Best Editing Station for Doc and Film

Shiloh Arts

Shiloh Arts

Well-known member
Hi Best and Brightest,

I'm pricing out different editing stations, and I’m torn between using a MAC or sticking to PC platform. My question is, what are your experiences with either or platform, and would you suggest one over the other, why?


Thanks for your time.
 
The way I would approach it is to determine exactly what your workflow will be, what formats will you be shooting and editing with, will it be broadcast, film editing, etc. Knowing your workflow will help determine what kind of hardware you will need. Then try out various editing programs and see which one fits your workflow and feels like a good fit from a user perspective. It will be a combination of hardware and software needs and of course budget that will ultimately determine what platform to go with. You may decide Adobe Premiere can do everything you need, and you can get all the hardware you need that will work with it for just the right budget. Or maybe it's Final Cut Pro that you like, and you can fit the hardware into your budget. Really it all comes down to:

Software of choice (FCP, premiere, avid, etc.)
Hardware (what's needed to get the job done, what platform is it available on)
Budget (Can you afford your ideal setup? If not, maybe it's time to look at another option, that although not ideal still can get the job done)
Platform of choice (If you know a PC really well and can do everything you need to do with that platform, then that can factor in. If your a Mac only user, there are certainly good options there too. Really just depends how partial you are to a particular platform. For me, whatever gets the job done and can do it in a way that is least painful.)

I highly recommend trying out as many programs as you can before deciding. There's no better way to make a decision than to get hands on with a product. It saves a lot of the disappointment later on.

Personally, I'm on Final Cut Pro, and it serves me well, even on my now ancient G4.

Steve
 
And just to add to this, I really think the platform wars are kind of a waste of time. I have seen great products that were created on both PC and Macs. At this point, I really think it comes down to what I mentioned above. Get what will work best for you and your situation. We're all doing different kinds of projects, dealing with different levels of money, and so we'll all have different needs and wants. Get a system that fit your situation and I think you'll be happy.

Not that anyone was going to start a platform war. :thumbsup:

Steve
 
Steve,

Great insight! Thanks for taking your time to reply to the question. Since the learning curve on some editing applications can be great, my first plans were to hire professional editors to edit a documentary project I’m working on. However, for the price I would pay an editor I can purchase a solid system, while gain much needed experience.

Nevertheless, learning the editing tool on a documentary that's very dear to you is maybe not a good idea. Either way I priced a MAC, but I would much rather have versatility for HD, since I believe that Final Cut HD is the only tool for editing HD that is available for the MAC. Someone told me that Avid is not planning on making a HD suite in the MAC platform.

What is the industry using currently?
 
My opinion is that Final Cut Pro can handle HD needs very well. But it's the hardware that will require you to make some tough decisions and will set your bank account back a bit. Many ways to go about it. If you want to take it from start to finish, you will need an HD capture card. Decklink and AJA make great cards at moderate prices. You will need a fast drive array capable of sustaining large data rates, and you will need monitoring of the HD signal. Lots of cash needed. However, if you are shooting something like DVCPRO HD with a Varicam or something of that nature, you can utilize firewire to capture that footage. See Panasonic and Appple websites which describe the process.

Another option is to have your HD material transfered to MiniDV, edit with those which will take away some of the headaches, and then when you have your edit done, take it to a facility that can do a conform and finish for you in HD, and get you the broadcast spec you will need if it's going on air.

The learning curve is not monumental, but depending on your editing background, could take a little time to grasp everything. I worked on Avids for a number of years and the switch to Final Cut took some getting used to, but not too bad. Now, I primarily edit with Final Cut Pro. The industry seems to be adopting the FCP systems more and more into their workflows. Avid's marketshare, although still very strong is certainly taking a little hit with FCP's progress.

Talk to the guys at www.promax.com if you want to put together a system. They have turnkey systems built for HD work. The guy I've dealt with in the past is Larry Schultz. They can answer all the technical questions you might have before purchasing the system.

Good luck!

Steve
 
Steve once again great advice and I appreciate all the in-depth information.I'll give promax a buzz. What's your back ground as far as production, are you independent or work for a studio?
 
I own a production company with a partner. I have worked at production companies in the past, and then decided to start one of my own. So far, so good.

Steve
 
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