Frequently Asked Questions

Comments

• 5
  
  posted by - Mike over 3 years ago

  iMovie and Garage Band on the mac side of things are a very powerful consumer combo. But Windows Movie Maker doesn't really cut it. On the windows side go for Premiere Elements. If your thinking about going pro later down the track then just dive straight into Final Cut Express/Pro or Avid. The steep learning curve will be worth it and theirs plenty of free tutorials available.
• 3
  
  posted by - rshorts over 3 years ago

  I would imagine that Walter Murch himself would have no problem putting together a nice and beautiful sequence on iMovie. Don't think software is going to make you a better editor, use the tools you have, become fluent in the language of film before you progress.
• 1
  
  posted by - SsorNomis over 2 years ago

  definitely just go straight for final cut pro. don't waste your time with programs like windows movie maker. there basically useless
• 1
  
  posted by - shane over 2 years ago

  I'd do about 3 attemps of cutting in i movie or something similar. if your happy with being able to chop and fade clips then move straight on to the higher proformance apps . once you have a grasp of basic cutting move on up. dont waste your time stickin in the lower end if you are serious. for work flow and using different types of footage and files - final cut is proably easier. That said Avid is also a great tool.
• 2
  
  posted by - pmccaw over 3 years ago

  I've recently moved to a Mac and after about a week using iMovie I paid the money and went for Final Cut Express. iMovie can produce great simple movies but does not give you the finer control that FCE gives you. BUT FCE is much harder. On Windows i used to use Edit Studio (www.mediachance.com). For the money ($US89) this is an exceptionally good package and i haven't found anything in FCE yet that Edit Studio couldn't do.
• 0
  
  posted by - sunzhen over 3 years ago

  thx rshots.
• 0
  
  posted by - halo_bone over 2 years ago

  Keep in mind the easiest way to learn something is to do it. If you ultimately want to learn Avid or Final Cut Pro, for example, you're not making it easier by starting with WMM or iMovie. If you do want to keep things on an really easy learning curve and get professional results with more flexibility that those simple programs, though, and since you're presumably on a PC since you mentioned WMM, I'd recommend at least trying the 30 day trial of Grass Valley's Edius. It's great in many ways and it's growing big time, especially outside the US.
• 0
  
  posted by - 3rd1video over 2 years ago

  Final Cut all the way
• 0
  
  posted by - amadeuskong over 2 years ago

  I started out on some other editing programs but once I took my editing classes and started to learn the in's and out's of Final Cut I swore to never use anything else. So by all means if you can get your hands on a copy of FCP or express go for it and learn it you will not be disappointed.
• 0
  
  posted by - JoanaMorais about 1 year ago

  I recommend Corel VideoStudio Pro X3, easy and intuitive to edit, not a professional tool per se but quite good and you can use it with Windows XP or Vista, in any case all the aforementioned, Final Cut, Avid, have pretty much the same user end settings, with slight differences in terms of real time effects, renderings and editing. To use Avid [windows or mac] or Final Cut[mac only] be prepared to spend quite a bit of money, so better make sure that there will be some kind of reward, that is some financial return. Keep in mind that in both Avid and Final Cut you'll need external storage for uncompressed media, something like a SCSI tower. With a software like VSPro basically a normal PC, with a good graphic card, DVD(blue ray recording, with at least 2 GB RAM will do the job and it will look good. more specs in here http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1175714228541#tabview=tab4 good luck.
• 0
  
  posted by - Salisburya 12 months ago

  I would download a Demo of Adobe Premier or something like After Effects. If you can use those i would still think about spending $1000 on FCP. If you are a beginner you could get Final Cut Express which is like FCP but a little more limited. From what it sounds like you will not be doing multi cam edits or anything too professional which would not be included in FCE. You also might want to wait until Final Cut X comes out in the next couple of months. FCPX will be sold separate from the rest of the suite this coming month. Thats my 5 cents.