What software and hardware do I need?

I am by no means an expert, but my best friend, who does quite a bit of editing for himself, and for my church as a volunteer, uses a software package from Adobe. I don't know the full particulars, but it consists of several modules, one for actual video editing, another for titling, effects, another for rendering, DVD burning, and another for audio editing. I believe the whole package is between $2000 and $2500 or so. There are other packages out there, but before my friend chose Adobe, he did quite a bit of research.

Yes, Adobe Premier is an excellent product that will do everything the OP mentions and much much more.

For the sorts of things the OP mentions, the video editing tools that come with a Mac would work well. I use a Windows machine, and many times have intended to buy a Mac, but then I decide to do one last fix, and this blasted thing is resurrected, giving me no good excuse for throwing it out the window. (I hate all new versions of Windows, and would far prefer to use Windows 3.11 for Workgroups which was about ten times as fast as the current products... but for the time being I am using Windows 2000, and am not completely disgusted with it.)

You'd want a middle of the road computer with a moderately large hard drive (500 gig or so). Even this old clunker (2001 vintage) will edit video, but "rendering" the video into the finished product can take time (maybe as much as 3 times real time, depending on compression level)... and that would be quicker with something faster.

For PC, Ulead makes a pretty good product that is far less expensive than adobe Premier.

Avid still makes (I think) professional grade systems that are many thousands.

Apple's Final Cut software will allow you to have multiple streams and cut between them. It is very nice. You will need a Mac Pro to run it on. I am on the verge of investing in a Mac Pro with dual quad processors, four 1TB hard drives and you can have up to 32GB of ram, it's outrageous. Unfortunately the whole package will run you six or seven grand.

I have a friend who does video editing as his sole source of income, and has for at least 20 years. He currently uses Final Cut Pro on a G5 Mac.

The system rcapper is describing is excellent, but if you are on a budget, you can get a refurbished G5 with enough RAM etc. for around $1100. For not much more you can get a brand new 20" iMac, although there is no place to add souped-up video cards and the like.

A friend just directed me to the site to read about the F-22 canopy and I thought I'd look around, hope no one minds a quick post while I'm here ...

I was in the television/film business for 20+ years before retiring to Bali to do something 'completely different' but in that previous life had occassion to work on a number of different non-linear systems. I'll briefly give you the run-down here:

Avid was the first company to introduce editing non-linear video on a computer and at the outset I recall editing images on the screen not much larger than a postage stamp - we've come a long way from those first tentative steps. They had a falling out wth Mac somewhere along the way and migrated their platform to PC where I believe it still resides. Very good software but it was always expensive and I suspect would still come at a premium price - not necessary for what you are doing.

Final Cut Pro is proprietary to Macs and you would want a top machine to run it smoothly. It is great software wth all the features you need (although I would recommend you run Photoshop and possibly AfterEffects in concert with FCP) but it all comes at a fairly dear cost as another who posted has already mentioned.

The budget way to go is on a dual-core 2gb PC with lots of RAM and for storage I would recommend you consider a hard disc array. You should also try to get a machine with Firewire built-in or you'll need a PCI card and those can sometimes be a bit twitchy. For software you want to run Adobe Premier along with the other programs I mentioned above if you can afford them. This will do all you are ever likely to need for documentary films and you will find it a stable and reliable platform to do your editing. Premier is also relatively easy to learn and use for those new to editing.

Good luck,

Reg

In a nutshell...

Start with the system requirements on the camcorder package; but remember that these are minimums (sometimes recommended as well).

Next, check with camcorder sales person (or manufacturer if you get a blank look) for the computer performance index rating best suited your prospective 'corder purchase.

At the same time ask around to computer manufacturers (sales departments) and ask for their computer rating that best fits with your HD digital camcorder.

A computer performance index rating is the grading system which computer mfrs use to match their offerings to the uses that customers express interest in. It is a composite index based on individual ratings of various individual hardware performance ratings. For example, Dell's, 1 - 5 score rating system takes into account the performance subratings for such things as:

• Processor: Calculations per second
• RAM: memory operations per second
• Graphics: Desktop performance of card and card memory or onboard integrated
• Gaming graphics: 3d business and gaming graphics (on screen) performance
• Primary hard disc: Date transfer rate

Suppose, then, that you were interested in video editing (movie making). While you might not need the capabilities required for intensive high level gaming or 3d applications, you would probably want memory rating (RAM capacity and speed) as well as hard disc rating (for rpm, capacity, and read-write access) to be a high constituent of the overall machine rating. Referring back to Dell, they would say that an overall index rating of 3 would be adequate for most video play, but that 3 or less would be likely to "struggle" to play high definition TV programming. So you would want to start at a 3.x, and up, machine according as your budget allows. A 4-5 rating would be adequate for "playing" just about any kind of programming, including HD digital TV.

As you discuss the matter with computer sales persons, be sure to ask about the rating of whatever machine they recommend based on your description of what you want the machine to do. Most likely they will be recommending based on the machine's rating, even if they don't tell you about it.

Again, as to computer (playback system) brand name...whether its a PC or a Mac is not something you need to fret over. The rating alone is a very good way to get what you need without bothering yourself trying to sort out all the various opinions (and deliberately incomprehensible advertising claims) about individual computer features. As to the "PC or Mac" question, however, you would probably get the most bank for your buck (including software) with the PC; Mac, on the other hand will provide greater ease of use, but at a comparatively higher price for comparable features to a PC. (Additionally, for those at the college undergraduate age of strong, hormonally-induced herding instinct, the Mac currently seems to enjoy strong peer group consensus in spite of price.)

UG

The software provided with the camcorder and computer operating system should be more than adequate for your playback and editing needs. As you gain experience editing, then you might want to consider other video applications; but that would be a decision best left for later on. Keep your focus on the camera and the playback machine for the time being. Also, desktops machines still offer the best value in terms of overall performance and longterm reliability at the least cost.

ug

Have you checked Mac prices lately?

In many cases the higher end machines are now actually cheaper than equivalent PCs. A month or two ago, I think it was Popular Mechanics that had a side-by-side comparison.

Now factor in the fact that they work better and it's a no-brainer. If I didn't have other requirements that necessitated Windows I would completely abandon that nightmare.

I do have Windows XP installed on my MacBook Pro, and use it when I have to (rarely), but never when connected to the internet!

As I have said on other occasions, I repair Macs, so when there is a virus I will hear about it quickly. So far, there has not been one that affects Mac OSX. The last time I helped a company remove a virus from Macs was 1998!