Video Suite for a High School Course

[hanexs]

Hi, I have been running a video class for a few years now in a High School. A few years ago, I bought Pinnacle Studio, big mistake, it was a crash fest. But we stuck through it and even made some cool videos in between the crashes.

A bit about the course:

The class is a 90 day course. Students play with cameras, make about 6-7 movies in groups. The movies are typically quite simple, transitions, effects, even some Green screening, sometimes we overlay flash animation ect, but nothing too intensive. We certainly won't be filming in HD.

My question

I just got approved money for a new Video Editing Suite. I am thinking about buy Adobe Premiere CS3. I really liked how Pinnacle Studio was EASY to use, but I am hoping Premiere will crash less, and if it is a little harder to use, no big deal. Would anyone recommend something else instead?

Also I have about $200-300 extra, for extra tools. I have burning software, and FLV conversion software to turn movies into flash movies. Is there any other software people would recommend to complement Premiere or another editing suite? Another questions, can Premiere do chroma keying/green screening out of the box, or do I need to buy a plugin for this?

[pijetro]

Personally, i'd find out if Adobe could give you a deal on a Student's licensing scheme..
Also, compare costs of the Premiere Elements series to the full blown CS3 grade, and see if you could save some money on that...I'm guessing that you're trying to teach them basic editing skills.
You can do keying in Premiere..Although, if you want serious keying with total control, After Effects has a built it Plugin called Keylight. But see if it isn't already in Premiere CS3..

But regardless of which Premiere package you choose, the most important function of your computer, would be to have it configured correctly..That is, capture drive, system drive, and separate scratch disks..
Without proper configuration and system requirements, you'll crash Premiere just as easily as a $20 video editor..

Also I have about $200-300 extra

Depending on the budget of the video suite, you'll probably be keen to throw it into processors, ram, soundcard or any hardware that your imagination can handle...

Man, I wish i was back in Highschool...
They just started introducing computers around 1987, let alone video editing.

[jagabo]

I don't have any direct experience with it, but I hear the latest version of Pinnacle Studio, 11, is much more stable. Since Avid took over the product they seem to have made an effort to fix the bugs. Something Pinnacle never seemed to bother with.

[oldandinthe way]

Test Premiere on your systems. In my experience it is a resource hog and you may have to consider memory and other upgrades. As frustrating as crashes are, long processing delays will provide incentives for non-productive behavior on the part of students.

Adobe does provide limited time evaluation disks.

[hanexs]

We are getting it for $230 on academic licensing. It doesn't come with After Effects. Is this something I should try and get?

[tmh]

Personally, I use Magix movie Edit Pro 11 PLUS (UK Version) and I think it's very easy and user-friendly. Costs maybe $50 or so. Has 16 tracks I think, embedded video and audio correction type stuff, etc. Several quirks but from what I hear they ALL have that.

With Magix and a few free programs I can do all I want with Dv and photos, but your needs may differ. It is easy to learn in my opinion and I came from Pinnacle (version 9 I think) for the same reason - buggy as heck. Magix almost never has crashed on me.

Limited menu creation so another program may be better for that step, but enough for most basic stuff.

[Relayerman]

I use Serif's MoviePlus 5. Great editor with chroma key builtin, titling, effects, transitions, multiple video and audio tracks, does capture, imports / exports various video formats. It comes with a DVD authoring / burning tool, but it was kinda just thrown in as part of the package and not real sophisticated. The manual is good and the builtin help is even better plus tutorials are fun and educational. The whole package is worth looking at, though. I use several of their products and their support is great (they actually read and respond to their forums daily!). Money back guarantee as well. BTW, they do have educational licenses available, too.

http://www.serif.com/movieplus/movieplus5/index.asp

To get a good look you can download the manual here:

http://www.serif.com/community/productmanuals.asp

Relayerman

[tmh]

just fyi, I also have heard good things about Serif's MoviePlus 5 in another forum I frequent (it's a Movie edit pro forum, and some say MoviePlus 5 is similar but solves some "issues"). both are less discussed here but very worthy options I'd say.

Good luck