I Need to Choose Editing Software and hardware--can anyone help? I am clueless!

[utahmoviemaker]

Well I just bought my AG-DVX100AP and I have no idea what I am doing! But I have my movie script and my enthusiasm! Anyway, after getting the camera I quickly found that it doesn’t come with the IEEE 1394 firewire card and cable and that the editing software, included, won’t be doing what I need it to do (obviously). So I am in a real dilemna: what card and software do I buy?
I was hoping someone could help me. My script is a drama—won’t need any special effects or animation stuff. I was considering starting with adobe premiere pro 1.5 and just buying a cheap firewire cable and card (is that realistic?). Soon I found the Matrox rt.x100 hardware and pro suite including Encore and audition. However, I have also read some great info. About Avid Express Pro Suite, but then I found more info. about the Mojo hardware bundle, and suddenly we’re talking over $1,000 again (and I am totally confused with all their descriptions and jargon). So, recognizing that I want something intuitive (because I can’t dedicate myself totally to this movie making yet), and that I want to be careful on my expenditures (that are already mounting quickly), would someone be able to recommend which software and hardware I should pursue in order to download and edit my footage off of my ag-dvx and onto my computer so that I can begin to see if this is going to be feasible option for shooting and producing my movie? Thanks for the help! I posted this in the wrong location--but I can't figure out how to delete or move it--so I am copying it to the proper area--sorry!
UtahMovieMaker

[amagpoc]

Buy a mac loaded with final cut pro hd, it will be more stable than a pc. Or if your really new to editing... macs comes with imovie which is very intuitive (basic and easy to learn) for first time user. Both takes your footage through the built in firewire. Depending on your budget... G5 Tower or G5 Imac with at least 512mb ram and more hard drive space the better.

[utahmoviemaker]

But I am a PC person! And the cost of the MAC is going to run hundreds right? I already have 6 PC's in the house! (all networked, etc.). Is there not a PC alternative?

[reservoir]

Try and Avid Filmcomposer. It'll only set you back about 100k once you get it all *pimped* out with all the goodies!! And I don't think Linux has really become a player in the video editing market yet.....so.....PC or Mac. And uh....I think that's about it. ~reservoir~

[amagpoc]

Then you would want Premiere Pro or AVID DV. Just to let you know I know a lot of people who have had a lot of headaches editing on the pc, not impossible just more headaches. Or another thing you could do is download AVID FREE DV (www.avid.com), won't cost you a thing but you would need a firewire card if you pc doesn't have. Good luck!

[pptphoto]

Sell the 6 PCs and buy one good Mac and Final Cut Pro.

[maverickprods]

I have had both pc and mac, Mac and final cut pro have won out over everything else, but mainly because I had to have it for HD.
I used Adobe Premiere Pro and Matrox rtx100 to do my first movie and several commercials. It was stable and usable. You will need some good titling software, Titlemotion Pro comes to mind. Lots of ram and of course you have to run windows xp. Have fun.

[Mark_Easton]

I was in the same situation as you and only had a PIII 650Mhz laptop. I just bought a no-name firewire card & cable and am trialing Vegas Movie Studio. So far I am finding it to be fine and quick enough for basic video editing - basic trimming cuts, fades dissolves. Have not tried any colour correction or more hungry functions yet.

I realise this may be a bit more basic than what you were thinking but if you're just wanting to cut your teeth on something and you are shooting basic drama you probably don't need to get carried away. There seems to be a lot of support for Vegas, both the Movie Studio consumer version and the more professional versions.

[meskey]

I just had to make the exact same decision.

I did a lot of research and while macs are undoubtedly the best choice there are some good solutions for the PC. After much research I just purchased the Canopus DV Storm2 Pro which comes with Edius 2.5 and Adobe Premier Pro 1.5.

The card offers realtime playback, with effects, transitions and color correction and has s-video, component, and composite out. I just shot and finished my first commercial with it and it worked like a charm....VERY STABLE! Total cost around $900 from B&H.

[boo]

utah, seems like your used to the pc side of things...how about vegas? seems popular here...

seems as if pieces are falling in place...i'm waiting for the powerbook g5's to be announced at wwdc in june. steve jobs proclaimed, "the year for high definition" at macworld in january. panny will announce the hdx100 in april and probably ship sometime in fall...at the same time fcp 5 will be announced which is already dvcpro(hd) compatible. so i'm looking at the 3rd-4th quarter for things to be in place and who knows what other 3rd parties may be involved to increase productivity. as for now, i'm content w/ my g4 powermac. brings somewhat of a peace of mind knowing that apple and panny have a close working relationship for the future of sd/hd editing...care to comment paul or jan? ;)

[Nirimba]

I am using the same setup as meskey & have found it to be excellent. The Storm card realy spikes up your computer. Edius has all the effects you will need & more. Everyone likes the setup they are used to, hence there are heaps of good advice out there but all different. You will eventually have to suck it & see! I started with an entry level from Canopus & updated several times to get the gear I have now.

