Only partially relevant but of you're using Linux, pitivi is a decent video editing app
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
dansmith wrote:
buy a mac I movie is pretty good
+1 Just made a reasonable half hour movie using iMovie and copied to DVDs using Idvd, had no idea, just advice from Rob on here and watched a couple of You Tube vids on how to use the programmes.
Have added titles, chapter headings, dubbed over some music, stabilised some wobbly camera bits and added a voice over where needed! Oh, and of course some credits at the end
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Mon 16-04-12 7:58; edited 3 times in total
After all it is free
After all it is free
I used windows live movie maker which seems to ship as standard with at least Windows 7 home pro. SH's pointed me at it earlier on this year. I've posted a bit of footage that I made today - several bits of several files dragged into order and saved as a file to play on a PC. It was fairly straight forward - and I haven't needed a help screen yet, and you can add special effects.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Sony Vegas is cheap value and reasonably powerful. I tried most of the free ones but they didn't do the business for me.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
mag1882 wrote:
don't buy a mac unless you plan on being an amateur, PC's can be a lot faster a lot cheaper,
Not sure about this, most of the pros in sports seem to use Macs and Final Cut Pro...
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
clarky999 wrote:
mag1882 wrote:
don't buy a mac unless you plan on being an amateur, PC's can be a lot faster a lot cheaper,
Not sure about this, most of the pros in sports seem to use Macs and Final Cut Pro...
All of the advanced professionals will most likely use both.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Boredsurfing wrote:
dansmith wrote:
buy a mac I movie is pretty good
+1 Just made a reasonable half hour movie using iMovie and copied to DVDs using Idvd, had no idea, just advice from Rob on here and watched a couple of You Tube vids on how to use the programmes.
Have added titles, chapter headings, dubbed over some music, stabilised some wobbly camera bits and added a voice over where needed! Oh, and of course some credits at the end
and this morning inserted some transitions and integrated some still camera photo's into the original
Is it worth spending a tenner on iMovie 11 all the above was done with iMovie 9?
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
mag1882 wrote:
don't buy a mac unless you plan on being an amateur, PC's can be a lot faster a lot cheaper,
I doubt it's going to be his day job. Macs are great for video editing, pro or amateur alike.
FCP7 is pretty canonical, although lots of people see FCPX as being an iMovie "Pro". The other major professional NLE is Avid but that's well out of anyone sensibles price range. None of these are really any use to someone smooshing together holiday video or even the majority of edits people put on the interwebs.
I like iMovie and the cheap version of Sony Vegas myself.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
uktrailmonster wrote:
mag1882 wrote:
don't buy a mac unless you plan on being an amateur, PC's can be a lot faster a lot cheaper,
I doubt it's going to be his day job. Macs are great for video editing, pro or amateur alike.
Seriously, why are Mac's so great vs PCs? FCP is Mac only, but Adobe Premiere and Avid available on both platforms (edit thanks Rob!)? Mac has iMovie, PC has Windows Movie Maker
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Sat 21-04-12 17:26; edited 1 time in total
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
kitenski wrote:
Seriously, why are Mac's so great vs PCs? Final Cut Pro is available on both platforms? Mac has iMovie, PC has Windows Movie Maker
FCP is Mac only, but Adobe Premiere and Avid available on both platforms. iMovie is Mac-only but there are similar applications on Windows. I use FCP (7 and now X) and the main reason for me switching back to Macs was how appalling Windows was for editing. But that was a long time ago and I don't think there is a huge difference between the platforms in terms of what the applications can do.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Also you can get a free 'lite' version of DaVinci Resolve which is an awesome professional colour correction/grading tool which normally goes for around $1k:
Just fill in the right platform, choose DaVinci Resolve in the first drop down and DaVinci Resolve Lite in the second drop down. Hey presto, welcome to confusion and more power than you'll need for anything.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
kitenski wrote:
uktrailmonster wrote:
mag1882 wrote:
don't buy a mac unless you plan on being an amateur, PC's can be a lot faster a lot cheaper,
I doubt it's going to be his day job. Macs are great for video editing, pro or amateur alike.
Seriously, why are Mac's so great vs PCs? Final Cut Pro is available on both platforms? Mac has iMovie, PC has Windows Movie Maker
They aren't great versus the PC anymore, this point-of-view is a hangover from the days when Macs were marginally more powerful, had marginally better software and were ubiquitous in the design world hence still being associated with latte sipping in trendy glasses. Today they are running the same hardware, very similar operating systems and most of the same packages unless they happen to be made by MS or Apple. They do look cooler hanging out in cafes though. In my office almost all of our artists and video production guys are running windows machines.
