What about Post Production

F

freelanceposter

Member
I was hoping to glean some information from some of the experts with the following questions:

When it comes to working in post production for GH4 footage, does everybody use a specific piece of software which is deemed as best-of-breed?

I am scared to ask this next question...................without any previous post production experience, do I have a scary learning curve ahead of me? Or is software rather plug-and-play as long as I know mentally what it is that I am trying to achieve?

Thanks in advance to all the experts for your help.
 
Yeah, that's a really loaded question.
Premiere Pro, Final Cut X, and Avid Media Composer and the dominant editing and post software tools.
If you have not used at least Apple iMovie or Sony Vegas, or Pinnacle, then YES, you are indeed going to have a bit of a learning curve ahead of you.

What have you used in the past to edit videos you've shot?
 
DPStewart said:
Yeah, that's a really loaded question.
Premiere Pro, Final Cut X, and Avid Media Composer and the dominant editing and post software tools.
If you have not used at least Apple iMovie or Sony Vegas, or Pinnacle, then YES, you are indeed going to have a bit of a learning curve ahead of you.

What have you used in the past to edit videos you've shot?
Click to expand...

Nothing. I am the textbook definition of a newbie to shooting video.

I live and breath on the computer, and have for 25 years, yet when it comes to this...nobody is greener than I.
 
Actually, being a complete newbie is an advantage. FCPX is different enough from f.ex. Premiere or that from Media Composer, that it seems people who are really into one can have difficulty switching mentally into another and leaving behind the previous mental paradigm and muscle memory. Starting fresh is almost an advantage in this scenario. Regardless of which you pick, the real work is not the software, it is the process of editing - learning the concepts of editing for effect, rather than just learning the software. The biggest challenge in drawing is using your artistic sensibility, and which pencil it is that you pick is far less of an issue. Whichever tool you pick, you will master, and move onto what is most important: learning to edit. That said, if you are to pick an nle, and there are no technical or financial factors, and you are free to pick, ask yourself what your ultimate goal is. Because, if, f.ex., you wanted to just edit for your own projects, then FCPX is fine - but it is at this point in time not the NLE that working editors are likely to use for their professional engagements (compared to what FCP used to be)... maybe in time that will change and FCPX will take off again in the pro environment, but that's in the (speculative) future. Meanwhile, if you are really familiar with Adobe products and integrate them into your workflow a great deal, then Premiere may be something to pick. And so on. Ultimately, you can learn any of them, they're just tools.
 
OldCorpse said:
Actually, being a complete newbie is an advantage. FCPX is different enough from f.ex. Premiere or that from Media Composer, that it seems people who are really into one can have difficulty switching mentally into another and leaving behind the previous mental paradigm and muscle memory. Starting fresh is almost an advantage in this scenario. Regardless of which you pick, the real work is not the software, it is the process of editing - learning the concepts of editing for effect, rather than just learning the software. The biggest challenge in drawing is using your artistic sensibility, and which pencil it is that you pick is far less of an issue. Whichever tool you pick, you will master, and move onto what is most important: learning to edit. That said, if you are to pick an nle, and there are no technical or financial factors, and you are free to pick, ask yourself what your ultimate goal is. Because, if, f.ex., you wanted to just edit for your own projects, then FCPX is fine - but it is at this point in time not the NLE that working editors are likely to use for their professional engagements (compared to what FCP used to be)... maybe in time that will change and FCPX will take off again in the pro environment, but that's in the (speculative) future. Meanwhile, if you are really familiar with Adobe products and integrate them into your workflow a great deal, then Premiere may be something to pick. And so on. Ultimately, you can learn any of them, they're just tools.
Click to expand...

I truly appreciate your encouraging words. You have helped to put my mind at ease with choosing. I will continue to read first, and watch some tutorials online and see if I am naturally drawn to a specific tool prior to choosing which software to work with.

My footage will be solely for stock videography. I will not have any clients. I will always be working for myself. As a result, I do not anticipate ever working with sound, or changing light environments within a single shot since no single shot will be any longer than 30 seconds.

I live in Sayulita Mexico (about 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta). It is a charming little village of about 3,000 people where I can walk, or drive to multiple abandoned beaches which offer what I feel will be the perfect environment for "golden hour" footage which appears to sell well from what I have seen on the various stock websites.

I have other income coming in, so I am free to choose any products which work best, and take my time to learn and have fun with this new adventure.

Thanks again for your encouraging words!
 
I have to admit, my head is spinning and I am even more confused now than before.

Is it possible that I am needing something simpler than the suggestions which were offered?

When I created this thread, I thought that all I needed was a simple piece of software, yet everything I am reading about with these offerings sounds way beyond what I think I need.

Perhaps if somebody could take a moment and look at these clips and tell me what sort of software I would need:

http://www.istockphoto.com/video/family-on-the-beach-23546139?st=79edf57

http://www.istockphoto.com/video/child-walking-on-beach-23461556?st=79edf57

http://www.istockphoto.com/video/couple-relaxing-in-hammock-on-tropical-beach-15352755?st=79edf57

Each of these are essentially the type of video that I am trying to film. They are simple shots which will run between 15-30 seconds.

I was hoping to find a piece of software that would work with a GH4 that would simply help me keep track of clips, add some color grading to add a bit of punch, and be able to submit the clips to the stock video websites.

Each of those other pieces of software look like they are for professionals who might need to achieve things which I feel are beyond what I need.

Thanks again to anybody who can assist with suggestions.
 
Gotta ask: what computer are you using?