[ChuckS]

I have a Canopus Rex RTPro and have to echo the endorsement for the DV Storm2.
Canopus has done a good job of making reliable real-time editing solution on the PC. Also, if you are not running XP and want to stay with 2000, Premier 6.5 works great.

Good luck

[Sirius_Doggy]

Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 w/ Matrox RTx100 card is my choice.

[Rob]

I think if you're just getting into this try Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 w/ Matrox RTx100 card or Eduis 3.0 Pro. You can't beat the realtime effects of these programs. In my opinion I think Final cut pro is way over rated.

[Sumfun]

Since you're a PC person, I would recommend Premiere Pro 1.5.

I started about a year ago, and since I'm a PC person, too, I chose Premiere. I actually bought the Matrox RTX100 card that comes bundled with Premiere, Audition, and Encore. I had trouble installing the Matrox card and had to reload Windows. After that, I just used the software alone. It works fine for me for a monthly TV show. Of course I have some complaints, but that's normal for any software.

I remember seeing a "no-name" 1394 card that came bundled with the Premiere, Audition and Encore, all for about $500! Can't remember the name, but just check some video magazines. Both Audition and Encore have come in quite handy.

One caviat about Premiere Pro 1.5 if you're planning to shoot in 24p: You have to use a 24p timeline. If you put 24p video in a 60i timeline, Premiere will remove the pulldown and add its own pulldown. This will make your video look jerky. This does not happen with Premiere Pro 1.0 or if you use a Matrox RTX100 card (because Matrox uses a different encoder). Because of this problem, I switched from 24p to 30p. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because 30p looks smoother.

[ddh]

The mini-mac is also a possibility. You would need an external firewire Hard drive - say 250 with I-Movie you'd be set!
If you are dead set on PCs try to use Vegas. As I recall Vegas also is 24P capable.

[Barry_Green]

I'd strongly vote for Vegas 5. Since you're just getting into it, the different workflow won't slow you down, you'll learn the best right from the start. It's an incredible program, it's easily the best-integrated with the DVX, and it'll work on your PC's, and since you have them networked together, you can take advantage of Vegas' Network Rendering service to speed up any complex renders.

Download the free trial and give it a shot. It's a phenomenal program.

[Soliton]

I'll second Barry's advice. I am PC based, tried and got used to a couple other NLEs before Vegas 5 and found myself 'workflow challenged' in Vegas. Now that I'm into it I wish I had started out with Vegas in the first place. If you'll be be doing DVDs be sure to get the Vegas+DVD Architect2 package. I didn't do that part because I thought I could buy it later...

[J_Barnes]

I'm a FCP addict...but in this case, I also second Vegas 5.

All my problems with Vegas 5 are in the user interface and its lack of a source/record workflow (there's a couple of other minor issues with render schemes and nested timelines). If you're new to editing, then you can learn to edit how the program wants you to, so you won't be limited like I am in learning a different UI.

Vegas 5, in my opinion, is probably the best value out there on the PC end. Very very solid on almost any PC, full featured, and probably very intuitive for the beginning editor.

I think you're limited to two licenses for render clients...so you might want to check into additional render licenses if you're going to use a full network for rendering.

[marctronixx]

im glad this thread is here...

what about the vegas +dvd production suite package on sonys site. should this be a considerationg or just stick with vegas 5? i do not yet have an editor package..

[Pascal_Parvex]

But I am a PC person! And the cost of the MAC is going to run hundreds right? I already have 6 PC's in the house! (all networked, etc.). Is there not a PC alternative?

There are a lot of alternatives on PC. It depends on your PC's. You should use the best of the bunch. What is the best you have? Maybe you have on that has a FireWire conection included, but you have never used it. A FireWire card with a cable won't cost you more than maybe 30 to 40 bucks. And editing...the problem is, you need a software that is able to handle the 24p of the DVX. But you can use any editing software and, with the right setup on your camera, F5, the your result will still be very filmlike. Hope that helps.

And Macs are easy to use, but PC's compete very well, as the're not so expensive. For example, if you wan't to upgrade your RAM on a Mac, then you have to increase your mortgage if you don't know where to get it cheap (same quality of course).

[JimWells]

Vegas 5 with DVD Architect is probably your simplest choice, if you have PIII or P4. You will need to make sure you have good Hard Disk space and a decent Firewire Card.

