Will the iMac do AE justice?

[milvid]

I'm thinking about getting an iMac 24inch with 2 gb of ram. Is the iMac worthy of rendering in AE. Or should I wait a little longer and get the Mac Pro.
One more question. If I did get the Mac Pro, can I get 4 gb of memory with 8 512mb sticks. That would save a lot of money compared to 4-1gb sticks.
Just wondering what configuration will work best with AE without breaking the bank.
Thanks for all the advice in advance.

[pmgmedia]

Either way, iMac or MacPro, don't expect AE to run very fast. It's not a universal binary program yet. (It would probably run faster on a Quad Core G5 than an Intel Dual Core 2.) Mid-2007 Adobe should be releasing the new version 8 and it will be the universal binary (Intel chip) version.

[SomewhereinLA]

I just completed a project (HD 1080) which was partially done using AE on a macbook pro using the saphire plug-ins (which are very rendering intensive) and it work very well. Of course version 8 will be native and quite faster, but the sotware is very stable abd fast enough... I hear that a public beta should be out within a month or two.

[ChrisLyon]

Will AE run on an iMac? Yes. Should you still wait and get a Mac Pro? Yes.

[milvid]

So on to my second question. If I did get a Mac Pro can I put 8-512mb sticks of memory as opposed to 4-1gb sticks and save $500-600.
Or is there an advantage to the larger sticks???

[pmgmedia]

The larger sticks make your computer run 780% faster.

(Haha. No they don't.)

[ChrisLyon]

The ease of upgrading to more RAM is diminished. If you ever wanted to upgrade to more RAM then you would be screwed because you would have to buy all new sticks. Spend the money to save yourself money in the future. I promise you will buy more RAM in the future.

[milvid]

I'm pretty sure 4gb of RAM will be enough. Will be using the new Adobe suite when it comes out.

[ChrisLyon]

You say that now. But when APS 3 comes out (sooner than you think) you will be saying otherwise.

I'm just trying to help you out.

[milvid]

If not 4gb, then how many???
How many do you have??
Right now I have 2gb in my PC and that seems to be enough.

I won't be running Window's on the Mac.

[ChrisLyon]

I have 8 gigs. But that's not the point. You should get gig sticks (instead of 512s) so that you can add more later without having to replace the one's you already have. If you get all 512s and want to upgrade to more later (and you will) you will have to replace those that you already have with, say, 8 gig sticks rather than just adding 4 if you were to get 4 gig sticks now.

[milvid]

Point taken and will consider 1gb sticks
Courious, what kinds of programs do you run that need 8gb

I went to your site and checked out some videos. Pretty good!

[ChrisLyon]

It's not that all of my projects need that power. It's just when rendering After Effects projects it can take a long butt time to do it. I can use all the RAM I can get to make my computer more productive. And everything since summer 2005 was shot in HD (even if it isn't on the website) for broadcast and all that. I color correct and master all in HD so the 8 gigs helps! :)

[milvid]

Now that you mention HD I can see where the 8gb would come into play. It will be a hard pill to swallow ($$$) but I think I will have to swallow.
If you don't mind me asking what kind of setup do you have? Cameras, decks, lights, mics, monitors, computers.....

Thanks for all the advise so far.
:dankk2:
Mike

[ChrisLyon]

Of course I don't mind.

Camera: JVC GY-HD 110U (the only 720p/24p loose lens system on our money scale) Picture (http://www.perennialmedia.com/files4u/110u.JPG)

I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's so new, I haven't shot anything planned enough to put online yet and call it a real project. So none of the videos on my site do it justice.

Deck: I use a deck only when importing DV tapes right now because I haven't had a chance to get a 720p deck.

Lights: Amvona and Britek depending on the situation.

Mics: Azden and Sennheisers.

Monitors: (2) Dell 20 inch Widescreen moniters at 1680x1050. Picture (http://www.perennialmedia.com/files4u/DSC00930.JPG)

Desktop Computer:
Dell XPS with Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit
Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad Core Rated 2.66GHz each.
RAM: 8GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Internal HDDs: Serial ATA2 RAID With Dual 500GB Hard Drives
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX (768 Mb dedicated)
Audio: Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI 5.1 Surround
Drives: (2) 16X DVD+/-RW DL Drives

Laptop Computer:
Compaq Presarop X6000 CTO
Intel Pentium 4 Rated 3.2GHz.
RAM: 2GB
Internal HDDs: 60 GB HDD
External HDDs: 120 GB Seagate, (2) 300GB Maxtors
Video Card: nVidia 256 Dedicated
Audio: Sound Blaster 2 Standard
Drives: (1) 8X Internal DVD+/-RW Drive, (1) External 16X DVD+/-RW DL Drive

The desktop is a haus. It's ginormous. A 7 grand one at that. There is a picture of it below. But, think about it this way... Either put a down payment on a 130 grand Avid Suite (remember that's just an editing system) or get All the things listed in this post (minus the laptop) for just under 15 grand.

Hmm. Let me think...

Picture of the computer with a CD case next to it. (http://www.perennialmedia.com/files4u/DSC00928.JPG)

My business funds all of this by the way.

[milvid]

WOW!!!
That computer is a beast!!!
I bet you can really tear some AE up.

Can't wait to see some footage from the camera.
I shoot video in the military and all we use is the $15-50K AVIDS. I would personally like to use Final cut or Premiere.

I'm in the process of starting up a video company. Any advice since you have done it quite well?
I'm in the process of creating a website (www.masmedia.us (http://www.masmedia.us)) and getting gear. What do you recommend for gear?
Will probably start with weddings. But after that what else will bring in the money?
I just want o pick your brain a little to get some good advice.
Thanks,
Mike

[ChrisLyon]

I suppose the first thing to do is make it a legal company. Go to your local court house and do the paperwork. It's no more than $100 for a registration fee in most places. Also check to see if there are any tax incentives for your business. In Louisiana anyone who has a legit business and distribution plans can get a great tax break. After that, get a bank account just for the business and start putting money in there.

Once you have that done, buy equipment. If you are doing weddings, get two or three standard def cameras. DVXs would be awesome. HD will be a step later on down the road.

Get a system. You are already on the right path there. I use a Windows machine, but Premiere will be on the Mac soon enough. I'd get a Mac and use FCP and After Effects with DVD Studio Pro.

That leads us to the software. If you get a Mac, use Final Cut, After Effects 7, DVD Studio Pro as well as Photoshop. These all are essential except After Effects which is optional- but should only be dropped if you can't afford it.

Tripods: Get some that are good. Price=Quality here. Manfrotto are decently priced with great quality.

Lights. Most of the time in weddings, you won't use them either because the lights in the sanctuary are sufficient and because you can't justify to any bride that big metal stands should be on the stage. Britek is the best way to go and will be sufficient for interviews and supplemental lighting.

Microphones. Azden or Sennheiser. Azden is more cost-effective, but Sennheiser is the best there is for indie digital productions.

You may need to take out a loan. There is no shame in it if you know you have the market that can pay it back.

Save yourself the heartache and use B&H for as much equipment is possible. Usually they package their stuff with a bunch of extras. When I got my JVC, I got 3 batteries. One studio battery and 2 standard batteries. I got 10 MiniDV tapes, a camera bag, a few filters and things- All for a lower price than most other places. Great prices and great service. Good Jews.

[milvid]

Thanks for the advice.
Looking forward to seeing some JVC footage!:)