Editing Suite

[shotbyshaun]

Having read through many EOSHD forum threads, I've happy to purchase two G6's with Canon FD or Yashica ML lenses (subject to availablity) to film events, interviews and short documentaries.

 

With regard to editing, my instinct is 15" Macbook Pro + FCP, however, my budget points towards a Windows laptop + Premiere Elements.  Is a i7 quad core laptop overkill?  Would I need additional hard drives and hardware?

 

I'd welcome your help and suggestions for a good photographer yet novice film-maker.

[stokstad]

I would recommend to get atleast 16bg DDR-ram and a proper graphics card (not only a integrated one). The 15" macbooks are good because they get alot of use and have a big community of users. They are expensive though.

 

FCP is probably a good starting suite, very easy to learn and good value in my opinion.

[jonpais]

No, it's not overkill. You'll definitely want quad-core + i7. I'm working with a Macbook Pro Retina 15" with only 8GB RAM and regretting it. Be sure to get at least 16GB RAM whatever system you get, and yeah, a Nvidia graphics card or something like that. And of course, you'll want to get Resolve Lite for your grading. David Vickers has started making some outstanding free tutorials for Resolve, as has Matthew Scott. For learning the ins and outs of FC, Lynda.com is excellent.

[shotbyshaun]

Thank you for your replies.  A Macbook Pro is probably beyond current budget.  Thankfully, I've just come across an affordable alternative - the Asus N56 laptop.  My current thinking is to edit in Premiere Elements and grade in Resolve Lite (thanks to jonpais for the Resolve Lite recommendation).

 

I've noticed that many video editors opt for external drives to store footage.  Would a standard USB3 drive be sufficient or would a RAID drive be more appropriate?

[jonpais]

Thank you for your replies.  A Macbook Pro is probably beyond current budget.  Thankfully, I've just come across an affordable alternative - the Asus N56 laptop.  My current thinking is to edit in Premiere Elements and grade in Resolve Lite (thanks to jonpais for the Resolve Lite recommendation).

 

I've noticed that many video editors opt for external drives to store footage.  Would a standard USB3 drive be sufficient or would a RAID drive be more appropriate?

Looks good to me... someone else will have to answer about RAID. Just one thing, though. Don't get HDD, get SSD.

[HurtinMinorKey]

Thank you for your replies.  A Macbook Pro is probably beyond current budget.  Thankfully, I've just come across an affordable alternative - the Asus N56 laptop.  My current thinking is to edit in Premiere Elements and grade in Resolve Lite (thanks to jonpais for the Resolve Lite recommendation).

 

I've noticed that many video editors opt for external drives to store footage.  Would a standard USB3 drive be sufficient or would a RAID drive be more appropriate?

 

RAID configured drive arrays are only really a necessity if you are shooting really large files (4K or raw) that need to be stored and edited in real time. The raid configuration will increase the rate at which data goes to the I/O hub, but since you will be shooting with G6s I don't think you need it.    And for the record, USB 3 is probably fast enough (~400MB/s) to handle 2-4 drive raid configurations, assuming the drives are not SSDs. 

 

The laptop you picked out looks to be a good budget solution. The SSD will make it snapier (faster boots and file transfers), but it will also add to the price and decrease your overall storage space..

[nigelbb]

Are you sure that you want a laptop? You pay a large premium for portability or conversely you get a lot more bang per buck if you spend the same money on a desktop system.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

I would never feel comfortable using a laptop as my main and only editing tool. Maybe It's just me but I just wouldn't do it. These things are small, fragile, weak and heat enormously. I tried practically everything and they all seem to be inferior to Desktops by miles. Just a thought. Do you specifically requite portability?

[shotbyshaun]

RAID configured drive arrays are only really a necessity if you are shooting really large files (4K or raw) that need to be stored and edited in real time. The raid configuration will increase the rate at which data goes to the I/O hub, but since you will be shooting with G6s I don't think you need it.    And for the record, USB 3 is probably fast enough (~400MB/s) to handle 2-4 drive raid configurations, assuming the drives are not SSDs. 

 

The laptop you picked out looks to be a good budget solution. The SSD will make it snapier (faster boots and file transfers), but it will also add to the price and decrease your overall storage space..

 

Thanks for the info!

 

 

Are you sure that you want a laptop? You pay a large premium for portability or conversely you get a lot more bang per buck if you spend the same money on a desktop system.

 

 

I would never feel comfortable using a laptop as my main and only editing tool. Maybe It's just me but I just wouldn't do it. These things are small, fragile, weak and heat enormously. I tried practically everything and they all seem to be inferior to Desktops by miles. Just a thought. Do you specifically requite portability?

 

A laptop is non essential.  If it makes more sense to go with a desktop then I am happy to trade convenience for power.  What desktops would you recommend?

[stokstad]

If you go for desktop, it can be good to check which graphic-cards are supported by adobe premiere for real-time rendering of effects.

[HurtinMinorKey]

 

 

 

A laptop is non essential.  If it makes more sense to go with a desktop then I am happy to trade convenience for power.  What desktops would you recommend?

 

 

 

Then it definitely makes more sense to go with a desktop. Given your budget, you probably should be aiming for something that has a nvidia 745 GTX or 750 GTX GPU.  The 760 is a big step up, but it requires more power, and so the overall system is going to be more expensive.  The processor should probably be Intel i5 4400 series.  

[jonpais]

As for myself, I've decided to pick up a 27" iMac with 16GB RAM and probably a 1TB fusion drive for a cool $2,600. 

