NLE's

[billwil]

I'm also a Vegas user...have been since Vegas Video 3.0. Sometimes an NLE just clicks with someone...and such was the case with Vegas for me after trying many of them, and I never looked back. I'm sure the others are great, especially now, but it's been a long time since I've used anything else. I'm simply a hobbyist, but always like to have adequate tools, especially with software, so I use the full version of the product, and always end up upgrading when new versions are released.

Color correction is good, audio is stellar, love the easy scopes, envelopes and effects chains are extremely flexible and make sense to me (which is important). Even has 5.1 mixing capabilities and a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 (among other profiles) encoder. I don't use the less expensive "Movie Studio" version of the product, but have recommended it to a couple of other hobbyists who have really liked it, so I'm sure it is a good product as well, and is only slightly more than a hundred bucks for the HD capable version, sans DD encoding and some other "pro" features. Not bad.

I also use some music generation software from Sony Creative Software, including Cinescore and Acid Pro. Nice stuff, very easy to use, and integrates well with Vegas. DVD authoring is very powerful. This suite does everything I need, pretty much. Now I just need to get an HDDVD burner, and maybe a little talent.

 

[LowVizWiz]

August issue of DV magazine has a nice overview of the main features of the big 3 off the shelf NLE's (Adobe, Apple and Avid) it's a nice comparison if you're looking to choose between one of these.

I'm have been a long time mac user mainly because of my background in graphic design. Also because when this whole computer-based editing first began the offerings on windows we buggier than those on the Mac.

That's not the case anymore and pretty much all of the current NLE's from the major companies (Edious, Vegas, Razor, FCP, Premier, Express, etc.) are fairly reliable (Not that they have stopped being buggy) It really boils down to features, needs and costs.

While I continue to prefer the mac platform personally, I really like some the offereings coming out for Linux due to the skinny system requirements. Both the mac and windows OS continue to become bloated with "features" that continue to require more powerful hardware which just takes away from the NLEs performance.

If todays' GPUs and CPUs only had to deal with our NLEs and minimal system calls the performance and render times for average processes would be phenomenal!
Turnkey systems have their hiccups too

Thank God for Blackmagic, Inc.
Wys

 

[Annie Crawley]

I believe no one should consider buying any video equipment without considering their editing system. Shooting and editing go together. With that said, I know that most of the world lives with PC's, yet nearly a decade ago I made the switch to Apple/Mac and never looked back. For the beginners, imovie is simple. Drag and drop. Then there is Final Cut Express for those that want to do more, and Final Cut Pro for the full on people who want the equivalent of Hollywood. Yes, Cold Mountain was completely edited in Final Cut Pro.

Desktop editing systems and consumer video cameras has put the power of hollywood at our fingertips. Now, I know there are many PC users out there who get great results. I am not dishing on the PC. Many people think Macs are more expensive, yet there have been quite a few write-ups in magazines and newspapers lately about how many programs come installed on a Mac and if you put dollar for dollar in what you get, they are not that much more costly.

Many people make the mistake when they buy a computer. They think because it is expensive that they should be able to run video. This is not the case, it just happened to us at Ocean Visions Festival. A couple guys had a flash brand new Dell computer with all the bells and whistles but it was a 12 inch computer and is NOT recommeded for video.

So what ever system you invest in you need to make sure it is video compatible.

And you need external hard drives when you are going on trips.

So here is a start. There is just as much to know about non-linear video and audio systems as cameras!

Yet they have revolutionized our world!!!

 

[Video rookie]

Sony has announced Vegas 8 (now they call it Vegas Pro 8) will be available Sept 10th. I'm still using Vegas 6, so if they offer a reduced upgrade price for the first month (like they have in the past), I will probably go for the upgrade. Check out the Sony website for new features.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/product.asp?pid=457

 

[sharksdelight]

Well, sold my G5 and just got my new 3GHz Mac Pro. Love it and it will be top of the line for at least 2 weeks before it is obsolete. ;-) Actually, it fairly screams when rendering. It has the 1900 graphics card, 5.5 gigs of ram, 750 gig boot drive and 500 internal.
Always been a Final Cut person so I am happy.

Ann brings up some good points in that all computers are not necessarily, despite their processor speed, compatible with editing video. It seems that many PC users think they can build a computer that will do the job. It would be much less aggravating for them to purchase a turnkey PC. At least they would know that it works.
I do disagree with Ann on her suggestions to some that iMovie or Final Cut Express would be the way to go for many. If cost is the issue, then she is correct. They will do a good job. However, learning Final Cut Pro is not the difficult job it was when they first came out with version 1.0. Then, there were no books, tutorials, or forums to help you learn and the original manual was anorexic and difficult to understand. Those of us who got into the first version were coming off of linear editing systems like the Videonics controllers and generators and had to learn an entirely new lexicon of editing. This is not the case anymore and hasn't been in some time. I could teach in a couple of hours what it took me the first year to learn. Thus, I would strongly recommend to anyone, hobbiest or professional, that if they need to go through a learning curve to begin with, they might as well do it with Final Cut Pro. They won't outgrow FCP as they will very possibly do with iMovie.
I write tutorials and reviews for the Final Cut Pro editing websites www.kenstone.net and www.lafcpug.org. I received emails constantly from readers asking advice on all things regarding editing for both topside and under water work and many of them hire me to fly to their homes for training. It is an incredible feeling to see those Eureka moments when, by just a little training on what they perceived to be an intimidating program produces an epiphany of understanding. Plus, Final Cut Studio comes with Soundtrack Pro so that you can make your own Royalty Free music, DVD Studio Pro, LiveType for text generations, Compressor and Motion. It is a huge set of necessary applications that are all part of the studio.
Steve:14:

 

[tropicaledit]

My personal opinion. MAC G5/FINAL CUT PRO combo .... it's the smartest move. I base this off professionally making a living as a Film/Video editor for the past 15 years. I've worked on NLE's that, at the time, cost over $250,000.00 when bought new (discreet Fire). I've worked on $100,000 Avid's, seen the Media 100's/Vegas'/Premiere'. But what do I own ... FCP .... why? you cannot beat it for the price and functionality, it can truly compete with those systems over 50K. I could go on forever on this topic, but I want to be short .... I'm not at work now.

My reels are @ www.greensombrero.com/ for reference of work.
Best

 

[HiDefPics]

I'll throw in another vote for FCP. Having been an Avid editor for 10 years, it was with some conern that I made the switch to Final Cut when it came time to set up my own system. That was two years ago and I haven't looked back. The integration with other apps is so tight, I think that's one of the things that really makes the Final Cut Studio package shine.

 

[tropicaledit]

Bill just looked at your site ...clips ...good job with those. Curious ....did you use the Sony HC3 Camera?

 

[sharksdelight]

Patrick.....Went on your website...some pretty impressive stuff! Have you done any uw work as yet?
Steve

 

[tropicaledit]

Hey Steve, no ... not as yet, but soon to join the game, budgeting. Right now, mostly doing camera research. Based on budget, quality, format, and flexable media format options (going to film/film recording from video) .... I think my best bet is the panasonic HVX200, housing is next, then it's a matter of going places. That's one of the reasons I responded to you, down the line, these places that you go to, maybe I can plan ahead and tag along. One place that I'd love to go is the Antartic. I'm working on it.