Video editing

[wadragracing]

Probably one of the better spots for this thread, might be a few experts.
So I've been eyeing off the 7D and one of the things I'm liking about it is the results people are producing in terms of videos.
Anyone here into their video production? I really know nothing about it, other than it may be an area I'd like to try.
What's the hotness in terms of editing programs? And is a Mac generally accepted as a necessity?

[Alt_F4]

Have friends that do it commercially, I did a bit of it when I did my dip.of multimedia.

Mac is not a necessity, but a lot of guys love final cut, which is only on mac.
Adobe Premiere is the other main contender which covers pc, before getting into the more commercial orientated editing apps (can't remember names atm).

Also, I've seen guys do good edits on windows movie maker 2, but depending on what your planning on doing with them will decide what you go with ie. youtube uploads or full dvd production?

[mitchsterbrau]

Avid systems run fine on a PC setup.
Budget software like Avid DV, which you used to be able to use for free.
Final Cut is a nice overall package, easy to use
and has great colour grading tools.
We use Avid Unity fibre channel systems at work on both Mac and PC.
Be glad to help if you need any advice. :)

[wadragracing]

I'm thinking about going on the Mac path anyway given I mostly use my PC for photos anyway these days and play all my games on consoles.

Will most of the Macs available now hi def video editing? Been reading up a little and there is some suggestion the lower end ones aren't so great with the video coming out of the DSLRs. Some of these are older articles though so it may be a case that technology has caught up?

I guess my goal would be producing a few backyard DVDs on drag racing.

I was looking at Mac Mini but iMac seems to have a lot better specs for not too much difference in price, so I may go that path.

[adrenalin]

Have friends that do it commercially, I did a bit of it when I did my dip.of multimedia.

Mac is not a necessity, but a lot of guys love final cut, which is only on mac.
Adobe Premiere is the other main contender which covers pc, before getting into the more commercial orientated editing apps (can't remember names atm).

Also, I've seen guys do good edits on windows movie maker 2, but depending on what your planning on doing with them will decide what you go with ie. youtube uploads or full dvd production?


Pretty much it

[ReaperSS]

Sony vegas pro ;)

[mitchsterbrau]

Will most of the Macs available now hi def video editing? Been reading up a little and there is some suggestion the lower end ones aren't so great with the video coming out of the DSLRs. Some of these are older articles though so it may be a case that technology has caught up?
...most macs will run and edit HD media, the difference is the amount of time
it takes to render a sequence. more power, faster renders....obviously.
most of the higher end macs now have quad core, which rips thru it fast.
at work [TAFE], we went the route of going the 27" quad core iMacs for labs
as they had specs near the G5 workstations, but at a much better price.
recommended for sure.


I guess my goal would be producing a few backyard DVDs on drag racing.
cool, well i use Final Cut Pro with After Effects for motion GFX and DVD Studio Pro for authoring.
iDvd, which comes with your mac does a good job of authoring DVD's both in HD and SD format.
If you got the Adobe Produciton suite, it would come with Premiere for editing and After Effects for animation, plus Photoshop for gfx.
Might be the sound option, as Final Cut and Premiere are very similiar these days.


I was looking at Mac Mini but iMac seems to have a lot better specs for not too much difference in price, so I may go that path.

Mac mini is junk,as it's still using the Core 2 duo processor....
go the 27" quad-core Intel Core i5 or Core i7 iMac.

Hope that helps.

If you have the time, I'd be glad to train you up on any of the software. :)

[Anaru]

cool, well i use Final Cut Pro with After Effects for motion GFX and DVD Studio Pro for authoring.


why not use encore for authoring?

[DRKWRX]

i edit my 5d mkII vids in imovie lol! I dont do much to the videos though just put em together, I have final cut pro but did my head in trying to learn it lol.

