NLE system needed, Promax?

[Barbara Daly]

In my case I run a one person video production company. I got into the business 25 years ago ’cause I’m a creative type. Now that all my work is computer based I am more than happy to have someone to defer all the tech. stuff to. Any time I can delegate it is more than worth it.

[Andrew Kimery]

Brendan,

I think this is just another example of a horses for courses thing as not everyone has the same needs, job responsibilities, etc.,.

[Brendan Coots] “I am of the opinion that any editor who doesn’t know what components go into an editing system, or can’t reliably turn on their own machine shouldn’t be in the industry. I don’t have half the experience that many here do, but from my observations half of an editor’s job (or any digital artist) is managing the tools that go into their work”
I know a number of editors who aren’t the most tech savvy individuals around, but they have no problems getting work because they have solid storytelling skills and the market they work in budgets for editors *and* support staff, not editors *as* support staff. There are market needs for specialists and there are market needs for generalists.

“Great, provided they can do a better job/have more access than AppleCare can offer. Let’s remember these editing systems are Mac Pros with FCP pre-installed, speakers and monitors. The only things that COULD go wrong would be fully supported by Apple in those first 90 days even without AppleCare. “
If you are ordering a bare-bones box then I agree there’s not really a reason to go w/a VAR. But if you will be needing a more advanced system then Apple’s helpfulness will quickly come to a halt when you start asking about the non-Apple gear in your setup. For example, my current employer is putting together a finishing bay that will have an 8-core Mac Pro, 2×23″ ACD, 46″ client monitor, 24″ b’cast LCD, waveform rasterizer + 20″ LCD, Blackmagic Multibridge Eclipse, Tascam audio control surface, JL Cooper colorist panels, Wacom tablet, Genelec speakers, a third party ethernet card, and a fibre card to connect it to the xSan. This system is being built by our in house Production Technology guys, but if it wasn’t we’d sure as heck buy from a VAR cause that’s 7 or 8 different vender who are all going to point the finger at each other if it doesn’t all play right together.

-A

[Walter Biscardi]

[Andrew Kimery] “But if you will be needing a more advanced system then Apple’s helpfulness will quickly come to a halt when you start asking about the non-Apple gear in your setup.”

Absolutely. Apple will not answer any questions regarding any non-Apple equipment or software and one of their first lines of defense is to request that you contact those other vendors to ensure all your drivers / connections / setups are correct.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Mark Suszko]

Myself, I’m generally more of a tell-me-the-time,-not-how-to-build-the-watch kind of guy. I know a little about a lot of things, and baby, I can guess the rest…

The artist is not his tools: he KNOWS his tools, but he doesn’t necessarily always need to BUILD his tools.

In the Renaissance days, painters had to grind their own pigments and mix up their own paints, but once the technology to pre-mix a consistent pigment and binder and package it in a tube came along, most painters made better use of their time actually, you know, *painting*.

To take the analogy into other disciplines, Dale Jr. is a great driver, and knows more about race cars than you or I, but I bet his chief mechanic and pit crew know even more. Junior needs to know enough to drive, and to understand the limits of his machine, how to interpret and communicate it’s behavior to his crew, so they can tweak and adjust to his standards.

Jimmy Hendrix didn’t need to be a luthier, and I’m skeptical such knowledge would have added that much more to his artistic genius.

Orville and Wilber knew how to build their plane, but the guy in the cockpit of your United 777 likely doesn’t know how to buck rivets and apply clecos, but he knows how to take the built machine and fly it halfway around the world thru storms and dark and land it where you want to be, on time.

Yes, mastering the tools to the point you can build and maintain them can lead to your art and skills as an artist being even greater. But it is more of an option than a requirement for greatness, IMO, a choice the individual makes.

In terms of pure economy and practicality, I’m sure most producers and company bosses would prefer that you spend the bulk of your time actually editing, and not running around with the soldering iron or debugging code. Someone else has chosen to become a virtuoso at that skill set, and I say, let him do it, he’s better than I as a generalist can ever be. There are editor/ effects specialists that write their own plug-ins, creating new efects we’ve never seen before; they are kind of elites in my book, and I applaud them. But I don’t feel the need to learn C++ or whatever to get my work done, I’m not working on that rarefied level. I wait until I can buy their plug-ins and use them for my own needs as appropriate.

I want to know enough about the system to be like Dale Junior and his car: To wring the best performance out of it as-is, and to be able to communicate needs and ask questions of my crew chief/ chief engineer/ VAR when it’s broken or when I want it to do something that it’s never done before. But don’t ask me the differences between BIOS settings or what card goes best with what do-dad, particularly when they change from month to month. I have enoguh problems getting the program finished by deadline!