Fun fact, the original XBox 360 alpha development kits were all G5 Macs! I just chucked mine out when back in Scotland.
don't buy a mac unless you plan on being an amateur, PC's can be a lot faster a lot cheaper,
I doubt it's going to be his day job. Macs are great for video editing, pro or amateur alike.
Seriously, why are Mac's so great vs PCs? Final Cut Pro is available on both platforms? Mac has iMovie, PC has Windows Movie Maker
They aren't great versus the PC anymore, this point-of-view is a hangover from the days when Macs were marginally more powerful, had marginally better software and were ubiquitous in the design world hence still being associated with latte sipping in trendy glasses. Today they are running the same hardware, very similar operating systems and most of the same packages unless they happen to be made by MS or Apple. They do look cooler hanging out in cafes though. In my office almost all of our artists and video production guys are running windows machines.
Fun fact, the original XBox 360 alpha development kits were all G5 Macs! I just chucked mine out when back in Scotland.
How do you suggest you go about running FCP on Windows?
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
mag1882, you could use a virtual machine to run the Mac OS but unless you have a beast you'd be fighting a losing battle. In short I wouldn't run FCP on a Windows machine.
But all video editing software is much of a muchness for basic cutting together, layering on some music and sticking on a few bits of text. Most of the basic packages will let you colour correct and colour grade in basic fashion these days as well. Very little of the POV skiing footage you'll see online will have either of the latter bits done to it.
As above I'd suggest grabbing iMovie if you have a Mac or the cheapest version of Sony Vegas on the PC. Adobe also do a cheap version of Premier but I haven't used it myself. Both have a 30 day trial so you can try them and see which you like better.
Yeah I figured you meant running an emulator but you'd probably just be worth using a windows specific program to save yourself all the trouble.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
mag1882, I see where that post was confusing now. I was just saying that Mac's aren't the be all and end all for art that they once were perceived as and I work in videogames which has a lot of art production so was just using our company as an example of one where the vast majority of our art is produced on Windows machines.
After all it is free
After all it is free
kitenski wrote:
Seriously, why are Mac's so great vs PCs?
If you spec a PC specifically for photo editing i.e. quality monitor, decent graphics card, decent software etc then there isn't a lot of difference. But most PCs sitting on people's desks are pretty rubbish and even a modest iMac loaded with standard iMovie will make a far superior video editing platform than your average PC. Macs have always been geared toward this kind of work and cater extremely well for amateur and pro users alike. If you're using a PC, it all depends on what PC and what software you use. With Macs it's not so critical. Any recent iMac or MacBook Pro will make light work of casual home video editing.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
uktrailmonster, that's true of any recent consumer PC/laptop as well given the difference in hardware is zero. The idea that Macs are still superior for this sort of thing from a hardware and software usability perspective is at least a decade out of date.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
meh, Not IME, having used both extensively in parallel.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
uktrailmonster, well put it this way you can get the same spec PC for less than the equivalent spec Mac so hardware isn't the issue and all the major video editing programs apart from those developed exclusively by Apple are available on both. Workflow is also identical between platforms. I don't think Macs are bad either it's just this "go with Mac they are better for that sort of thing" attitude is out of date.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
meh wrote:
uktrailmonster, well put it this way you can get the same spec PC for less than the equivalent spec Mac...
It ain't necessarily so. I'm no Apple lover - I run Linux almost exclusively myself - and I'd prefer to never spend another dime with the evil giant, but there are two Apple Macbook Airs in the Jones household simply because they were so much cheaper than equivalent Windows machines. Ultrabooks are now becoming more widely available, but, if you wanted a lightweight 11" laptop or a kightweight 13" laptop with a decent screen resolution, a reasonable processor and a fast SSD a few months ago, you'd have saved several £100s by going for a Mac.
Study the market before you make your choice. Generalisations are generally but not necessarily true.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Jonny Jones, rabble! True, particularly as Apple were pretty much the first people to exploit that niche. Not quite germane to the point I was making in the rest of the post though which was about the general superiority of Macs for video editing and other creative tasks.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
meh wrote:
uktrailmonster, well put it this way you can get the same spec PC for less than the equivalent spec Mac so hardware isn't the issue and all the major video editing programs apart from those developed exclusively by Apple are available on both. Workflow is also identical between platforms. I don't think Macs are bad either it's just this "go with Mac they are better for that sort of thing" attitude is out of date.
