http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ Videomaker Community Forums » Tag: questions - Recent Topics en Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:35:39 +0000 http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/just-starting-have-questions#post-74656 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:35:20 +0000 John 74656@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> Greetings,</p> <p>I am just starting out in film and am having trouble getting the information I want answered by any of the suits at the big electronic stores.  Unfourtunate for me, I have no friends with experience in these matters either.  I am looking for some (i call them simple) answers, and I am hoping that someone here might help me.</p> <p>The project:  I am doing a documentary of a precarious group of people and require equipment and know how.  </p> <p>1st question:  What Camcorder should I look into.  I have a budget of about 700 dollars, and am looking at a mic, and a software compliment for this camcorder.  I am hearing alot of good things about the Canon Vixia, but I have no idea if the information is accurate. </p> <p>2nd question:  I have heard that Vegas Software would be above my grade for a documentary, but better to have it and not need it I always say.  I want to eventually burn it to a dvd to watch, would Vegas work well for this and say normal burn software?</p> <p>3rd question:  With a documentary I am going to be interviewing people in some pretty noisy places, and would require the tools to turn down the volume levels of the area to better hear the subject's response.  Which program would I use, or would it depend on the mic or camcorder?</p> <p>Any help would be appreciated...</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/stop-motion-beginners-issues-please-help#post-62328 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:00:14 +0000 Jonas K 62328@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I am trying to make a stop-motion music-video. Most of the footage is done and editing will commence, but I keep running into problems. </p> <p>I would like to do the clipping and color-correcting in Final Cut Pro 7 and then do panning in Adobe After Effects. </p> <p>1'st problem: As there is a mix of video and still-frame footage (and because it looks good) we want to do 16:9 format. However as the stills are individual (and as this setting goes for the entire production) in timeline it's a drag to drag down widescreen effect on every. So how to make a transparent layer with widescreen effect on to have in top of your timeline (or use a different method?) Can't figure it out.</p> <p>2'nd problem: We're doing the film in 15fps. This is an option in After Affects, but not in Final Cut Pro it seems. Is there anyway to change this?</p> <p>3'rd problem: Sometimes it could be very useful to merge the stills into a video clip. Is this doable without exporting and importing?</p> <p> </p> <p>Thanks so very much to the people that might want to help me out, I'm still a beginner at just 18.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/beginner-needs-advice-on-hardwaresoftware-for-documentary#post-49935 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 06:28:45 +0000 cfox 49935@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> Hello everyone.  As stated in the title, I am a complete beginner to all of this, so I would really appreciate any and all advice.  I'm planning a documentary-style production as part of a little project I'm working on, but I need some serious help deciding what exactly I need.  I've been looking at some camcorders and researching as best I possibly can, and I already have a decent PC that I hope will be able to handle the editing side, so let me run those by you first.</p> <p><strong>Camcorder<br /></strong>I'm looking at the Canon VIXIA HF S10.  It's a HD model and has internatl 32GB storage which I think would be handy considering I'll be shooting at multiple locations and might not want to transfer video to my PC in between (or have multiple cards).  However, I'm not sure if this is the model that I NEED...it's a great-looking camcorder and would handle my project nicely from what I can tell, but if I should start with something lower-end first I'd be open to hearing that.  The big question is...do I need HD?  If I shoot with an SD camera will it affect the picture when viewed on TV's (will it be 4:3 or can I still get a 16:9 with an SD camera)?</p> <p><strong>PC<br /></strong>I currently have a Dell XPS 730x as my gaming rig that I think I should be able to use for the editing side of this project.  It has an Intel i7-920 processor (8 core, probably 2.6GHz if I remember right).  It has 6GB of RAM, running Vista 64-bit, and I've got a dual ATI Radeon 4870HD for a total of 4GB video RAM.  I have one hard drive, and from what I've read on the Adobe website about the Production Premium suite, I don't know if I'll need a second hard drive (website says "dedicated hard drive for editing....").  Just not sure.  So do you think I will be fine with this computer?</p> <p><strong>Editing Software<br /></strong>I've been looking seriously at Adobe Premeire Pro (and the other titles included with that CS4 suite).  The biggest question I have on this is would I be able to run that software suite smoothly on my PC with the specs listed above?  Second, am I starting too big?  I don't really want to use Windows Media Player, and I know that Adobe Premeire is very high-end, so if there's something int he middle that will get the job done and make my project look just as nice, please let me know.</p> <p> </p> <p>Alright, that's all of my questions so far.  I am very much a beginner, but I'll save the technique questions for a later time and try to figure most of them out myself while I'm experimenting with my gear once I get it.  For now, I need the most help with figuring out what the best gear would be for this project.  I know you pros must read many posts from beginners and get tired of answering all these simple questions, but I would really appreciate any help you can offer!  Thanks in advance!</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/macbook-vs-macbook-pro#post-38887 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:49:00 +0000 salenar 38887@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p><strong>I am jumping into the film making buiseness and need advice on buying the right Mac for my needs. Everytime I tell people I will be downloading videos for editing, I am told the Macbook Pro is the way to go. However, the only difference I have seen between the Pro and Macbook is that the pro has NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MB and the size of the screen. What exactly is NVIDIA and does it apply to my needs? Are there any other factors I am overlooking? So basically, can  I save a little and go for the 2.4GHz macbook or should I buy the macbook Pro? </strong></p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/premiere-questions#post-37330 Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:57:43 +0000 chrisColorado 37330@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hey, Premiere crowd! I'm a Final Cut, Avid, Vegas and Windows Movie Maker guy who is investigating Premiere, Audition and Soundbooth. I had a few questions:</p> <p>1. Can Premiere do time remapping and freeze frames like After Effects and Final Cut?</p> <p>2. Which do you like better - Audition or Soundbooth?</p> <p>Thanks! </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/extreme-amateur-with-tons-of-questions#post-37128 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:28:13 +0000 salenar 37128@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hello everyone,</p> <p>I am 23 yrs old 5th grade teacher and would like to jump into the movie making buisness. I am an extreme novice as I have never shot anything. However, before I throw my hat in as a teacher and go to film school. I want to make a documentary chronicalling my last year of teaching. I have all summer to learn as much as possible about equipment, shooting, editing, and anything else associated with shooting a film. Please, please help me by answering some of these questions:</p> <p>I am shopping around for a new laptop- although I am a PC loyalist I am willing to switch to a mac if it is more effiecient. What do you suggest?</p> <p>I of course need to buy a camera and tripod for when I cannot hold the camera myself. What are some good choices on a budget of about $450?</p> <p>What are some good websites to learn about shooting, editing, etc.?</p> <p>Are there any sites that have free documentaries just so I can get some ideas?</p> <p>Any and all tips would be helpful as I embark on this project!!!</p>