your time and money would be better spent learning Avid and FCP, IMO. The student price for Avid Media Composer 3.0 is only $300. The job market is broader, and potentially much better paying, if you know Avid and FCP.


Lethal
 

puckhead193

macrumors G3
May 25, 2004
9,570
852
NY
I too would advise against the edu versions... it looks good now saving money but in the long run it will cost you more when they do update to FCS3 (hopefully with blue ray support). I purchased both FCS1 and FCS2 edu. and the FCS 1 is just sitting in the box collecting dust.
As far as premier...eh its ok I much prefer Final cut... I only used premier on the PC side and i think that turned me down to it.
 

TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
I too would advise against the edu versions... it looks good now saving money but in the long run it will cost you more when they do update to FCS3 (hopefully with blue ray support). I purchased both FCS1 and FCS2 edu. and the FCS 1 is just sitting in the box collecting dust.

Why is it collecting dust? Does that have anything to do with being the educational option? I will only be buying the educational prices once.
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
Why is it collecting dust? Does that have anything to do with being the educational option? I will only be buying the educational prices once.
AFAIK edu packages, at least from Apple, aren't available for upgrade when new versions come out.

They're next.
Why not make them first? If you want to learn the tools that most editors use, and are desperate short on funds, why not start w/the ones that are more popular and more likely to get you a better job?


Lethal
 

TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
I don't see how they're more likely to get me work except at a production house. A church isn't going to care if I use Avid, FCP or Adobe to cut their video just what the end result looks like. If I were trying to get a job at a production house, then there wouldn't be much need in learning Adobe Premiere Pro. But given the choice between only one of two packages, I think I'm going to choose the one with Illustrator and After Effects for now.

Just a few good jobs might be enough to pay for the full version of FCS and perhaps 3 would be released at that point such that I wouldn't have to upgrade either.

Avid's the most professional system as to my understanding, and I doubt that I would be buying a computer that could really handle it or need what it can do at this stage. Am I wrong?
 

prestonkd

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2007
78
34
Alabama
I recently switched from PC to Mac. I say recently. I am almost at my one year anniversary. I do some of the same type work you are looking at doing except that I am gravitating more toward corporate safety and training videos as larger ticket items. I went through the same type processes you are encountering. The differences being one - I am at least a generation older and two - I stumbled into a big corporate job that paid for the whole thing. I started on Avid, so I have Media Composer for Mac now in addition to FCS2 and Adobe Master Collection CS2 along with Pro Tools, Logic, Shake and probably a few more things that I have forgotten about running on a Mac Pro with 10GB RAM. I am not a master of any of this software but somehow I always find a way to know just enough to get my job done. I have been coming on this board for nearly three years. I think I may have seen one person from Birmingham. I am sure there are others, but I haven't seen their posts. I am in Birmingham also. To throw in my .02 about the software. What I currently like to do is edit in FCP, graphics in Motion or After Effects and audio in Pro Tools. The FCS2 suite is really nice. The only "must have" from Adobe for me is After Effects, though Photoshop and Illustrator are certainly nice. (I would not recommend Pro Tools to you unless you also have an interest in audio. I also run a small recording studio)
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
I don't see how they're more likely to get me work except at a production house. A church isn't going to care if I use Avid, FCP or Adobe to cut their video just what the end result looks like. If I were trying to get a job at a production house, then there wouldn't be much need in learning Adobe Premiere Pro. But given the choice between only one of two packages, I think I'm going to choose the one with Illustrator and After Effects for now.
A church also isn't going to care if you use Final Cut Express and Pixelmator either. If you want to learn FCP why not spend a little bit more now to get it rather than purchasing the Adobe suite now and then purchasing the FC suite later?

Avid's the most professional system as to my understanding, and I doubt that I would be buying a computer that could really handle it or need what it can do at this stage. Am I wrong?
Any Mac Pro can run Avid MC 3.0 just fine.

I understand you are concerned about money but always keep in mind never to be pennywise and pound foolish. Don't think about what costs a bit more today think about where you want to be professionally 3-5 years down the road. If you see yourself wanting to still be a 'one-man-band' working mainly corporate and event stuff then Premiere Pro is totally good for that. If you see yourself wanting to worker on bigger projects (TV shows, documentaries, trailers, commercials, etc.,) then you'll want to learn Avid or FCP (ideally both though).

