What editing equipment do I need?

In the past, video editing was done by copying scenes from the original tape to a new “master” tape, with the resultant lost of quality as your finished project was “down one generation” from the master tape. Although there are a few JVC Edit Desk systems still out there, most student editing will be on a non-linear(computer) editor.

There are two types of non-linear editors available. The first type is the editing appliance. An editing appliance is a specialized computer that is really an “editor in a box.” While it has a hard drive, keyboard and mouse or trackball, you can only edit video with it. You can’t go online; write an email to a friend, or other traditional computer functions.

However, because these appliances are specialized, their operating systems are simple and pretty easy to learn. MacroSystem makes the Casablanca line of editing appliances, with the Prestige, Kron, Claro and Avio as different models in their line. I use the Kron and Avio with my students and have been happy with their performance. There are other appliances out there that I haven’t worked with, such as the ScreenPlay by Applied Magic.

If you’d rather use your own computer for editing, there are several software packages available. For the Mac platform, you can’t beat their iLife ’05 package of software. It includes iMovie, a pretty powerful little editing package for a beginner. iDVD lets you take your finished iMovie and create your own DVD, complete with chapter markers and a professional looking menu screen your DVD. iLife also has iTunes to play your MP3 files, iPhoto to store and display your digital photos, and an amazing audio program called GarageBand. In GarageBand, you can select from pre-recorded audio loops of drums, bass, piano and other instruments to create original music. I’ve also used it as a sound-on-sound recorder, in case you have a singer who would like to sing harmony with herself. GarageBand can also be used as an audio editor, to let you cut, paste and edit music or voice. iLife is unbelievable, and the education price is something like $59.00. If you run Mac OS X, take a serious look at this.

For the PC, there are more editing software packages out there than you can shake a stick at. Windows SP offers Windows Movie Maker as a part of the system software. It is a basic editor at no additional cost. Some folks swear by it, my personal wish is for a package with more features. At home, I am using Adobe Premiere Elements, selling for around $100. A trimmed down version of Adobe Premiere, it still have enough features to keep a beginning or intermediate editor satisfied.

Other PC editing software includes Pinnacle Studios Media Suite, ULead Media Studio, Sony Vegas and a lot more. Avid offers Avid Free DV, a free sample version of the Avid line of editors. While it is short on features, you can’t complain about the cost.
And folks, there are a hundred other vendors and products out there that I have failed to mention. This is by no means a complete list, but a taste of what you can find.

When shopping for computer based editing software, be sure that the package you buy has all the features you want. For example, make sure it has DVD authoring if you want to burn your finished video to DVD.

Is your new computer powerful enough to edit video? First off, you need at least 512 MB of memory, and 1 GB is even better. It helps to have two hard drives, one with the system software, and one dedicated to editing files. If possible, get a disk drive with a spindle speed of at least 7200 RPM, a buffer of 4 or 8 MB and a storage capacity of at least 200 GB.

Stay away from the low cost processors like the Celeron. While good for some functions, you need more power when editing.

You computer will need a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port. If your desktop system doesn’t have one, you can add a Firewire card for about $40 to $50.

Be sure to look at the system requirements when you buy your software, and be very sure your computer is powerful enough to run it. Believe me, you won't edit digital video on your SX386 Packard Bell.

Remember when I said you should keep some aspirin at the ready? This might be the time to reach for a couple. While all of this seems kind of daunting right now, it does get easier. We’ve talked about some of the tools that you need to be a video producer at school; next we'll talk about the training and techniques you'll need to create your first video.