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what editing software is best?????

i need to buy editing software i have been looking at final cut studio pro #3 or 4 very expensive 1800$ but i dont use mac. what do u think about editing with OS EX what do you sugest?
 
If your working with DV. Anything that will capture video and put it togeather in a timeline will work. Most of the time you will either cut or fade. If you're going to do more than that you should probly go out to another app like Adobe After Effects or Combustion. It makes things alot easier. If money is an issue even the basic software that comes with a $40 firewire card can cut and fade. They all capture DV at the same standard.

If money isn't an issue than still get the cheapest app (like Vegas). This will leave you more money to put into you camera. This is were the dollars should be spent. The best way to put it is "Garbage in Garbage out".

I use Vegas but I was trainned on Final Cut Pro for my job.

I love this icon! :yes:

Toxzy
 
stbd1 said:
AVID is great... Their XPress version is still pretty expensive though...

If you don't need a lot of power and can live with just cuts and dissolves, AVID FreeDV works pretty well. I believe it is PC and MAC. VERY limited FX, no compositing. But hey, its FREE (also a great way to learn the basic AVID interface). I believe it does have a batch capture capability and it is non-destructive editing, which puts it ahead of things like iMovie (though iMovie has better FX).
 
rizien said:
has anyone here used both adobe and FCP? if so would you like to give the pros cons to each and which you like better and why?

I have used both, but the last version of Premiere for mac I used was 5, and I think it was still in the phase of getting support for DV cameras (weren't those the days). For me at least in a nutshell final cut just made more sense as far as where tools were, how everythign worked, where in Premier things did not seem all that organized, and the slow motion drove me nuts, hehe. By the way Adobe no longer makes Premier for mac.. .. . . . right?
 
I would suggest getting Vegas5. It is a great program and I am finding that it's being used more and more. In fact, I work for the .com division of United Airlines. There was an in flight concert with Cheryl Crowe which used 4 cams. They shot the footage in the air at 32,000 feet. By the time they landed they had a music video completed. It was shown to all onboard before they exited the plane.
How could this happen?
Vegas babby, Vegas. No other App could have done it on a laptop using multi cam mode. I keep finding more and more are using it to produce professional works.
Right now, I use Vegas to bring in footage from my DV cam and edit. Then I bring it into Combustion to do compositing and such.

Combustion: http://www.genesis-technologies.com/pubdetails.asp?ProductID=877059

Vegas: http://www.genesis-technologies.com/pubdetails.asp?ProductID=131163


They are less than $300 each for students. That's a DAMN good deal! (I'm not promoting genesis-technologies, I just found them on Google when searching for prices)

So NOW the question is... What will you do with the other $1200? Get a dedicated PC for Video Editing?
 
sonnyboo said:
Avid Xpress DV is also good.

Avid's got a good rebate programing going till end of the month. $200 off of Avid Xpress DV which brings it down to $495. I just ordered mine! It includes the Windows and Mac version.

The best part is that there is an upgrade path to Xpress Pro, so if you decide to upgrade later, you're investment in Xpress DV doesn't go to waste.

I just had a chance to demo a Mojo system yesterday, and I have to say it is pretty awesome. As soon as I can justify it, I'm going to upgrade to one.
 
ahab said:
I just had a chance to demo a Mojo system yesterday, and I have to say it is pretty awesome. As soon as I can justify it, I'm going to upgrade to one.


Yes, my goal is to get a Mojo system too. I sent to a local demo of it and it is awesome.
BUT I'll have to get money for that and I need a PC upgrade first. :mope:
 
I have

Power Director
Pinnacle Studio 9.0
Avid Xpress Pro v. 4.6

And this is good software indeed. If you want you can perhaps buy one from me, just contact me. Will be cheap then, I don't need that much of editing programs, need to start shooting first...

Greets Gotan
 
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I was going through my campus bookstore the other day- they sell Apple's. They had Final Cut Pro 4 marked down to $300. I bought it right then and there. Later I found out that they made a mistake and accidentally were charging the wholesale price.
 
For anyone using Windows, Adobe is releasing Premier Elements in November... if you've ever seen Photoshop Elements, it's essentially a cheaper, scaled back version of Premier Pro. What FinalCut Express is to FinalCut Pro. And if Elements and FCE are any indication, it might be just what people are looking for. www.adobe.com has more info.
 
Lefteye said:
I was going through my campus bookstore the other day- they sell Apple's. They had Final Cut Pro 4 marked down to $300. I bought it right then and there. Later I found out that they made a mistake and accidentally were charging the wholesale price.

Was it the Academic Version or the Retail Version?
 
CommanderGoat said:
Was it the Academic Version or the Retail Version?

It was the academic version which is identical to the retail version. In fact, the only difference is the splash screen and the box. I also got DVD Studio Pro 3 for $149!

Right, I'm defenitely going to hang on to FCP. It'll come in handy when my XL2 comes in next week.
 
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