MacVideo Forums

Hi All,

As a new member to this forum can I start by saying a big hello. To introduce myself I have been in video running what has now built to two businesses doing mainly weddings for about 14 years. I have for the past 4 to 5 years beeen using a Screenplay NLE unit which has been a great workhorse for me and is very easy to use, but the time has now come when I want to move to something different, and hopefully better for my editing and final productions.

So my question to you all is that I am presently very interested in the Power Mac G5 with Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio etc, and whatever the budget will run to. I was thinking of ordering the new Macrosystems Solitaire unit, but since have seen excellcent reports on the Power Mac & Final Cut Pro, so, can any of you advise me is the G5, and Final Cut Pro as good as they say? what is the learing curve like for an old head... and anything else that would swing me into buying something I will not regret, and in the end should have done a long time ago. And finally what spec should I go for to gain the best possible setup.

Look forward to hearing your views and advice.

Cheers.

C'mon you guys give me some help & advice. I want a new toy for Xmas... Len Video Man,

Len Video Man,

Firstly: invest in an FCP based editing system and a PowerMac G5 and you will have one of the most powerful production tools in the business. There is nothing that even comes close bang for bucks, as our friends would say. The new Production Suite has to be the bargain of the NLE decade. (And, no, I don't sell it!) Its good enough (out of the box) for film editors (Walter Murch, Cold Mountain) for TV editors (Granada's Richard Starkey history programmes), corporate, wedding (the templates for wedding DVD's are fabulous and very easy to use). I could go on. (Iusually do!)

As for training, invest in that too so that you get the very best out of your NLE world. Apple's authorised training courses are very good and my company would be more than happy to accomodate your needs - and you'd have to be going some to be older than some of the old heads I've trained. (www.VisionTraining.tv)

System? G5 Dual 2.5 GHz with 512Mb Ram (and add extra 3 x 512Mb of Ram from Crucial to give you 2Mb) and order it from the Apple Store with the 256Mb ATI Radion 9800XT graphics card. (It'll make Motion move!). Oh, and a 20" or 23" screen. If you work on dv then also get a decent sized external LaCie firewire hard drive. Oh yes, and one last thing: Get that production Suite and invest in training.

Stick with our community and you'll find out why nobody in the computer world evangelises like the mac community. 95% of the world drive Ford Escorts wondering why the 5% of us in Jaguars are so smug!

I understand that there is a Cardiff based branch of the UK Final Cut Pro User Group and I'm sure that they'll give you all the help you need. Haven't got a contact e-mail but bet it'll come!

Enjoy

Richard
VisionTraining.tv

Len Video Man,

Well I run Final cut pro version 4 and DVD studio pro 3 on a G5 Mac system.
I edit my movie's (including weddings) on adobe premiere pro for quite a few years and still do, also their latest product from last year Adobe Encore, but I was fed up of it with the constant crashes, errors etc.
Until I finally moved to FCP and DVD studio pro.

It took me time to come to learn the learning curve with adobe products (with the exception of Adobe Photoshop).
But with apples suite of video editing is surprisingly easy to learn and most of all the time I have saved with no constant crashes, freezes. I have yet to see a message box appear saying there is an error on the Mac when I do movie edits.
My G5 has 2 Gb of memory and I found running FCP much better than when I had 1 Gb.

Thanks Richard/Crystal-lite for that my minds made up now and Christmas is going to come early for me

Cheers,
Len Video Man