Young, Broke and Handsome

JoeNash

JoeNash

Well-known member
Ha, well i thought i would ask a couple of the veterans some questions about upgrades and importance in purchasing them. Let me explain myself first,

I'm 20 years old, and have been editing using FCP since i was a soph in Highschool, now i'm a Junior @ Muhlenberg College and still editing. I've worked freelance for corporations doing videos, work freelance for a production/rental house and have been emerged in video for a while. I'm not doing videos much more independently myself and im having a hard time deciding which upgrades are more important to me and my projects coming up.

Right now im writting my proposal for a video for my school to do a 4-6 minute vid. on student athletes. Shooting will begin in about a month, and i'm trying to decide what is most important for me to purchase to produce a good video for this and continue upgrading what i own.

Right now i own a DVX(not a) and a Dual G5. I had FCP HD on my old powerbook but it wont transfer so i'm in the process of trying to decide what is most important for me to purchase next.

What i'm thinking as upgrades to be are these:

FCP Studio ($700 with academic discount)
dsr-11 (about $1k on ebay)
Mattebox (about $1k, i dont wanna skimp out i wanna get a good one that can last me a while)
CRT Monitor (for my mini edit suit, i'm guessing i dunno about 300-400)
35mm Adapter (my theory is i can shoot with this and have great quality image and cheap price, i'm look at letus35, so about $400)

Now i cannot purchase all these at once (obvisoly im a college student), but what do you guys think in order of importance would be best to purcahse first to complete my current project than be able to use my payment from that to continue upgrades, thanks a lot guys.
 
or other things you guys think i should get before some other things i have listed too
 
I think FCP studio is the obvious first choice, considering you can't do anything with your footage until you have it. Are you going to be using motion and dvd studio and all that other jazz? if not you can save some money there.

right now, what you can do without on that list it the dsr-11 (capture from camera), and a crt monitor. also, PM mike dawson for info about his my35. It's a bit cheaper than the letus.

good luck.
 
Yea, well FCP is OBVIOSLY the first choice, i'm just struggling because its so much money, i will be using DVD STUDIO and would really like to start using motion so studio for me seems the way to go

my only other problem is, i dont know how i would link a CRT monitor for accurate color correcting without a dv deck, i dont see how i would hook it up, so i feel like dsr has to be second in line. I'll check out mikes my35 too ive been trying to follow up on everyones new 35mm's these days
 
Hmmmm.... that seems like a high price for FC Studio academic... I've seen $499 and $399...

A cheapo miniDV cam can act as a deck rather than the DSR-11. This won't affect your filmmaking ability, just perhaps your post convenience - and likely not even that.

A 35mm adapter does nothing for you without lenses... and good lenses cost A LOT.

Mattebox - you can use Matteblox as a much cheaper light control solution; it's pretty robust. Remember, if you're thinking of using matte box for filters, good filters cost a bit, too, and 4x4s tend to cost a lot more than screw-ons.

Finally - I see your list mentions nothing about audio! Improving your sound quality is one of the most important and oft-overlooked aspects of production!

-Barry
 
I'll take a look at FCP Studio academic that was just off the apple site mabye i can find it somewhere else cheaper,

I know 35mm Adapter wont do anything w/o lenses but i've seen lenses for $200 and under, so i could pick up like a 20mm 50mm and 100mm probably for decent price

Now Mattebox - I understand good filters cost a bit, but i've been editing and working with clients for over 4+ years now, so i need to step up my game and the quicker i step it up, the more money im able to charge.

Now my school has some nice sachtlers for tripod and senneheiser mics and lavs of such so tripod/audio i can bank on my school for free usage, i'm just trying to fill in all the gaps otherwise.
 
In terms of 35mm adapters and lenses it seems that you get what you pay for. I personally haven't seen the my35 mentioned on the board before which does not mean it isn't an excellent adapter. Just not as exposed to the public as others. However I am not 100 percent positive that the images you'd get from $200 dollars or less lenses (on ebay?) will really help out your productions that much. Because with most 35mm adapters comes a rail system and a whole new shooting setup for which you WILL need to change your shooting style and workflow.

The glass on the DVX seems to get knocked around from time to time in 35mm adapter discussions. Amazing things can and have been done with it. I would argue that a 35mm adapter should be a low priority on your list. If you were shooting mainly features, docs, or short narrative films perhaps it'd be a different story, but you mention alot of corporate or promotional video work (which is great initiative for a college student) and I don't think a 35mm adapter is a necessity when the DVX can provide a great DOF without alot of the considerations that come with 35mm adapters. Not saying to discount one altogether just that it should be a lower priority.

My next question is what about a light kit? I don't see mention of one anywhere. If you don't have a good pro kit i would argue that should be number 2 on your list.

A very close to 1st number 2.
 
my school has lights too, soft boxes the works

i'm just focusing on my edit suite and my camera

i think i will push the adapter way back on the list, im just trying to decide between i guess mattebox or dv deck, does anyone know cheap dv deck or have one? can you hook up a crt monitor w/o a deck? i dont think you can, but if anyone knows tbhat would be great. So i guess i would stand right now as

FCP
dv Deck
CRT Monitor
Mattebox
 
I can think of about a million things you could use before a mattebox. I'd really consider that a luxury item at this stage of the game, unless your #1 goal is to look cool. Nothing against that if you think it will work and attract clients, but the utility of a mattebox versus just about anything else you could buy is pretty limited.

