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editing Equipment for Post??? NEED Advice
- Thread starter nchongs2
- Start date
What are you going to be editing?
The needs of your system are going to be drastically different if you're going to be editing DSLR footage or miniDV footage vs Red raw, ARRIRAW or even potentially ProRes 4444HQ. The needs of your system are also going to be different depending on whether you plan on installing say SpeedGrade or Davinci Lite and grading DSLR footage vs Red raw, ARRIRAW or ProRes 4444HQ. If you're editing 2k vs 4k vs 1080 vs SD then your needs for a system change.
And Post-audio? yeah, again it depends on what you're doing. You can easily spend $10,000 on an audio setup that will still not get you acceptable results for showing in a theatre, especially if you're not experienced at it.
But then, I'd suggest getting a desktop over a laptop for editing - more power for less price, plus upgradeable as you need.
These things all depend on what you're doing. If you're doing critical Hi-Def stuff, you're going to need a more expensive monitor. If you're going grading, your monitor needs change drastically.
If you're editing SD, you can probably get away with an older, cheaper monitor.
The needs of your system are going to be drastically different if you're going to be editing DSLR footage or miniDV footage vs Red raw, ARRIRAW or even potentially ProRes 4444HQ. The needs of your system are also going to be different depending on whether you plan on installing say SpeedGrade or Davinci Lite and grading DSLR footage vs Red raw, ARRIRAW or ProRes 4444HQ. If you're editing 2k vs 4k vs 1080 vs SD then your needs for a system change.
And Post-audio? yeah, again it depends on what you're doing. You can easily spend $10,000 on an audio setup that will still not get you acceptable results for showing in a theatre, especially if you're not experienced at it.
But then, I'd suggest getting a desktop over a laptop for editing - more power for less price, plus upgradeable as you need.
These things all depend on what you're doing. If you're doing critical Hi-Def stuff, you're going to need a more expensive monitor. If you're going grading, your monitor needs change drastically.
If you're editing SD, you can probably get away with an older, cheaper monitor.
Last edited:
We'll assume that you have a computer.
The absolute minimum basics for audio post editing - we won't get into rerecording - are a DAW, an audio interface, audio monitors and some sound treatment. If you want to do any VO, ADR or Foley work you'll need to add a decent mic or two. I strongly suggest a video monitor.
For an ultra-low budget firewire audio interface I like the Focusrite Saffire Pro 14, around $250. There are several choices for passable low budget audio monitors - JBL LSR2325P ($400/pr), Tannoy Reveal 501a ($360/pr), Yamaha MSP3 ($300/pr). Not much volume or low end, but fairly clean and accurate for the price. You can get decent room treatment starting at $4.75 per square foot.
Your choice of DAW will depend upon whether you use a Mac or a PC. Pro Tools is cross-platform; bundled with the M-Box2 audio interface it's about $1,000. Other candidates:
Cubase Elements - Mac/PC - $100
Cubase - Mac/PC - $500
Adobe Audition - PC - $350 - Mac - $330
Digital Performer - Mac - $490
Nuendo - Mac/PC - $1,800
I'm rather curious as to what you thought audio post entailed. You seem completely ignorant of the process. Please don't take it as an insult; 99% of indie types are woefully ignorant of production and post sound. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps it's because you all are visually oriented and sound is "invisible." One of my favorite aphorisms is "Filmmaking is the art of the invisible; if anyone notices your work you haven't done your job right." In filmmaking obvious flaws pull you out of the illusion, so no one notices the good stuff. You watch a great movie, and perhaps you notice the score, but no one - except for other audio post guys and gals - say "WOW!!! What a great sounding movie!"
So you may want to rethink your priorities and let someone else handle your audio post.
Your film will only look as good as it sounds, because
"Sound is half of the experience."
The absolute minimum basics for audio post editing - we won't get into rerecording - are a DAW, an audio interface, audio monitors and some sound treatment. If you want to do any VO, ADR or Foley work you'll need to add a decent mic or two. I strongly suggest a video monitor.
For an ultra-low budget firewire audio interface I like the Focusrite Saffire Pro 14, around $250. There are several choices for passable low budget audio monitors - JBL LSR2325P ($400/pr), Tannoy Reveal 501a ($360/pr), Yamaha MSP3 ($300/pr). Not much volume or low end, but fairly clean and accurate for the price. You can get decent room treatment starting at $4.75 per square foot.
Your choice of DAW will depend upon whether you use a Mac or a PC. Pro Tools is cross-platform; bundled with the M-Box2 audio interface it's about $1,000. Other candidates:
Cubase Elements - Mac/PC - $100
Cubase - Mac/PC - $500
Adobe Audition - PC - $350 - Mac - $330
Digital Performer - Mac - $490
Nuendo - Mac/PC - $1,800
I'm rather curious as to what you thought audio post entailed. You seem completely ignorant of the process. Please don't take it as an insult; 99% of indie types are woefully ignorant of production and post sound. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps it's because you all are visually oriented and sound is "invisible." One of my favorite aphorisms is "Filmmaking is the art of the invisible; if anyone notices your work you haven't done your job right." In filmmaking obvious flaws pull you out of the illusion, so no one notices the good stuff. You watch a great movie, and perhaps you notice the score, but no one - except for other audio post guys and gals - say "WOW!!! What a great sounding movie!"
So you may want to rethink your priorities and let someone else handle your audio post.
Your film will only look as good as it sounds, because
"Sound is half of the experience."
The real issue is that everything in filmmaking is interlocked/interactive. Once you get past writing the script you need the right actors who can put forth the emotional content of the script, you need a DP who can light the set and capture the talent going through those emotions, and a PSM/boom-op who can capture the verbal content of those emotions - not to mention set designers/dressers to make the setting feel real and H-M/U who can make the actors look believable in their roles. In post the editor has to bring out the best of the the footage to enhance the action and emotions, and a sound supervisor/designer to bring out the subtle nuances of the dialog and to create a believable sonic reality.
The challenge of indie filmmaking is to make all of this happen on ridiculously small budgets.
I obviously have my own axe to grind (sound), but sound-for-picture is the most overlooked aspect of a very large percentage of indie films. Once the camera is in their hands indie filmmakers somehow forget that their beautiful shot is close to worthless if the audience cannot understand the dialog, which is where capturing good production sound comes in. GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out. There are lots of talented audio post people out there, but we're not miracle workers; we can only do so much with crappy production sound. If you have solid production sound we can greatly enhance the sonic world of the film; otherwise it's just a rescue operation. This applies to DIY filmmakers as well, and is in fact even more important; you won't have nearly the tools and experience to do as much repair work as we can manage, so your production sound becomes even more important.
"An amateur learns from his mistakes; a professional learns from the mistakes of others."
The challenge of indie filmmaking is to make all of this happen on ridiculously small budgets.
I obviously have my own axe to grind (sound), but sound-for-picture is the most overlooked aspect of a very large percentage of indie films. Once the camera is in their hands indie filmmakers somehow forget that their beautiful shot is close to worthless if the audience cannot understand the dialog, which is where capturing good production sound comes in. GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out. There are lots of talented audio post people out there, but we're not miracle workers; we can only do so much with crappy production sound. If you have solid production sound we can greatly enhance the sonic world of the film; otherwise it's just a rescue operation. This applies to DIY filmmakers as well, and is in fact even more important; you won't have nearly the tools and experience to do as much repair work as we can manage, so your production sound becomes even more important.
"An amateur learns from his mistakes; a professional learns from the mistakes of others."