After I graduated college I was in a similar boat to you. I lived in a mid-sized market, I had no money (literally, I was flat broke from a failed stint in LA and living off my credit cards), worked part time at Blockbuster as a part time internship at a local post facility and I qualified for food stamps (the real world had kicked me in the nuts, hard). I put about $6k of debt on my credit card so I could get a then top of the line G4 PowerMac (I still have that computer today), FCP (at the time it was a standalone app costing $999) a deck, and a small TV to use as an external monitor. It took me 3-4 years to pay off that initial purchase and it, as well as software/hardware upgrades during that time, was paid for by side projects. If my home machine didn't generate me money my home machine didn't get upgraded. Like I said before, having that debt is a very good motivator to go find work. I know a lot of guys who have home setups and never do anything w/them in part because they didn't really spend any money on them. They maybe pirated the software or got edu versions and maybe a little later they picked up a camera and over time they basically pissed money away a little bit at a time where as I sunk more money into my setup and actually had it earn money.

I'm not saying you'll be like some of the people I know, I'm just saying complacency is a very easy trap to fall into. And I'm also not trying to preach, I just don't want to see you skimp now and in 12-18 months go "Geez, I wish I would've bought X instead of Y last year."

prestonkd,
That's a very kind offer and hopefully the OP takes you up on it.


Lethal
 

TenPoundMonkey

macrumors member
Aug 23, 2007
58
0
VA
Some more thoughts based on my experience-

When dealing with video- especially HD - you WILL always want more machine. I know you said just SD at this time, but really, if you will be doing this even semi-professionally, it will quickly move to HD...

Personally, I've done a variety of video work over the years. I blew out my credit card out of college to get the (then top-of-the-line) G3 Tower (266 mhz!) and a Media100 editing board. The 9 Gig SCSI drive I got was $850 (!) ouch.

BUT, the more you buy up front, the less you need down the road. If you are serious, get a mac pro, load it with RAM and HDs and then get CS4 and FCS. For what you want to do, I think you can get away with FCExpress for now. You will also probably not have much use for After Effects in what you're doing- the titling in FCP or FCE should cover you... An actual video monitor with computer interface of some sort would be important if you care about checking the output and quality while you're working.

That said, it's gonna be a highly daunting task to learn all of this at once and buy all the gear. But don't waste your time learning non-standard programs, etc. if you plan on making this anything more than a hobby.

Once you have a thriving business and you are busy, a fast laptop is a great addition for on the road edits and light work, but for video, it's never a desktop replacement.

----------

All the above not withstanding, if you are content doing some light work for your friends and local church groups, then a Macbook Pro, FCE, Photoshop and a couple external drives will cover you.

Good luck! and let us know what you decide.
 

TimeIndefinite

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
12
0
Birmingham, AL
I've read prestonkd's post about 20x and still don't see an offer. I assume it's been edited out, which is fine.

When dealing with video- especially HD - you WILL always want more machine. I know you said just SD at this time, but really, if you will be doing this even semi-professionally, it will quickly move to HD...

The only reason that I would quickly move to HD is if I was getting HD work in which case, I'd buy more stuff! So no worries there.

An actual video monitor with computer interface of some sort would be important if you care about checking the output and quality while you're working.

This is part of the reason that I wouldn't want to take broadcast work just yet. I don't want to have to invest in a colorimeter or waveform monitor, etc. just yet.

But don't waste your time learning non-standard programs, etc.

I'm just the kind of person who wants to learn everything. Even if I don't end up being the graphics guy when I've made a f/t career out of this, I want to be able to tell my graphics guy in his terms what I need. So getting a foundation in Adobe software is important to me. I also think it's the best way to make a splash in a medium or small market where there's no such thing as offline, online, or special effects editors. One person does everything.

A church also isn't going to care if you use Final Cut Express and Pixelmator either. If you want to learn FCP why not spend a little bit more now to get it rather than purchasing the Adobe suite now and then purchasing the FC suite later?

As I said above, I think After Effects is the number one way to look impressive in a mid-sized market. So I think they'll care if I use After Effects but see no difference between FCE and FCS (which is another reason that I'm leaning toward CS4). I've been competent in FCP since college when I took production classes there, but competency hasn't gotten me editing work thus far... I've also logged footage on an Avid, which isn't the same as knowing it at all of course, but I have some familiarity with the three point editing system. Adobe's the only thing that I've had no practice on.