If an Apple then I'd recommend starting with iMovie. it's free and relatively easy to learn with LOTS of free youtube online tutorials. A transition to FCP X would be quite straightforward. FWIW, I have purchased the Ripple and IzzyVideo FCP X tutorials and found the Izzy package to be very good. I really like FCP X after transitioning from Premier Pro. That's JMO and definitely a subjective issue! There is no "best of breed" when it comes to NLE's.................... :grin:

If on a PC, then you have more than a couple inexpensive options including Adobe Premier Elements and Sony Movie Studio 13. There are others also! Youtube has a TON of video editing tutorials for all of these.

cheers
JohnG
 
John Godden said:
Gotta ask: what computer are you using?

If an Apple then I'd recommend starting with iMovie. it's free and relatively easy to learn with LOTS of free youtube online tutorials. A transition to FCP X would be quite straightforward. FWIW, I have purchased the Ripple and IzzyVideo FCP X tutorials and found the Izzy package to be very good. I really like FCP X after transitioning from Premier Pro. That's JMO and definitely a subjective issue! There is no "best of breed" when it comes to NLE's.................... :grin:

If on a PC, then you have more than a couple inexpensive options including Adobe Premier Elements and Sony Movie Studio 13. There are others also! Youtube has a TON of video editing tutorials for all of these.

cheers
JohnG
Click to expand...

I will be purchasing a new PC for this. My current laptop is not powerful enough. I contacted the support department of B&H and asked what I need and the rep indicated an option which sounds good. He said I should sign up for Adobe Creative Cloud. Once I was on the Adobe site, I noticed a product called Premiere Pro. Would that be the item that I would probably need to focus on initially?

It looks like I could pay $20/month (if paying up for a year in advance), so $240.....this would be wonderful if this is all I need.

Any further insight will be appreciated.

Thanks to everybody for your help.
 
freelanceposter said:
I will be purchasing a new PC for this. My current laptop is not powerful enough. I contacted the support department of B&H and asked what I need and the rep indicated an option which sounds good. He said I should sign up for Adobe Creative Cloud. Once I was on the Adobe site, I noticed a product called Premiere Pro. Would that be the item that I would probably need to focus on initially?

It looks like I could pay $20/month (if paying up for a year in advance), so $240.....this would be wonderful if this is all I need.

Any further insight will be appreciated.

Thanks to everybody for your help.
Click to expand...

OK, cool beans on the new HW.

Keep in mind you can download Premier Pro and use it for 1 month free. That trial period should be sufficient for you to decide if you like the program.

cheers
JohnG
 
Pp has very bad color managment, so at a minimum you will need either one of Ae or Speedgrade to get around that rather large weaklink,so up the monthly a few $$$...

you might also look at the free version of Avid Media Composer.. every film nominated for best editorial, best picture & best director at the Oscars this year was cut on it.. but given the price (free) i can understand why a salesguy could not remember that option :-)
http://apps.avid.com/MediaComposerFirst/

the full version has rental deal similar to pp;
http://www.avid.com/US/products/Media-Composer

if you are really looking for the best in class this is clearly the best creative editing system, so worth a look

also look at Lightworks, again many, many Oscar winners have been cut on that as well, basic version is free, subscription version is lowest of the three;
https://www.lwks.com/

Resolve also offers basic editing, and it's free but it also has by far the highest hardware requirments, so it may be the most expensive to get to a point where you can edit and playback a simple sequence
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ca/products/davinciresolve

Opening up a few more options is AD's Smoke
http://www.autodesk.com/products/smoke/overview

All but PP have correct color managment, so if not being forced into compromises seems like a good idea then i would look at the options.. if you are fine with how PP clips and crushes, and take care to work within thsoe limits, many folks do great work with it.. would not be my first choice tho, or even my third...
 
Whatever it is, don't start with dumbed down consumer grade software. I jumped head first back in university for a project using Premiere Pro and within hours was happily cutting footage. When I bought a cheap NLE that was aimed at consumers I found the dumbed down interface absolutely restrictive, to the point I actually found it harder to use.
 
Hi. Can anyone please shed any light on this? I recently filmed a talking heads presenter who was standing against an LED wall backdrop. I shot the presentation on an EX3 at 1080p. When I take the footage into Premier, it all looks fine on the timeline, but when I try to render or export it, the footage on the timeline and the exported film is all pixelated. Can anyone help please? Thank you. Roy
 
Freelanceposter, I shoot with the GH4. Any of the software packages mentioned should work fine. I know the choices must seem a little overwhelming. You should make sure that the computer that you select matches up to the PC specifications/requirements listed for the NLE software. I have used Edius since 2009 after leaving Adobe Premiere.
 
You are looking for a video editing tool? Wow, there are so many free online video editor. You need to make sure the software support your video format exported from your GH4 memory card.
 
Mark Williams said:
Freelanceposter, I shoot with the GH4. Any of the software packages mentioned should work fine. I know the choices must seem a little overwhelming. You should make sure that the computer that you select matches up to the PC specifications/requirements listed for the NLE software. I have used Edius since 2009 after leaving Adobe Premiere.
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Hi Mark,

I appreciate your suggestion.

I ended up buying a Mac Pro cylinder for the computer. A Samsung 4K monitor, and hired a tutor for 4 hours to walk me through how to use FCPX. Additionally I subscribe to Lynda.com for whenever I need a little reminder on how to do something.

I could not be happier. Editing with FCPX and a good computer is a piece of cake for the simple editing that I am going with my little videos.

Thanks to everybody for their help and advice.
 
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