video editing software

whats good, whats bad, is anything free?

hmmm... id use the macromedia director MX editing suite. i used to use director a few years ago when i was doing video and it was pretty neat.

the only problem is, it costs $$$$$

you're studying tho arent you? some places give edu. version software to students at discount prices!

yeah. I have to create a 15 minute promo movie for my major project. Do they supply me with a camera? No. Do they supply me with a firewire card to get the video off the tape? No. Do they supply me with editing software? No.

So I bought the camera on credit, bought the card with real money, now I am stuck. I had a short play with iMovie last night on a friends computer, but this is going to take some time, getting to know how to use it, actually doing the work.

Almost all of the free ones are useless for anything except stitching together clips.

The reasonably priced ones assume you are an idiot and are way too basic for most people.

The good ones cost a packet.

What are you planning to do? I have a few colleagues involved in digital video they could provide a good recomendation based on your needs...

Still shots of bits n pieces, fading into each other in some way, an interview kinda thing, some footage of actualy using the system, more talking, titles. Other than the fades and voice over dubbing I dont think there is anything needed in the wasy of special effects.

if your friend doesnt mind u using their computer for such an involved project, then i say go ahead and use iMovie.
if you are going to have to learn how to use a program, then learn the one which is cheapest and readily available. Youve already forked out enough.

also.. you have u2u🙂

I've only used iMovie. Seemed pretty straight forward, and for what you want to do might be OK.

I'm biased 'cause I've got a mac though.

Cheers mate,
Aurel🙂

aggri1- HOORAY for Macs!! *hugs ibook*

seconded. hooray for macs. i love my power book

I use Adobe Premier for some stuff (PC based) it costs like $500....but if u wont be using it again they have a demo version which works fine and does everything. It just expires after 30days 🙂...well atleast when i last used it anyways

Chris,

The stuff you want to do is pretty straight forward. Just buy a DVD burner and make sure it comes with Nero 6. Nero does some movie editing and DVD compiling. It is user friendly too.

I use it to compile my own DVD's. I edit sections, move clips here and there, add music, make slideshows of pics with about a million different fades. It's not too bad. It certainly won't confuse you with excessive features.

Why is it that people with Macs get so.... possessive kinda... uptight kinda... must be a word I am looking for. There must be good things about them, but the few times I have tried to do simple things such as ftp, ssh i've found they suck big time. Having to go through that carouselly thing down the bottom to get to programs is stupid.... I guess its what you get used to.

I am the first to admit that Win95/98 is very unstable but up till now, I have had no problems with 2000 at all, and no problems the few times I have used XP, although I dont particularly like the interface.

Avid is the industry average software for editing in television and basic film. it is really good, but very expensive. pirated copies float around somewhere though.

if your going to bug a dvd burner make sure it's a dual layer burner and under 200 bux
and for 4.7 gb dvd's (layer1) don't pay over 1 each blank

This program is pretty damn good. It can do professional stuff no worries at all. See if you can "find" a copy.

Eduis 2.5

amazer wrote:Why is it that people with Macs get so.... possessive kinda... uptight kinda... must be a word I am looking for. There must be good things about them, but the few times I have tried to do simple things such as ftp, ssh i've found they suck big time. Having to go through that carouselly thing down the bottom to get to programs is stupid.... I guess its what you get used to.

I think I know what you mean. But it's similar to the VW thing. There's just something about it that you like, regardless of the flaws. I must agree with you regarding Crap OS X, the (new) mac OS. It sucks for a lot of stuff. I like the old, unstable version. At least everything worked. It was a pleasure to work with, everything (except MS apps) worked as you'd expect. The Desktop Metaphor was followed very well. Mac OS X, on the other hand, is slow, has bugs, is slow, is often illogical, is slow, bla bla bla. Yeah I HATE "the dock" too (what I think you mean by the carousel), but there are alternatives.

I too am a Mac man and i wouldn't use anything but.......I have director Final cut pro and i movie most of the time i use imovie it is easy to use and faster...........