[Alt_F4]

go the 27" quad-core Intel Core i5 or Core i7 iMac.
Or put together a pc system to the same or better specs for half the price :p

[mitchsterbrau]

why not use encore for authoring?
....encore still doesn't have the features DVDstudio does, presets are still bunky too....compared to others i've used. more setup time with encore.


i edit my 5d mkII vids in imovie lol! I dont do much to the videos though just put em together, I have final cut pro but did my head in trying to learn it lol.
for quick movies there is no better software. it rocks. ;)


Or put together a pc system to the same or better specs for half the price :p
yep. but he was talking macs, and FCP is a bit of a standard in the automotive video editing industry. :)

[Anaru]

....encore still doesn't have the features DVDstudio doe

What features are these? I'm curious :)

[mitchsterbrau]

What features are these? I'm curious :)

Hey Anaru,
From the start I really like the basic workflow of DVDStudio, I'm guessing it's more of a personal thing though, as I've used it for years now.
I really like the features of Encore, especially AE dynamic linking.
From a production perspective it was easier for me to edit Markers and GOPs in DVDStudio, connect to script functions etc.
Also, most of the media I use is chapterized after editing using Final Cut or After-effects and linking "stuck" well on output in Quicktime, stuff like URL's from chapters seemed to function better on big-runs than it did building from Encore.

One of DVDStudio pros biggest plusses for us is its link to "Compressor".
So we can batch render directly to servers. We can setup render-arrays through the OSX server software then digitize or compress large amountssert of data on the network, and then have that dynamically linked back to the project.

I gave Encore about a 3 week run, chickened out, ran back to FCP Studio.

:)
[hope that helps.]

[Brodsta]

Get your ass onto a Mac buddy!

I use a 27" iMAC and it manages quite well and its not an over the top machine. I spend most of my time in Premiere Pro simply because I know the ropes but im converting to Final Cut Pro.

[wadragracing]

Got the 7D on Monday, video looks insane on the camera screen but very jerky playback on computer. Definitely time for an upgrade.

[DRKWRX]

5d mkII vid is handy for these kinda moments :lol:

<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8939986&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;sho w_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;ful lscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8939986&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;sho w_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;ful lscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/8939986">R32 Burnout</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2897115">KEKE</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

[JME]

I've done a bunch of stuff with imovie '06 up until '09 (Apple Imac). Did have some teething problems with longer scale movies but has been vastly improved. From a home spec end user, I find it easy to use and loads of fun. Does HD no problem, but as mentioned the rendering process eats time.

[mitchsterbrau]

yep jamie, agreed.

i smashed this one together in the latest iMovie version....
<object width="400" height="220"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4200437&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;sho w_title=1&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=00AD EF&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4200437&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;sho w_title=1&amp;show_byline=0&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=00AD EF&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="220"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/4200437">EO Drift Day 2009</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1585579">mitchsterbrau</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><p></p>
[check out the cayenne running off @ 1.00] whoooops!
managed to get picture in picture and all kinds of stuff happening.
converted the SD format which i shot with, into HD aspect ratio
so the quality went slightly amiss....but was a favour for some workmates. :)

[wadragracing]

OK I'm at the stage of purchase but still tossing up between two choices.
I can't really afford to go for the all out Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.
So here are my choices:

iMac with Final Cut Express
PC with Sony Vegas Pro Pack

Thoughts? I have some hesitations about FCE because of some reading on the web about difficulties with full HD and 24p. I think the PC and Sony Vegas combination might provide more bang for buck.

Or is the Mac really worth the extra dollars and why?

[V70R]

Go the Mac mate,
Not because Im a mac person but being a graphic designer, the Mac is much more stable and is the preferred computer of choice in the industry (Video included)

If you need a hand setting it all up let me know.

[wadragracing]

Here is some footage from the drags. Edited with Sony Vegas...I originally had it set to Watercolour by Pendulum so a lot of the shots don't match up with the replacement music anymore but it isn't too bad.
Experimenting with some of the different effects and finding what works.

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v2btrXk-vno&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v2btrXk-vno&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>