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Just Setting Up
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[Christopher Wright] “Boy is this a loaded statement.”
Man, you got that right. That’s one of those one-sided comments that starts the inevitable, useless, and never-ending “Mac v. PC” flame wars. A similar situation crops up now and then on one of my non-Cow cinematography forums with the “Digital v. Film” debate.
Bottom line, they are just tools.
For us, it’s PC. With the exception of a couple of Macs that our art director prefers, we’ve been a PC house since the beginning 12 years ago… with three edit suites all running PCs, and I like to think we churn out that so-called “professional work.”
Just tools. Use the tool best for you.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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[Christopher Wright] “Boy is this a loaded statement.”
Absolutely, positively agree. I love the Mac, but PC is cheaper and there are a ton of great tools on there as well.
Like most of us say, everything out there is just a tool, choose the one you really need to work with and that makes you the most compatible with your local media community.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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Todd – Amen!
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Not that I would ever purposely contribute to the endless Mac vs. PC war, but here’s my position on the benefits of Macs:
– Final Cut Pro. Say what you will, but FCP seems to have wider acceptance in the mid-to-professional community than any PC editing software aside from Avid, which is almost certainly out of the smaller shop’s price range. There is a reason so many have moved to FCP, and it’s not just slick marketing. Throw in (the previously $10,000) Color software and you’ve got a system that would cost $20k to match on a PC, computer not included. This is a compelling value proposition.
– Macs can run both Windows and OSX, all but ending the need to choose. Operating system isn’t really part of the equation any more.
– Mac hardware is, for the most part, of a higher quality than most preconfigured PCs out there. Dells are chock full of components supplied by the absolute lowest bidder, and while Macs aren’t perfect they do seem to last longer and offer up fewer complaints day to day. This also results in a MUCH higher resale value than any PC can hope for.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Jody –
my response is very different from everyone else on this list. There is no “best” camera for under $2000. From your description, you have never done this before, and are completely new – yet you are trying to start your own video production company.This is my advice to you. GET A JOB. Go to work for a local TV station, or production company – even if it’s for free as an intern. Learn how to use some of this equipment. Learn what lighting means, learn what editing means. I don’t give a crap if you just got out of XYZ Film school – all this means nothing, your student film is not a replacment for real life experience. You dont want to learn and embarass yourself in front of potential new clients that may (or may not) give you a chance. Get a job, learn some of these skills. See what a real video camera does. See what a real editing system does. See what it takes to actually run a small business.
THEN, you can think about buying some equipment. It will make a lot more sense, when you have some potential clients. You may find that if you can’t afford real equipment, but have the drive and ambition to get these clients right now, you will find plenty of people that are struggling that will let you hire them (and their equipment) to do your production and editing jobs. When you accomplish this (without equipment) – this means that you are a PRODUCER. You may find this more profitable in the long run anyway.
Bob Zelin
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Not my intention to start a flame war. It’s just having worked on PCs for many years before making the switch to Mac, there is a world of difference. Ok, maybe not in terms of what the software can achieve, but the reliability is just in a different league. Working for my last employer, we were putting up with PCs falling over all the time – and this was a major broadcaster, not some backroom operation. You just don’t get it those sort of annoyances happening with Macs.
Anyway, s’just an opinion…
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Hi every one,
I will tell you how I got set up. I started working for a wedding photographer shooting the videos. Some of buttons on the cameras didn’t work to well (AG-455 and AG-456). So I got my own and he gave me more money because I used my own equipment. I got one camera after my first year and the second one the next year. There was other stuff I needed that he had. So I got everything a little at a time (mic’s, Lights and Tripod).With editing I wasted money on that. I had a Fast Video Machine with 3 AG-1980 decks and did not make any money editing. Then around 2000 or 2001 I sold it all but one deck. Got a VX-2000 and a new PC with Adobe premiere 6.5 and the photographer had me edit all the weddings that year. So I did not shoot that year. I have full time job to.
If I had to do it over with the editing I would go with a Mac. With a Mac you can install Adobe premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and Avid. On a PC you can’t use Final Cut Pro and I see a lot of job posts that say Final Cut Pro Editor need. Not premiere Pro, Vegas, and Pinnacle. Just Avid and Final Cut Pro. So if you need to sub-contract as an editor I would learn Final Cut Pro. Doing your own jobs use what you like.
For my own video jobs I edit with premiere Pro CS3 on a PC. This fall a company I shoot weddings for ask me if I would like to edit some of the wedding I shot and they use Final Cut Pro and they want me edit using Final Cut Pro. If had a Mac all I would need is the software. No one is asking to have there wedding in HD yet.
I make money with Event Videos. I did one Real Estate video.
Paul
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