Powerbook upgrades to use FCP glitch free

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Filmfanatic

Active member
I am days away from buying a 15" Powerbook with superdrive for filmmaking (the 12 " is to small for me and the 17" is to big). I will use it for only two things: writing scripts and using FPC. I want to get the necessary upgrades so I can be confident the PB will run smoothly.

With my DVX100A, I will be making a few (3-5) short films from 5 to 30 minutes in length during the first year or two. Later I will make a 90 min feature length film.

I'm thinking it will be best to get a larger hard drive for editing.

My questions: 1) Since I'm doing shorts for a while, should I just boost up the internal HD (and how big should I go) when I buy the PB or get an external HD right away?

2) What other upgrades or additions would you all suggest to make my life easier and as enjoyable as possible?

Thanks
 
Filmfanatic said:
2) What other upgrades or additions would you all suggest to make my life easier and as enjoyable as possible?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Upgrade to a G5 PowerMac or iMac.
 
Thanks but I must go with a laptop. The portable factor is very important.

I forgot to mention I am a beginner with filmmaking and with FCP.
 
You can upgrade but it's certainly easier right of the gate to get everything configured the way you want it. Get the largest hard drive and the best video display system they offer.
Get Superdrive so you can burn DVDs.
You can use an external drive BUT if you bought the Powerbook for portability you're now carrying around an additional bring plus cables plus power suppply. The self powered drives are usually 80GB or less in size.

Make sure you get sufficent RAM. 1 GB minimum. 2-3 better.
 
Scottdvx100 said:
Make sure you get sufficent RAM. 1 GB minimum. 2-3 better.
Click to expand...

Being a Mac Laptop owner and upgrading to Tiger I found non-Apple RAM caused may crashes with my laptop and a lot of others I talk to. You can get the Genuine Apple Samsung RAM at Newegg.com. Buying thru Apple is expensive but avoid headaches and buy the Samsung RAM.
 
I'm cutting a feature right now on my Powerbook. It's the 17" 100 gb. I got it a couple months ago and it's been great!

I bought myself a 250gb external lacie harddrive at the same time, and my entire project(like 30 tapes worth of footage) is on it.

I've been extremely happy with it. I'd recommend getting an external hard drive right away if you think you'll ever be handling multiple projects at the same time, cuz the space can get taken up easily.

Even with the 100 gb internal drive I got, even before I'd touched the computer 15gb's were taken up by the programs and operating system that come with the computer. I bought the production suite... after installing all the programs my harddrive is down to 45gb... the space disappears fast.

Then, for writing you can just take the computer wherever and type away saving the small word processing files on the computer. Whenever you want to edit, just carry an extra bag with the external and find an outlet.
 
If I remember correctly, the "regular" 15 inch comes with an 80gb drive and you can only upgrade to a 100. I would say probably either way once you get to the point of working on a 90 minute film you are going to HAVE to get an external HD. My suggestion is to wait until that time because six months from now you can probably get more GB for the buck. In th meantime, if you want to spend the extra $80 or so for upgrading 20gb of HD space, you will always be glad you have the extra space down the road. Video takes up TONS of space so after about two or three short projects I was having to erase all my master footage on the HD to make room for the new projects.
 
Oh, other upgrades you were asking about? You are going to be pulling your hair out trying to edit on a screen that size. It is possible of course, but a huge pain! Prices are going WAY down on LCD screens. I just bought a 19 inch gateway LCD for $350 and I am sure you can find cheaper than that as time goes on. If you do a decent amount of editing, you will probably be thankful to have a larger monitor.
 
Thanks for these great ideas and info. Its all a big help.

Just to add a bit more info, I have a Dell at home and have been trying to get comfortable with Vegas 5 with not much luck. It made me feel that I did not like editing at all and only enjoyed creating stories and working with actors and crew.

I have a few extra bucks and wanted to try a Mac with FCP as a last effort before I leave my editing to someone else. Of course over the years I've heard how user friendly Macs are especially with graphic stuff like FCP.

I have a great NEC 19"monitor and thats one of many reasons I want the PB because it allows me to use both monitors together. I also reciently discovered I know more people than I thought that use Macs and some use FCP, also there is a great Mac store about a mile away.

I don't expect learning FCP to be a cakewalk but I'm excited about giving it a go. Watching friends (who are not FCP experts) do there editing with relative ease is amazing to watch.

Anyway, thanks again for your suggestions. Its all news to me.
 
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