Beginner Questions. Hoping to reach a professional level as video editor

[parker7d7]

What makes a "good" edit is often very subjective . If you tick all the checkmarks, and client is happy, then technically that is a good edit

Some people might not like the grading, or creative style of a certain edit, but the director or executive producer might have wanted it done a certain , specific way

But to be a "good editor" you have to be flexible enough to able to do all those things - to be able to produce what is asked of you - and quickly with deadlines

It was mentioned earlier - but of you're just doing the editing and are given garbage material - there is only so much you can do with it. GIGO



RE - cost:

It's going to depend on what you need specifically.

For example, If you're not doing 3D work, CAD , those sorts of things you're probably not going to need a workstation card

If you're planning on editing UHD material, you're going to need signficant hardware upgrades

A recent MBP running FCPX should be good enough for 1080p material, but you should at least have one or more external drives for media

Thanks for the input-and really want to know at this point if anyone can give a ballpark estimate on cost?

[newpball]

Also you are going to need a couple of good monitors.

[parker7d7]

Also you are going to need a couple of good monitors.

Couple or just one? I can just buy those off ebay for like 50 bucks or something right?

[newpball]

Also you are going to need a couple of good monitors.

Couple or just one? I can just buy those off ebay for like 50 bucks or something right?

Sure, your color correction will be real pro level....

And I would not edit with at least two monitors, but that's just me.

[poisondeathray]

Ballpark is tough because you can spend as little or as much as you want. Maybe $2K to $10K .

Multiple monitors are helpful for screen "real estate". It really helps to have things spread out. You can of course get by with one. Or 4k/UHD monitors are coming down in price

But ideally one of your monitors should be a professional monitor for color work . Not $50 on ebay

Programs like Resolve (the gold standard for color work, and there is a free version available) can utilize multiple GPU's. Some filters scale linearly. So ideally you would have a few cards. - You get the idea. It can get very expensive very quickly

[parker7d7]

Ballpark is tough because you can spend as little or as much as you want. Maybe $2K to $10K .

Multiple monitors are helpful for screen "real estate". It really helps to have things spread out. You can of course get by with one. Or 4k/UHD monitors are coming down in price

But ideally one of your monitors should be a professional monitor for color work . Not $50 on ebay

Programs like Resolve (the gold standard for color work, and there is a free version available) can utilize multiple GPU's. Some filters scale linearly. So ideally you would have a few cards. - You get the idea. It can get very expensive very quickly

Ok so ill look for those. Is 150-200 a better price to look for them? Might not buy them to start but I will eventually or maybe even to start- i have to take it into consideration

[poisondeathray]

You can "get by" and spend less if you want. There is a wide price range for components. Like cars.

In general, it 's less expensive to build a PC system using comparable spec components (especially if you do it yourself), and easier to customize or upgrade parts. More difficult with Apple

New stuff is always coming out. New technology, product cycles, etc... So don't invest huge once. Usually it's a better to make more frequent purchases over time

[parker7d7]

You can "get by" and spend less if you want. There is a wide price range for components. Like cars.

In general, it 's less expensive to build a PC system using comparable spec components (especially if you do it yourself), and easier to customize or upgrade parts. More difficult with Apple

New stuff is always coming out. New technology, product cycles, etc... So don't invest huge once. Usually it's a better to make more frequent purchases over time

Thanks for the advice. Did you start out with a monitor or is it something you got as you go better? Also at what age did you guys start or is that subjective or unimportant to the amount of work you put in?

[poisondeathray]

With a monitor? Are you comparing to a laptop? (because a laptop has a "display" monitor) .

I've used a laptop to edit before on the road. It's "doable" but not preferred. Desktop with monitor(s) are usually much faster for the workflow. A desktop of the same generation will be faster, have better cooling, and cost less.

You can get pretty crazy "laptops" that are desktop replacements. But nobody in their right might would call them "laptops" They have desktop chips, overclocked, desktop cards. Cost about $6-8K fully decked out and are absolutely huge, about 10-12 lbs

The other stuff really isn't important.

[parker7d7]

With a monitor? Are you comparing to a laptop? (because a laptop has a "display" monitor) .

I've used a laptop to edit before on the road. It's "doable" but not preferred. Desktop with monitor(s) are usually much faster for the workflow. A desktop of the same generation will be faster, have better cooling, and cost less.

You can get pretty crazy "laptops" that are desktop replacements. But nobody in their right might would call them "laptops" They have desktop chips, overclocked, desktop cards. Cost about $6-8K fully decked out and are absolutely huge, about 10-12 lbs

The other stuff really isn't important.

Ok, I was just making sure that I would be okay using my laptop for now, because I have the option to invest later, rather than needing to make sure I have one to begin with

[poisondeathray]

what is the laptop now ? what year /model/ specs ?

[parker7d7]

what is the laptop now ? what year /model/ specs ?

I have a 2011 macbook pro. As for the specs they are as copy and pasted form my system overview:
-Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5
-Memory 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
-Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
-Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

[parker7d7]

what is the laptop now ? what year /model/ specs ?

