Newbie General Questions

I am looking to get started in Computer Video and am soliciting any advice.
Some 15 years ago, I worked in TV broadcasting with analog equipment and
linear editing. I am now returning to my passion and wonder what advice
anyone can offer regarding the best platform, etc. Based on my initial
reading, MAC seems to be the better platform. I will mainly be producing
videos for family, weddings, groups, etc. The budgets will be on the low
side and I am looking for an initially learning friendly, yet semi
professional looking results. I am also seeking any thoughts anyone may
have regarding Camera equipment. My initial thought is purchasing a Sony
TRV950 camera and an Apple iMac 1Ghz with Superdrive. I am also looking at
adding Final Cut Express. Are the DVD-Rs produced by the iMac, fairly
compatable with most DVD players? Are they professional looking enough? I
would also appreciate it if anyone could steer me towards a good article or
two as a primer. Thanks so much in advance.

Chris

In article <vl849teicn03c4 DeleteThis @corp.supernews.com>,
"Chris" <cmcvideo DeleteThis @charter.net> wrote:

 > I am looking to get started in Computer Video and am soliciting any advice.
 > Some 15 years ago, I worked in TV broadcasting with analog equipment and
 > linear editing. I am now returning to my passion and wonder what advice
 > anyone can offer regarding the best platform, etc. Based on my initial
 > reading, MAC seems to be the better platform. I will mainly be producing
 > videos for family, weddings, groups, etc. The budgets will be on the low
 > side and I am looking for an initially learning friendly, yet semi
 > professional looking results. I am also seeking any thoughts anyone may
 > have regarding Camera equipment.

 > My initial thought is purchasing a Sony
 > TRV950 camera and an Apple iMac 1Ghz with Superdrive.

The TRV950 is a nice camera. Regardless, You should have a second camera
available. Even without a second cameraperson, you can set it on a
tripod focused on some static area (head table, long view of room, etc)
to get more than one angle, more audio sources, etc.

I would strongly recommend getting a Dual G4. The increase in
productivity will more than pay for itself after just a few projects.
Even a Dual 800 (still available on the used market) would outperform a
single 1 GHz in many tasks. To save money you can use the monitor_s_ you
already have (gotta go dual monitors, which Power Macs support out of
the box), and there is room for a separate hard drive for media capture
and editing.

 > I am also looking at adding Final Cut Express.

Quite a professional step up from iMovie. Hard to pass up, in that Apple
is selling it for $99 when you buy any new Mac. BTW, you can save some
money buying with an education discount. Sign up for a film class from
your local community college, then buy everything you need as a student.
Heck, Apple will even sell to home-schoolers, or anyone with a kid in
school.

 > Are the DVD-Rs produced by the iMac, fairly
 > compatable with most DVD players? Are they professional looking enough?

iMovie and iDVD can certainly produce "Pro" looking output depending on
your goals and abilities. iDVD 3 can handle chapters and slide shows,
and it is so easy to make something the average family, wedding, or
small group will really appreciate. (Just remember to turn off the Apple
watermark!)

I've found my iDVD projects to be pretty universally playable. The only
thing it hasn't worked in so far is an X-Box, but I'm not sure if DVD
playback was enabled on it. I've only used Apple DVD-Rs, which people
say are excellent for compatibility.

Be aware that iDVD is limited to 90 minutes of content, and only 60
minutes at best quality, since it uses constant bit rate encoding. Since
few people want to sit through more than 60 minutes of home video that
is rarely a problem. Still, if you want variable bit rate, and/or a lot
of fancy multi-track stuff then you have to step up.

 > I would also appreciate it if anyone could steer me towards a good
 > article or two as a primer.

Obviously Apple.com/ilife will get you started. There are profiles of
various pros and how they use Macs to do what they do, including using
iDVD.

David Pogue has a good book called iMovie and iDVD: The Missing Manual
that has some good advice, and will give you a feel for their
capabilities.

You can post more questions at the MacDV list. It is a good mix of
newbies and pros. There was just recently a discussion about wedding
videos.

<http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/MacDV.html>

You can also go to 2-pop, which is more pro-oriented.

<http://www.uemedia.com/CPC/2-pop/>

Feel free to ask more questions.

--
Chicago, IL
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