Editor Reccomendations

Data1232 · Nov 4, 2003, 02:07 AM

Hi guys,

I'm pretty new to the video editing field, but a recent school project is getting me into it. I'm liking it so far, and i'm in the process of buying a camera right now (Panasonic PV-DV953). I was wondering for those of you who have worked in this field, what sort of editor you would reccomend? I'm looking for some ease of use, though i want a nice balance of features and control. My project is a nature documentary if that helps. Also i wanted to see whatever you reccomend would be able to run on my system adequately. Any tips on that would be well appreciated. Price is a bit of a concern, but I'm not too concerned at this point, I'd rather see what is available on a whole. I do have access to a Macintosh as well, a G4 with 1GB of memory, it runs OS 9.2 i belive, though that can be upgraded. Again, and help with a choice of editor would be great, past experiences with them, and what you would think. Thanks for your help.

Dyre Straits · Nov 4, 2003, 02:41 AM

Your system is quite similar to mine. You're also likely using Windows XP. You should check out the absolutely free Windows Movie Maker 2. You can get it through Windows Update. For a 'freebie' it's actually quite nice....and very fast! I've been using it since earlier this year when I upgraded to XP Home Edition.

Additionally, you may want to check out RadTools for Video. These can greatly compress AVI files without a great loss of clarity.

Then, of course, there is the VirtualDub that so many others highly recommend.

wertret · Nov 4, 2003, 12:28 PM

i'd recommend you adobe premiere. It's not as easy as movie maker but it's full featured and very intuitive, you'll get professional results with it. Check this movie i edited with premiere: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=29418 .As for system specs you're gonna need a really fast HD to work without stutter (i have 2 scsi ultra320), i think a SATA HD can do the job. You'll also need a good editing card like a "studio dvplus" or a "pinnacle moviebox".

Data1232 · Nov 4, 2003, 03:12 PM

Thanks for the help guys. Wertret could please explain a little more about "editing cards"? It's a term i've never ran into, though i've seen advertisments. Also, since a SATA HD will mean a mobo upgrade, could you give reccomendations on what motherboard i might look at. Anything stable and fast would be great. Also any SATA HD you could reccomend would be very helpful. Thanks a lot!

wertret · Nov 4, 2003, 03:36 PM

Link for the card: http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPa...11&Langue_ID=2

Link for HD: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/maxtor/index.htm

Link for mobo: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/asus/index.html

Hope you find this info helpful

brc64 · Nov 4, 2003, 04:40 PM

That Pinnacle card looks like it's just a firewire card with some nice editing software... or am I missing something? It's a little difficult to tell from the website.

- Me

Data1232 · Nov 5, 2003, 03:18 AM

Thanks for the info. In regards to the hard-drive how much space should i be thinking of, if i were dealing with a professional editor, and if i'm getting several hours of footage, and editing those down, into maybe a 35-45 minute movie?

brc64 · Nov 5, 2003, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Data1232
Thanks for the info. In regards to the hard-drive how much space should i be thinking of, if i were dealing with a professional editor, and if i'm getting several hours of footage, and editing those down, into maybe a 35-45 minute movie?

That all depends on the format of the footage you're using. Pure digital video eats up a ton of space. 3.6 MB/sec, which translates to about 4.63 minutes worth of footage for one GB. There's a handy chart available here:

http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/6076.htm

- Me

Nov 4, 2003, 02:07 AM	#1
Data1232 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Right. Behind. You. Posts: 180 Rep Power: 0	Editor Reccomendations Hi guys, I'm pretty new to the video editing field, but a recent school project is getting me into it. I'm liking it so far, and i'm in the process of buying a camera right now (Panasonic PV-DV953). I was wondering for those of you who have worked in this field, what sort of editor you would reccomend? I'm looking for some ease of use, though i want a nice balance of features and control. My project is a nature documentary if that helps. Also i wanted to see whatever you reccomend would be able to run on my system adequately. Any tips on that would be well appreciated. Price is a bit of a concern, but I'm not too concerned at this point, I'd rather see what is available on a whole. I do have access to a Macintosh as well, a G4 with 1GB of memory, it runs OS 9.2 i belive, though that can be upgraded. Again, and help with a choice of editor would be great, past experiences with them, and what you would think. Thanks for your help. __________________ Windows XP Pro 32-bit Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 2 GB DDR2-800 eVGA 680i XFX GeForce Ultra 8800 () Creative X-Fi Gamer

Nov 4, 2003, 12:28 PM	#3
wertret Still watching... Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Orihuela (Spain) Posts: 1,560 Rep Power: 0	i'd recommend you adobe premiere. It's not as easy as movie maker but it's full featured and very intuitive, you'll get professional results with it. Check this movie i edited with premiere: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=29418 .As for system specs you're gonna need a really fast HD to work without stutter (i have 2 scsi ultra320), i think a SATA HD can do the job. You'll also need a good editing card like a "studio dvplus" or a "pinnacle moviebox". __________________ "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."

Nov 4, 2003, 03:12 PM	Thread Starter #4
Data1232 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Right. Behind. You. Posts: 180 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for the help guys. Wertret could please explain a little more about "editing cards"? It's a term i've never ran into, though i've seen advertisments. Also, since a SATA HD will mean a mobo upgrade, could you give reccomendations on what motherboard i might look at. Anything stable and fast would be great. Also any SATA HD you could reccomend would be very helpful. Thanks a lot! __________________ Windows XP Pro 32-bit Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 2 GB DDR2-800 eVGA 680i XFX GeForce Ultra 8800 () Creative X-Fi Gamer

Nov 4, 2003, 03:36 PM	#5
wertret Still watching... Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Orihuela (Spain) Posts: 1,560 Rep Power: 0	Link for the card: http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPa...11&Langue_ID=2 Link for HD: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/maxtor/index.htm Link for mobo: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/asus/index.html Hope you find this info helpful __________________ "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."

Nov 5, 2003, 03:18 AM	Thread Starter #7
Data1232 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Right. Behind. You. Posts: 180 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for the info. In regards to the hard-drive how much space should i be thinking of, if i were dealing with a professional editor, and if i'm getting several hours of footage, and editing those down, into maybe a 35-45 minute movie? __________________ Windows XP Pro 32-bit Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 2 GB DDR2-800 eVGA 680i XFX GeForce Ultra 8800 () Creative X-Fi Gamer

Nov 4, 2003, 04:40 PM	#6
brc64 Zeeky H. Bomb Join Date: May 2002 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 826 Rep Power: 0	That Pinnacle card looks like it's just a firewire card with some nice editing software... or am I missing something? It's a little difficult to tell from the website. - Me