I have a 2011 macbook pro. As for the specs they are as copy and pasted form my system overview:
-Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5
-Memory 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
-Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
-Software Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63)

Forgot to add its a late 2011 and I use it as my everyday computer

[poisondeathray]

It's usable, but not ideal . It's going to feel sluggish on most HD editing projects with typical media

You need faster processor, more memory, better GPU

[newpball]

4GB for HD?

No way!

[parker7d7]

It's usable, but not ideal . It's going to feel sluggish on most HD editing projects with typical media

You need faster processor, more memory, better GPU

Is this something that I need a new computer for? if not then how much would the monitor most likely cost me? If its alot thats fine but I dont need anything "excessive" for my needs(if there is such a level)

[newpball]

I can try to find a video of what I considered to be a well made video...

Here is a video I particularly like in terms of special effects, they are done not just for effect's sake but they complement the allusions to film and video history.



It was directed by Grady Hall.

Kudos!

[parker7d7]

I can try to find a video of what I considered to be a well made video...

Here is a video I particularly like in terms of special effects, they are done not just for effect's sake but they complement the allusions to film and video history.



It was directed by Grady Hall.

Kudos!

Couldn't see it. Mozillas being faulty on me

[parker7d7]

I can try to find a video of what I considered to be a well made video...

Here is a video I particularly like in terms of special effects, they are done not just for effect's sake but they complement the allusions to film and video history.



It was directed by Grady Hall.

Kudos!

By the way,do you think it might be a good idea to just buy more memory for my mac or pc(whichever one I would use to do the video editing on)

[poisondeathray]

It's usable, but not ideal . It's going to feel sluggish on most HD editing projects with typical media

You need faster processor, more memory, better GPU

Is this something that I need a new computer for? if not then how much would the monitor most likely cost me? If its alot thats fine but I dont need anything "excessive" for my needs(if there is such a level)

You can "get by" using a cheap monitor or even your current MBP, but you're going to get frustrated and pull your hair out trying to edit with older MBP. Only you can determine if it's "good enough" for you by playing with the software. FCPX has a free trial, so download it and import some footage typical of what you think you're going to be using

"unresponsiveness" is the most frustrating thing for an editor. Slow render times usually aren't a problem (for example you can render overnight) unless you have deadlines

There are "tricks" people use - for example everything is transcoded to prores, and that makes editing smoother, more responsive, but that takes more time, and you incur some negligible quality loss. Another trick is a "proxy edit" - You have low resolution versions that you edit with and you swap back when it's time to do final render

[parker7d7]

It's usable, but not ideal . It's going to feel sluggish on most HD editing projects with typical media

You need faster processor, more memory, better GPU

Is this something that I need a new computer for? if not then how much would the monitor most likely cost me? If its alot thats fine but I dont need anything "excessive" for my needs(if there is such a level)

You can "get by" using a cheap monitor or even your current MBP, but you're going to get frustrated and pull your hair out trying to edit with older MBP. Only you can determine if it's "good enough" for you by playing with the software. FCPX has a free trial, so download it and import some footage typical of what you think you're going to be using

"unresponsiveness" is the most frustrating thing for an editor. Slow render times usually aren't a problem (for example you can render overnight) unless you have deadlines

There are "tricks" people use - for example everything is transcoded to prores, and that makes editing smoother, more responsive, but that takes more time, and you incur some negligible quality loss. Another trick is a "proxy edit" - You have low resolution versions that you edit with and you swap back when it's time to do final render

Ok then ill look into some more options

[poisondeathray]

That's a good example newpball posted. If you can't see the embedded version, view it on the YT page
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dtFZ8CFo8

Even if you're not a fan of the music, or the genre, or visual style - you can appreciate the level of quality. Everything flows and fits together and the effects are nicely done. They don't distract from the main goal (which is the music video).

[parker7d7]

That's a good example newpball posted. If you can't see the embedded version, view it on the YT page
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dtFZ8CFo8

Even if you're not a fan of the music, or the genre, or visual style - you can appreciate the level of quality. Everything flows and fits together and the effects are nicely done. They don't distract from the main goal (which is the music video).

Yeah I would definitely consider that a really well made video. Pretty good song too

[newpball]

You mentioned in a now closed topic that your footage comprises of a lot of sports games.

For that you hardly need any effects. Slow motion, perhaps an occasional frame freeze but that is pretty much it.

[budwzr]

Don't waste your time with imovie - none of the technical skills are translatable to real editing tools . It's basically a toy

Yes, there are important concepts involved in editing that don't show up in the toy software.

Editing is very geeky. Don't hamstring yourself going for the easy-peasy NLE's. It takes about a year for your mind to open up.

If you use software designed for the unwashed masses, you delay the learning. I don't use this term as an insult, just to describe the "Joe Shmoe" types.

[lordsmurf]

Both of those are Professional tools.

Yes, but barely.
Really high end pro tools include specialty apps, such as Davinci.
And Avid is still preferred.

I use Premiere Pro and FCP myself, but I have much more basic needs.

[glowx]

Check here for good tutorials:

http://www.lynda.com/Video-Editing-training-tutorials/82-0.html