Workflow advice

M

mike_video_guy

New member
Hi there,

I am looking to start project soon and am looking for advice on what workflow would be best. After a bit of research I have been inundated with different views on using the 150.

Basically, I want to edit native AVCHD on a Macbook Pro. I have used FCP now for 5+years, but am not interested in FCP if I would have to convert everything to use it. I have heard varying reports of Premier Pro CS4 being able to handle native AVCHD. Can anyone confirm this?

And whats with Edius? I have not heard of them very much at all, but they seem to be crawling out of the woodwork. I also believe I would get a free copy of Edius with purchase of the HMC150.

I wouldnt mind going to Vegas Pro, but I dont believe they are Mac compatible.

The projects are going to be simple edits varying in length from 2 - 30 minutes in length.

Can anyone offer a clear and concise answer as to what program might work best?

Thank you in advance.
 
Premiere CS5 will be released in the next week or so. Aside from about a 40% speed improvement (from what I've read), it should be more stable. It *will* handle AVCHD natively. It will also save you the expense of buying a Windows PC (unless your Macbook isn't 64bit, as Premiere CS5 is 64bit only). Vegas is PC only, and I think Edius is too.

That being said, I use CS4 on a PC and convert everything to Cineform to edit. Can I ask why you don't want to go through converting everything?
 
I was under the impression that converting everything will add extra time and makes for larger files thus requiring more storage. Just my thought that editing native will make for a much simpler workflow without having to convert everything I shoot.

Preferred workflow:
Shoot - transfer - edit - output - drink a beer
 
Yes... it just depends on what how big a deal it is to you (everyone's different). ProRes, Cineform, CanopusHQ, etc do take up a lot more space... but there is the extra advantage for some systems of being less taxing on the CPU. And if you plan on doing a lot of color correction or effects, it may be better to do it in a format like ProRes.

When I transcode, I usually do it over night, or when I'm away, or in some sort of down time. Plus, I would think buying a few extra hard drives would be cheaper than buying a new NLE or NLE+computer.

Thus, your workflow ends up being:
Shoot - transfer - transcode/drink a beer - edit - output - drink a beer :beer:
 
One more vote for transcoding.
I really like premiere and been using it for 10 years now, but CS4 has whole bunch of issues with AVCHD that lurk around and jump out when you least expect them.
 
I guess the big thing with transcoding is how fast your turnaround time is. If you need to turn stuff around fast and it's pretty simple edits, than it would make more sense to get a program that edits natively. But if you don't need to turn it around quickly and are happy with FCP, might as well stick with it. And by quickly, I mean the next day or two.
 
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