[marctronixx]

Vegas 5 with DVD Architect is probably your simplest choice, if you have PIII or P4. You will need to make sure you have good Hard Disk space and a decent Firewire Card.

jim, were you speak9ing on the post i made above? as for good hard disk space, how much is good? of course i know the more the better, but a reference poijt would be good. currently i have a 40 GB drive just for programs only and a 250GB disk for editing, music, etc...

i am also thinking of getting an external usb drive.. are these recommended to work with editing programs or will the usb 2.0 be too slow?

thanks for the info here...

[RaySigmond]

I agree with Barry Green, for PC based systems get Vegas 5 + DVD and keep it moving. If you look at the tutorials by Douglas Spotted Eagle and or Gary Kleiner, they are excellent and will get you up to speed real fast.

http://www.vasst.com/training_products.htm

http://www.vegastrainingandtools.com/

[JimWells]

A 250 IDE or Firewire Drive is ideal, you can use a usb 2.0 drive, it will work, but firewire 400 or 800 is prefered. You should always leave some available space on the C: drive for programs to work, be careful not to have captured files that you are editing, that are to large. Remember that about 1 hour and fifteen minutes is the most that you can put on a 4.7 DVD without using compression that will reduce the output quality.

[David Jimerson]

At this stage of the game, you definitely do not need to be trying to learn editing software *and* a new OS on top of it.

Your best bet, by far, is to download trials of Vegas Movie Studio, or Pinnacle Studio 9, or maybe Premiere Elements if there’s a trial available. As you have no experience as of yet, the “big boys” could very well make you throw up your hands in frustration and give up on the whole thing. Start with the basics. Ramp up later when you outgrow them.

[marctronixx]

A 250 IDE or Firewire Drive is ideal, you can use a usb 2.0 drive, it will work, but firewire 400 or 800 is prefered. You should always leave some available space on the C; drive for programs to work, be careful not to have captured files that you are editing, that are to large. Remember that about 1 hour and fifteen minutes is the most that you can put on a 4.7 DVD without using compression that will reduce the output quality.

THANKS AGAIN, i have a dual layer DVD drive so im not too concerned about that part.

i will skip the vegas +production and just go with vegas 5.x...


thanks...

[utahmoviemaker]

boo, I think that I want to shoot my movie with this new HDX100--maybe practise with my AGDVX and learn how to use a camera and how to edit. Under $10,000 is within my budget for an HD 24P cammera--and I really want the best quality I can afford without shooting with film for this movie, so should I take steps to prepare myself better for the HDX100 like buying the new powerbook g5 and learning final cut pro? And what does fcp 5 stand for? Also, do you think footage shot with athe AGDVX could be mixed with HDX100 footage--or out of the question? Oh, and thank you so much for you comments! This thread has helped me immensely!

[David Jimerson]

THANKS AGAIN, i have a dual layer DVD drive so im not too concerned about that part.

i will skip the vegas +production and just go with vegas 5.x...


thanks...

If you do not have the production bundle, if you want to mix and export 5.1 surround AC-3 files, you have to buy the AC-3 encoder separately for $280. It makes more sense to go with the production bundle (which costs less than Vegas 5 and the AC-3 encoder bought separately), because DVD Architect, even if you don't use it for authoring or burning, gives you the AC-3 encoder (which will also work with ACID) and the MPEG encoder, which are excellent options to have regardless.

[JimWells]

I would 2nd David Jimerson, the Vegas 5 & DVD Architect as a package is the best way to go. Using DVD DL disks is expensive way to go in comparison to keeping the length of your production to an optimum time.

[JimWells]

This is a quote from the Sony Vegas Forum.

"To the best of my knowledge no one has been able to create a DL DVD that plays reliably. That and the cost of the media might explain why they don't seem to be taking off. Why do you need to go to DL?

You can fit 2 hours of pretty good quality video onto a 4.7G DVD.
If you need to go out to replication as far as I know no replicator will accept DL masters, you need to output to DLT tape which DVDA etc do not support. You need either DVD Studio Pro or one of the Scenarist authoring apps and a DLT tape drive."

There were a number of messages about this problem. No one seems to have successfully burned a project to DL.

[marctronixx]

well i have burned many DL disks. granted i have not been using sonys dvd program. i use 2 other 3rd party programs. perhaps this post means that burning DLs using sonys program will not be reliable? otherwise, i dont see how anyone can justify DL disks in general not being reliable...

welp, i read this thread too late and just bought vegas 5.x.. so is there no way to just get the dvd architect proggie? im not real clear on this and sonys site is confusing.. to me atleast...

[marctronixx]

welp, i finally found the dvd architect software on sonys site. it was not plainly seen. i just upgraded my vegas 5.x to this version so all is well.