You could say the same about PC's are cheaper argument. Especially if you take into account second hand residual values. For home video editing a bog standard iMac is very hard to beat overall as a one-stop package. Most independent reviews tend to back this up and my personal experience certainly does. Software integration always seems better on Macs too. For example when working with video, rendering edits such as exposure and contrast always seems faster and smoother on Macs. The software seems to make more efficient use of the hardware for whatever reason.
Nothing wrong with PCs either, but they are not necessarily cheaper as you suggest. Not when comparing exact like-for-like spec (PCs usually come with crap quality monitors as standard) and taking into account residual value over 3 years. Macs used to be more expensive for sure (in the G4 days), but it's not so clear cut today.
Perhaps a better way to put it is "Go with a Mac if you don't know what you're doing and just want a solution that works well straight out of the box"
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
uktrailmonster, I'd go with "use what you're familiar with, both platforms work fine for video editing at all levels, just make sure you have bags of RAM".
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Has anyone actually answered the question or just debated which machine is better?
I'm currently using windows movie maker because its free, it doesn't produce (or rather I cant get it to produce) high quality clips but it does what I need it to do.
If there are any reasonable freebies which I can use on a windows 7 machine then I'll be glad to hear about them.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
homers double, I thought movie maker had an option to save as High Def quality?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
meh wrote:
uktrailmonster, I'd go with "use what you're familiar with, both platforms work fine for video editing at all levels, just make sure you have bags of RAM".
The OP asked for free, so he's unlikely to be wanting to buy new hardware to support his video editing habit. But, if you're looking to edit video footage, I agree that bags of RAM (well, at least 4GB anyway) is important. It's also ridiculously cheap, provided you have free slots and haven't bought a machine like the Macbook Air where the RAM is soldered directly to the motherboard.
If you're looking to buy or upgrade a machine to support video editing, though, the storage subsystem is perhaps even more important. Video editing - especially HD video - really thrashes the hard drive, and laptops in particular are often afflicted by hideously slow drives. Editing video on a machine with a solid state drive is a real revelation: despite its relatively slow ultr-low voltage processor, my Macbook Air is a delight to use with video regardless of whether I'm using Linux (which I usually am) or OS X. It's definitely much better for that purpose than my smokin' quad core desktop system with a hard drive. In the Mac world, I'm absolutely certain that the Air is more suited to a typical home movie project than the Pro even though the Pro has much more theoretical processor grunt.
Another often-overlooked factor is the display. There really is no point attempting to edit HD video on a pathetic 1280x768 screen, which is what most laptop manufacturers dump on the unsuspecting public: the display won't allow you to assess the quality of the footage you're editing. And if you have one of the seriously rubbish washed-out laptop screens with colours that magically vary as you tilt the lid - as supplied by vendors like HP - then don't be surprised if your video colours look peculiar when you play back your masterpiece on your HDTV.
Processor speed isn't that relevant unless you have an Atom or Brazos chip. Any modern processor will keep up with the interactive part of the editing process, and you can always make a cup of tea while the finished article is rendering.
So, no, you don't need a Mac to edit video. But, if you want to edit video on a laptop, a Windows machine is likely to be very compromised by a poor display or a slow hard drive. A modern Windows desktop will likely be fine, though.
BTW, editing the video footage of your skiing holiday is the perfect way to while away a long transatlantic trip home. It certainly beats watching the rubbish movies created by the so-called professionals in Hollywood
I've been using Live Movie maker to edit Contour footage. It's free and easy to use, does put a logo in the corner though. This is one I did very quickly yesterday (with titles, etc), it can be watched at 1080p.
Jonny Jones, yer am editing on solid-state drives as well. Ridiculous transfer rates FTW!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
meh wrote:
homers double, I answered the question above including pointing to two professional level tools that are free.
Missed that, I'll have a look. Movie Maker seems to take an age to load the clips I want to edit, will those you spoke about be faster?
kitenski wrote:
homers double, I thought movie maker had an option to save as High Def quality?
I was refering to my abilities, not the actual program.
After all it is free
After all it is free
roche1800, Have you tried http://download.cnet.com I always use it when I am looking for software. If you have never used it just make sure you select your operating system and free or free to try.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I think I'll have a look at Lightworks on the laptop at home and see if it makes it any better.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
homers double, possibly faster but maybe not, you might just be limited by the size of the file and the speed the computer is able to drag it off the hard drive. HD footage is pretty huge and hard drives have pretty slow transfer rates.
I'd also recommend giving the trials of Sony Vegas and Adobe Premier try as well. They both come in various flavours depending on how much techno-wizardry you want.
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
I movie is pretty good
