Best computer/software for editing?

Yah for sure if u learn on a MAc u'll get more work, but for an old horse like me... editing in premire for 10 years.. i can do the same **** that mac or vegas or whatever ppl can do...but that stigma is still there..wich is lame.. if its not final cut its not PRO.. bah...
 
Yah for sure if u learn on a MAc u'll get more work, but for an old horse like me... editing in premire for 10 years.. i can do the same shi* that mac or vegas or whatever ppl can do...but that stigma is still there..wich is lame.. if its not final cut its not PRO.. bah...


Believe me, I have been making the same argument for years. Damn those Mac commercials with the PC dork!
 
Premiere, Vegas, FinalCut, Avid (as gay as it may be), doesnt matter. Its whatever one you like the most. Download the trial versions of all the windows ones, see how you like them, then make your choice. If you dont like any of them, then see if you can use a friends mac to play with the trial version of FinalCut.
 
I'd also add that, whichever direction you go, pay some money for some application specific training. Clients love a fast (and talented) editor.

--SM
 
Mac - FCP or Avid Xpress Pro
PC - Avid XPress Pro

Low cost, high productivity. Avid has a script function that's unbeatable for scripted work. FCP has lots of bundled extras that are cool, but that means Mac only.

Plus it has media management that you will be thankful for at a later date.

Plus feature films are usually simpler, mainly cuts, fades, dissolves.

Then save your money up and get some film look plugins on any of the Adobe stuff, available on both Mac and PC.

I run both, pretty much all the time. Every day.

Don't know much about Liquid, have Vegas pro 8 and don't use it much, ditto for Premiere Pro.

More questions, ask away.
 
David Jimerson: Have you ever even used FCP? If not, then it goes back to what most people have said: it's what you're used to.

I've used Premiere on Windows, and own FCP Suite with a Mac dual 2GHz, 1.5GB RAM, OS 10.4.9. I love FCP (and all its ancillary programs, now that I've fixed Compressor). I had to create a 5-minute video using stills and all I had to use was a PC with Premiere (my pre-FCP days). It took two days to finish the video because--and this happened every time--I would apply a transition or movement to one still, save the job, and Premiere would quit. I had to reboot after every transition! I swore I would never use a PC for video again, and I bought FCP (I've used Macs since 1985) and haven't looked back since.

I'll admit, this was a few years ago, and I'm sure that Premiere and PCs have gotten better, but I'd still rather deal with a quirk in FCP than a flawless Premiere on a PC.

Just my 2¢...
 
David Jimerson: Have you ever even used FCP?

Look above. I said that I did. I have, and have used, them all. But even if you're "used to" something, it doesn't mean it's the best tool for the particular job you have in front of you. I like to keep a rather wide and varied set of tools at my disposal.


I've used Premiere on Windows, and own FCP Suite with a Mac dual 2GHz, 1.5GB RAM, OS 10.4.9. I love FCP (and all its ancillary programs, now that I've fixed Compressor). I had to create a 5-minute video using stills and all I had to use was a PC with Premiere (my pre-FCP days). It took two days to finish the video because--and this happened every time--I would apply a transition or movement to one still, save the job, and Premiere would quit. I had to reboot after every transition! I swore I would never use a PC for video again, and I bought FCP (I've used Macs since 1985) and haven't looked back since.
I didn't say anything about Premiere.
 
I have a Dell laptop with 2gb ram, 80gb hd, some externals and ran premiere pro 2 and never had a problem. i tried out vegas 7 and decided to uninstall premiere because vegas ran much smoother and i was able to play my time line even with magic bullet effects and other things on my footage clean through, premiere lagged bad for some reason. i vote for vegas and a computer with at least a gig of ram and decent hd space.
 
heres an idea.. why don't you just flip a coin, PC or MAC. and which ever the coin falls on, choose that.. i don't mean to be patronizing, but the whole "which is better" is a little redundant. the reason i say that is on a PC, you can get Premiere Pro CS3, Avid and Vegas.. Mac, You get FCP, Premiere Pro and Avid. which ever you choose, you will get a great choice that will more than fulfill and editing/graphics requirements. PC and MAC do the same thing. it just depends if you buy into the corporate slogan.. personally i'm using premiere pro 2.0 on a refurbished dell precision. does the job and the interface is very similar to FCP which i have used in uni. a cut is a cut. that all there is too it.. peace
 
Also dont forget vegas on mac via boot camp! :) So in reality the mac can do anything... weird..... lol

Jon
 
NLEs are like women: there is only one that is right for you, and even that one wont be perfect. But, once you find that one, it will satisfy you as much as you need.
 
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Take it for what it's worth...as i'm a n00b.

I shot a wedding for my 1st anything. It was shot in 24p.

I was able to drop it flawlessly into Premiere CS3, and it applied the appropriate pulldown and set up the timeline, etc with no problems. Playback is smooth and real time.

I'm mostly a color correcting/compositing/FX person and use After Effects a LOT. That being said, the dynamic link in CS3 has proven to be a valuable asset. I no longer have to render out something in After Effects to put it into a timeline, which is good, because if i have a change, then I don't have to re-render it to put it back into the timeline.

I was able to apply Magic Bullet Looks and still play back in real time. I love my Mac, but when having to choose between FCP2 and still having to get After Effects (I swear by AFX), i'd rather just coin up and get the CS3 collection.

With no experience in anything save for After Effects, i can say that Premiere was easy to use and I had no performance issues.

It is worth noting that when exporting ~1.5hrs to Mpeg2 for DVD that it took ~5-7hrs into Encore. Last time I color corrected something in After Effects on dual G5 it took 11hrs so, i'm still happy with that.
 
All I have to say is that even premiere pro 1.0 gets the job done, but avid is the industry standard still. It was said in here before, but sd footage can seriously be cut on anything, I cut mine on a 5 year old dell.
 
I have a 20" iMac G5 (iSight version), 2.1GHz, 1.5Gb memory, and it works perfectly for DV footage and works very well with 1080i footage too (a little slower but not much).
 
I'm looking into spending 3k on a Mac Pro just because Shake 4 and Motion 3

roar.. if you have 3k to spend on a computer.. build your own or have someone professional build you a PC... a mac that costs 3k will probably be a dual core with like... 2.6ghz ... with 3k you could have a quad core pc .. and have much more power for your buck.. macs are Godly, but they are very costly... build a pc with 3k and you can make a GODLY pc.. even more godly than a mac that comes pre assembled for the same price.. ..rawr...
 
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