If I'm getting work then my software and hardware will increase rapidly to the point where I can take on any work, hopefully. I am learning all of it as I mentioned above. I'm going through the Adobe programs on lynda.com (watched the essential training for Photoshop and After Effects and now I'm going through Illustrator); next on my list is the Final Cut Products, and I'm hoping that I'll be just getting into those lessons by the time that I'm able to afford buying the package and can do the exercise files along with it.

having that debt is a very good motivator to go find work

For whatever reason, it never has been for me. It makes me depressed. Debt's likely to make me less likely to find and complete work well because it hangs over my head. But the most important point is that if in 4 or 5 months I find that doing work with CS4 is impossible, and I've not been able to do many jobs, I can always ADD FCS at that point. Whereas if it turned out to be unnecessary those first couple months, I certainly can't subtract it.

Thanks again everyone for your help. Especially -DH for all the specifics and links above. There's still a lot of stuff that I don't 100% understand, but I should be on my feet soonish.
 

prestonkd

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2007
78
34
Alabama
My original post did contain an offer for you to come by and take a test drive on the software and Mac Pro. I read it a couple of times and wasn't sure it was something you would be interested in or were looking for so I took it out. I intended to offer it later if you showed an interest. I would be happy to set up a time for you to come by and check it out. I know we have the Apple store here in town but personally, I could never concentrate there with people looking over my shoulder while I tried to figure out FCP. Plus they dont have Avid or After Effects loaded on the Mac Pro. Let me know.
 

prestonkd

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2007
78
34
Alabama
I have FCS2, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Master Collection CS3, Shake and several others running on a Mac Pro. Let me know what you want to do and what will be involved and we will see what we can work out.
 

CaptainChunk

macrumors 68020
Apr 16, 2008
2,142
6
Phoenix, AZ
As I said above, I think After Effects is the number one way to look impressive in a mid-sized market. So I think they'll care if I use After Effects but see no difference between FCE and FCS (which is another reason that I'm leaning toward CS4). I've been competent in FCP since college when I took production classes there, but competency hasn't gotten me editing work thus far... I've also logged footage on an Avid, which isn't the same as knowing it at all of course, but I have some familiarity with the three point editing system. Adobe's the only thing that I've had no practice on.

I have both FCS2 and Adobe Production Suite CS3. I've been editing on FCP for years, so that's what I'm comfortable with as an NLE. Out of the entire CS3 suite, I never use anything but Photoshop, After Effects and occasionally, Illustrator. But therein lies the reality with Adobe software pricing: it's cheaper to buy the whole suite than to buy the applications you actually want individually. Buying all those programs individually would cost around $2,400 versus $1,700 for the suite.

I can understand your viewpoint, though. If the final product looks good in the client's eyes, it doesn't really matter what you used to produce it. But when you have potential commercial work lined up, FCP and Avid MC are the industry standards and it's to your advantage to know at least one of them.
 

prestonkd

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2007
78
34
Alabama
That is the same reason I bought the Master Collection. I had no desire for most of the programs in the bundle but for the price of the two or three that I did want I could get the whole bundle. I must say that I have enjoyed using several of the programs that I never thought I would.
 

idea_hamster

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2003
1,096
1
NYC, or thereabouts
O/T, but I wanted to throw this out there

This:

.... After I graduated college I was in a similar boat to you. I lived in a mid-sized market, I had no money (literally, I was flat broke from a failed stint in LA and living off my credit cards), worked part time at Blockbuster as a part time internship at a local post facility and I qualified for food stamps (the real world had kicked me in the nuts, hard). I put about $6k of debt on my credit card so I could get a then top of the line G4 PowerMac (I still have that computer today), FCP (at the time it was a standalone app costing $999) a deck, and a small TV to use as an external monitor. It took me 3-4 years to pay off that initial purchase and it, as well as software/hardware upgrades during that time, was paid for by side projects. If my home machine didn't generate me money my home machine didn't get upgraded. .... Lethal

Every now and then we here at MR get a glimpse into the lives of people that we only really know through this forum. For quite some time, I've felt that LethalWolfe's perspective on all things video -- from industry trends to equipment recommendations -- come from someplace of real wisdom, pithy and succinct.

Now we have an idea as to why....

:)
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
Thanks for the kind words IH.

I've had a lot of ups and downs getting to where I'm at and I want share my experiences w/others so they can hopefully avoid some of the same mistakes I've made. I've also encountered a very helpful and supportive community of peers (both on-line and in real life) and I enjoy being at a point in my life where I can give others a hand just like others have helped me w/a hand when I've needed it.


Lethal
 
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