For three lenses of decent quality to use with your 35mm adapter, expect to pay about $800-1200 new. You say you can get them cheaply, but there is really little to no point in getting the adapter if you then opt for crap lenses.

I'm really unclear on your line of questioning here, to be honest. What is it you want to be doing? Are you asking what you need to do THIS JOB? To be a D.P.? To become a director? I can't tell where your line is between near and long-term. I think that's what's confusing you. When I think "video for school about student athletes", I don't necessarily think 35mm Adapter. So maybe that's a totally unnecessary expense here. Maybe not. Hard to say without honestly knowing what your goals are.
 
the difference between the my35 and other adapters is that mike hand makes it for you. he's not a company, just a guy who looked up some schematics.
 
That's great then and good luck to him.

I have an buddy still in school for engineering who does the same with steadcams, jibs, and is right now working on a 35mm adapter for a senior thesis.

Of course he needs me for all his "beta testing" free of charge. :evil:
 
dougspice said:
I can think of about a million things you could use before a mattebox. I'd really consider that a luxury item at this stage of the game, unless your #1 goal is to look cool. Nothing against that if you think it will work and attract clients, but the utility of a mattebox versus just about anything else you could buy is pretty limited.

For three lenses of decent quality to use with your 35mm adapter, expect to pay about $800-1200 new. You say you can get them cheaply, but there is really little to no point in getting the adapter if you then opt for crap lenses.

I'm really unclear on your line of questioning here, to be honest. What is it you want to be doing? Are you asking what you need to do THIS JOB? To be a D.P.? To become a director? I can't tell where your line is between near and long-term. I think that's what's confusing you. When I think "video for school about student athletes", I don't necessarily think 35mm Adapter. So maybe that's a totally unnecessary expense here. Maybe not. Hard to say without honestly knowing what your goals are.
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Well i think you are CONFUSED about my previous posts, #1, sound/lighting is taken care of, as i said in my previous post, right now my funds are to be going towards

A) Upgrades on my edit suite
B) my DVX

Mattebox - To me a mattebox is a VERY important tool for controling lighting in situations and outdoor shooting especially. This will be key for this PROJECT i am working on (lots of outside shooting of athletes). I am just trying to see what would be most important in terms of completing this project well, and also for upcoming projects.

Adapter - This will wait, i love the way it looks and i have some other shorts and docs in the process of possible shooting but not for a couple of months, so i will put this one aside.

As for short and long term, in short term, i would say this CURRENT project i am working on. I work on videos for clients about 12 months of the year, AS WELL as working freelance for a rental/production company as grip/ camera utility. Long term would be 1 year, when i am stepping up to larger clients other than a video for my school (Muhlenberg College www.muhlenberg.edu and i've done plenty of work for Dymo www.dymo.com) I am not completley new when it comes to video so please do not talk down to me.

I am a freelance editor, I am a freelance videographer, a full time student, and a fulltime employee, and i'm just trying to set goals of importance.

Hope i didnt come off as an @sshole, but i am well trained and just looking some advice with money and the DVX. and my main question still stands, can i connect a CRT monitor to my g5 without a deck? thank you
 
Like I said, get a cheapo miniDV camcorder to use as a deck.

DON'T buy a combination miniDV/SVHS or miniDV/DVD-R deck from JVC, even though the price looks attractive... they pretty much don't work at all.

However, I have a JVC GR-D30 camcorder that I bought for about $200 almost 2 years ago, which has worked flawlessly as a deck.
 
FORMATT 500 is about the cheapest and a most stable mattebox. I've got the matblox and do not recommend that if you're going to use filters.
 
I'm trying to *give* you some advice with money and the DVX. Sorry if I sound condescending, sometimes I do that. No harm meant.

Anyway, if you're not getting into filters (another several hundred $$), there's nothing you can do with a mattebox that you can't do with some black foil and gaffer's tape. If money is #1, there's your answer. However, I absolutely understand that appearances matter, and own(ed, it seems to have been stolen) a mattebox myself.

There are ways to connect your machine to a monitor without a deck; it depends on the monitor. You could passthrough video out via firewire through your DVX and then through the component outputs to the monitor. You could get a decklink card with BNC connectors. But in your case, yes, I would probably say to just go ahead and buy the deck. A deck is certainly something I would consider more important than a mattebox.
 
JoeNash said:
Yea, well FCP is OBVIOSLY the first choice, i'm just struggling because its so much money, i will be using DVD STUDIO and would really like to start using motion so studio for me seems the way to go

my only other problem is, i dont know how i would link a CRT monitor for accurate color correcting without a dv deck, i dont see how i would hook it up, so i feel like dsr has to be second in line. I'll check out mikes my35 too ive been trying to follow up on everyones new 35mm's these days
Click to expand...



Motion needs the latest video card$$$ and 4g of ram to operate in all its glory, add that to your g5 if you did not upgrade in the last year. well over a grand.
 
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