I don’t like making, labeling, and mailing out dubs, for instance, partly because I burned out a long time ago on them as a summer job in my youth, but also because once the system is set up, my MOM could make dubs… I have over twenty years of experience and training in doing higher-level production and editing functions, I am getting paid to execute higher-level functions, and I don’t think it’s exactly snobbery or acting over-entitled to disdain dub work; just bad economics to make me do it if a an idle, unskilled person is available to take that load, and let me get back to creative work that only I can do.

I’m not being egocentric about this or lazy; I mean, I’ll take one for the team, pull my weight, and MAKE the $%#%$ dubs if I have to, there’s nothing about the work that is lowly or shameful, but I feel the same way about it a surgeon might feel if asked to clean bedpans. I am not ashamed or insulted to do it, if it needs doing. But it’s not the best match of talents to tasks, and in the greater interest of the organization, I should be doing something more complicated.

I get a lot of time to compose a speech like that while making the $%#^$% dubs:-)

Did I mention I hate dubs?

[Barbara Daly]

You are all too funny! Love the dialogue–and to think I was only wondering if I should keep my faith in Promax! 🙂
b

[John Davidson]

Just an FYI, Apple Business Sales has now begun to include 3rd party hardware like Kona 3 installations into their custom builds.

John Davidson____ writer | producer | director____https://www.magicfeather.tv

[Walter Biscardi]

[John Davidson] “Just an FYI, Apple Business Sales has now begun to include 3rd party hardware like Kona 3 installations into their custom builds. “

Key word there is “now begun.” Ok, two words, but Apple Business Sales knows diddly about professional video production and how to set up a video editing suite. At least the Business Sales folks at our Apple Store certainly don’t.

Nothing beats a VAR with a lot of experience in setting up editing systems and better yet, complete broadcast solutions.

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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[John Davidson]

What? You don’t trust a 23 yr old making 8 bucks an hour at Lennox Mall with your business future?

I don’t use the physical store for that type of purchase – I wouldn’t expect an apple store clerk (even a genius) to be particularly helpful regarding our line of work. There’s actually a person I deal with out of Apple in Elk Grove, CA who is part of a post production oriented unit of the Apple Store. I use them for new system purchases as well as CS3, and my software stuff. They give the Apple business discount (which is around 5%) and will also knock off 5% of sales tax if the system will be used in a California post-production facility (I forget the name of the form you have to fill out). I do not use them for additional RAM (apple’s RAM price is way too high). We built an octo mac for a client a few weeks back and got most of the software and hardware through these guys. They apparently have some engineers that configure the built-to-order systems. I have NOT purchased an installed Kona3 as part of a Mac Pro system through them, but will be after I see if there’s an upgrade in Sept. I did try to test my contact’s knowledge regarding the addition of a 5th internal drive in the 2nd superdrive slot. She had never heard of that and didn’t think her engineer’s had heard of that either. Depending on how you look at it, that’s either a good thing or a bad thing.

It may not work for everyone, but it works for me.

John
President & Creative Director, Magic Feather Inc.

[Steve Wargo]

First of all, there is no “answer” that fits everyone. I open and work on anything. This scares the crap out of people around me. Many others have no desire to hold a screwdriver in their hand.

My own experience:

I have a fantastic editor who is brilliant at what he does, but, if we need to add more ram, I have to do it. He could probably do it but I hired him to edit, not fix or upgrade electronic devices. A former editor spent too much time tinkering and it cost me plenty.

I used to sell Discreet Edit and spent a lot of time building systems. My clients, however, were not at all interested in opening the box for any reason. If it stopped working, I did a service call.

You can buy a computer from Apple and they will send it with all of the software installed, ready to run but don’t ask them how to digitize footage or how to put Jay Leno’s head on a female body builder.

Some of us are techies an some are artists.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!

Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1 HD .

[Mick Haensler]

I read this thread with interest as buying a system from Promax was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. I have a rock solid system designed to my exacting specs and completely tested before shipped. But I don’t think that is the issue. I don’t think anyone would argue Promax WAS a great company. The question is should we trust the new company. What do we know about the new owner. I know my sales guy is back on board which tells me the new operation is PROBABLY just like the old Promax. Bottom line is we won’t know until we see how they conduct business over the next few months. If it were me, I would definitely give them a shot with a new system seeing as many of the old employees have come back. These guys know their stuff and were a great help to me when I migrated from PC to Mac.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media