Specs: 

 

• 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
• 16GB (two 8GB) memory
• 1TB hard drive¹
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M with 2GB video memory

[pablogrollan]

Then it definitely makes more sense to go with a desktop.

 

I agree. Even though they are really good, I'd stay away from the iMac since it limits your GPU choices. You can still get an Nvidia GTX 650 or 660, which is a litlle older but almost as powerful and cheaper (120-180 €), at least 16 GB of RAM (24 better), a Core i5 minimum (i7 better if in budget), at least 3 separate HDDs or SSDs (system, footage, and previews/exports), 750W power supply.

 

Put that in a nice enough gaming motherboard (Asus, for example) with a good sound card and plenty of USB3 ports, toss it in a good compact case and you got a great budget editing suite. I'd personally stay away from Premiere Elements and use Premiere CC or CS6 (the subscription is affordable).

 

You can get a rig like that for about 1.000 €

[AKH]

I would give a +1 for the Nvidia 750 suggestion.  The 750 has a much reduced power footprint over the previous generation. Its max power draw is about 60W (the 650 is approx 135W).  You can get away with a 400W power supply with even a fairly power hungry cpu and it is powered by the pcie slot alone.

[shotbyshaun]

Then it definitely makes more sense to go with a desktop. Given your budget, you probably should be aiming for something that has a nvidia 745 GTX or 750 GTX GPU.  The 760 is a big step up, but it requires more power, and so the overall system is going to be more expensive.  The processor should probably be Intel i5 4400 series.  

 

 

 

As for myself, I've decided to pick up a 27" iMac with 16GB RAM and probably a 1TB fusion drive for a cool $2,600. 

Specs: 

 

• 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
• 16GB (two 8GB) memory
• 1TB hard drive¹
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M with 2GB video memory

 

 

 

I agree. Even though they are really good, I'd stay away from the iMac since it limits your GPU choices. You can still get an Nvidia GTX 650 or 660, which is a litlle older but almost as powerful and cheaper (120-180 €), at least 16 GB of RAM (24 better), a Core i5 minimum (i7 better if in budget), at least 3 separate HDDs or SSDs (system, footage, and previews/exports), 750W power supply.

 

Put that in a nice enough gaming motherboard (Asus, for example) with a good sound card and plenty of USB3 ports, toss it in a good compact case and you got a great budget editing suite. I'd personally stay away from Premiere Elements and use Premiere CC or CS6 (the subscription is affordable).

 

You can get a rig like that for about 1.000 €

 

 

I would give a +1 for the Nvidia 750 suggestion.  The 750 has a much reduced power footprint over the previous generation. Its max power draw is about 60W (the 650 is approx 135W).  You can get away with a 400W power supply with even a fairly power hungry cpu and it is powered by the pcie slot alone.

 

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!  I really appreciate your advice.  I'm going to call my local component seller and price it all up. 

[jonpais]

@shotbyshaun I don't believe anyone definitively answered your initial question regarding an external drive. At least, I know I didn't! I've been doing some research myself since placing an order for the 27" iMac and realized that for editing, you should ALWAYS store your original media on an external, not the boot drive. I looked at lots of RAID devices out there and realized that even some of the better known brands have their unhappy customers, often because of poor after sales service. I also realized that with many of them, the transfer speeds weren't anywhere near what I expected from a RAID system. I don't think you said whether you planned to edit 4K or not in the future (and it's not really important, since it's always better to plan for the unexpected), but you've got to have some pretty quick storage for editing anything other than SD or HD in real time. For that reason, I've decided to pick up the soon to be released LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2, which houses two Samsung SSDs. With Thunderbolt 2, read and write speeds are off the map. Of course, since the 2013 iMacs only have Thunderbolt, speeds will be a touch slower. I don't intend to use the drive for my main storage, just for speedy editing. Since you're not getting a Mac, and the LaCie alone would kill your budget, you'll have to find another solution, but remember that a good external drive is crucial (no pun intended) to good performance.

 

Edit: I see HurtinMinorKey did offer some excellent advice concerning drives if you just plan to stick with the G6. In fact, since watching >this video, I'm wondering if I'm crazy for wanting to purchase the GH4.

[shotbyshaun]

@shotbyshaun I don't believe anyone definitively answered your initial question regarding an external drive. At least, I know I didn't! I've been doing some research myself since placing an order for the 27" iMac and realized that for editing, you should ALWAYS store your original media on an external, not the boot drive. I looked at lots of RAID devices out there and realized that even some of the better known brands have their unhappy customers, often because of poor after sales service. I also realized that with many of them, the transfer speeds weren't anywhere near what I expected from a RAID system. I don't think you said whether you planned to edit 4K or not in the future (and it's not really important, since it's always better to plan for the unexpected), but you've got to have some pretty quick storage for editing anything other than SD or HD in real time. For that reason, I've decided to pick up the soon to be released LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2, which houses two Samsung SSDs. With Thunderbolt 2, read and write speeds are off the map. Of course, since the 2013 iMacs only have Thunderbolt, speeds will be a touch slower. I don't intend to use the drive for my main storage, just for speedy editing. Since you're not getting a Mac, and the LaCie alone would kill your budget, you'll have to find another solution, but remember that a good external drive is crucial (no pun intended) to good performance.

 

Edit: I see HurtinMinorKey did offer some excellent advice concerning drives if you just plan to stick with the G6. In fact, since watching >this video, I'm wondering if I'm crazy for wanting to purchase the GH4.

 

Thanks for the sage advice.  I have no intention to shoot and edit 4K so I'll spec a system accordingly.  I've also read a technical guide on suitable systems to run Davinci Resolve which presented food for thought.  My journey continues.