P.C vs MAC..!

Hi my video hombre's

Just got back from Antibes (no, didn't win anything) though they did show my film... I was wondering your points of view on the Mac v P.C shoot out.. I know there are different factors involed but give me your pearls of wisdom please ???

Most of the boys and girls i spoke to out there where all fans of the mac, but i did not have enough time really to go into detail..

If this has been discussed a million times, I'm sorry please pass me the thread..

Yours intrigued

DeanB...

I'm not heavily into video but I do know that the feature film Corpse Bride was shot entirely on Canon EOS1DMkII cameras and edited on Macs. Must say something!

Whether you know it or not, this has the potential of becoming a "wild" thread! I will therefore attempt to tread lightly...

The answer to your question will be predicated on a number of things. What system do you presently use? Do you already have experience with video editing apps, or are you starting from scratch? How "high tech" are you intending to go, or more importantly, how serious are you about your editing? There are numerous other factors to be addressed as well.

At the low end, iMovie on the Mac is an acceptable solution for many amateurs. There are also a number of low cost apps for the PC which are a bit more powerful, but with a bit steeper learning curve.

At the mid range, there are solutions from Adobe (Premier Pro), Avid (Avid Xpress) and Apple (Final Cut Pro). Adobe is PC only, Apple is Mac only, and Avid is cross platform.

At the High end, it is all about budget.

Apple's Final Cut Pro system can be upgraded to a hardware I/O based system, taking it up to the $30K price point with much better compression and real time performance. Avid is the leader here with hardware based solutions costing up to $125K. Adobe does not really have an entry in this arena, at least not one that compares (in my mind, at least).

Proffesionaly, I have 5 Avid Media Composer systems on a shared media system called Unity. Due to cost restrains, upgrade requirements, etc, I will very likely be replacing my systems with Apple Final Cut Studio and the X-San system early next year.

The editors here are not overly unhappy with this solution as the newest offerings from Avid are much more "tuned" on the PC, and we are sticking with a Mac solution, as our editors are all Mac users.

In summation, pick a platform you are comfortable with, and an excellent solution at ANY price point is available. The Mac vs. PC wars I see in response to these types of questions are stupid. There are no "REAL" advantages to either system in the long run.

HTH

btw, my official title is Director of Technology, Warner Bros. Idea Place. Not that my opinions have any extra credence. I just mention it so you understand why I lean towards the "higher dollar" solutions for my enterprise systems.

I've never done any high end (or even mid level) video work, only the basic stuff with my small miniDV camera, but I did it in both Macs and PCs. I am familiar with and use both platforms, and for the kind of stuff that I do (very basic), I think Macs are better. iMovie is free (well, not really, it comes with your Mac) and very easy to use, I haven't found a similar solution on the PC, but haven't researched too much either.

Just my $0.02, Richard's answer above is very informative.

Hey Richard, can i send you a bunch of tapes so you can make them into a Warner Bros movie on mantas?

I think it doesn't really matter which way you go. There will be people from both sides of the equation who will argue both ways. Personally i use a PC, but that is because i have always used a PC and don't want to spend the money on software to switch over.

Use what you are comfortable with is my suggestion. Both systems have programs that will let you make stunning quality films.

I'm not heavily into video but I do know that the feature film Corpse Bride was shot entirely on Canon EOS1DMkII cameras and edited on Macs. Must say something!

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Ah but the funny thing is that they shot with Nikon lenses! They also had to convert all the pics to quicktime since at 24fps at 3504x2336 image, even the mighty G5 was struggling.

Dean

The new quad core G5 is a powerhouse for FCP. Rendered a short 22 minute HDV film I had with magic bullet and a few other plug-ins about 30% faster than the Dual 2.7ghz G5. I ordered the machine immediately.

As Richorn said, the first thing to look at is your budget. Going by $$$ you know what you can get. The software along (Apple's FCP Studio) is about $1300 + 3300 (G5) + whatever other accessories you have. You will also need another $600 in RAM and probably another 2 500+ GB drives. Hard drive upgrade is the hardest thing for the G5 internally since you can only put in 2 drives. I have a special setup called Jam which can put in 3 extra harddrives, all under RAID 0+1 to an outside (homebuilt) server via SATA.

On the PC side, you can build a machine to your specs cheaper and the software choice is wider. Adobe AE rendering is still faster on the PC (given equivalent specs) as is MPEG2 DVD encoding. Avid on a PC is faster than Mac on render. Adobe Premiere is also slightly quicker but not as intuitive as FCP. I like the QT codec more too for DV.

I'm familiar with Premiere and FCP and I prefer FCP for integration with DVD studio. With Aperture coming out, still processing should also be better.

Whether you know it or not, this has the potential of becoming a "wild" thread!  I will therefore attempt to tread lightly...

 

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Why would anyone have much to say on this subject.

go linux ...

ROFLMAO!

I was just talking about our systems for "creative" off line work. For finishing I have 2 Discreet Fire systems, running on Onyx 350 and Onyx 2.

Irix close enough to Linux for you? :-)

So that would be a no on the Warner Bros film?!? B)

Sorry Mike... we are in marketing. That said, when you MAKE your Warner Bros. film, we will make sure everyone goes to see it! :-)

WoW !!!

"Christ on a bike" i've statrted something here

Thats um?? made life easier (ha, ha)

At the moment i have a 4 year old P.C with basic editing gear on it which i will upgrade soon. When i edited my first film for the competitons i used a friends P.C which has premier 6... I found this nice and easy as i had to learn to use it myself (he had no time). Which was great.. It seemed that most people at the Antibes festival i spoke to were Final cut pro users or were heading that way..."Going to be industry standard" I heard one person say...

I am (when it comes to editing) looking for the most easy route which gives good results (aren't we all). Looking at the finished results of some of the entries i was very impressed with the fast cut editing and graphics that seems to be the thing now, like music video style editing. But they had friends with high spec editing gear. Although i do prefer the older style smooth switches. Gives the brain something to fix on and remember, I think so any way. Although some quick stuff, in context, works excellently...

As a amatuer its a steep climb and when i spoke to a BeeB cameraman the other day he said its great to film the sequences then hand it over to the editors to finish. So he can get on with what he loves, Filming.. But i myself am beginnig to love the whole process. Still thats me rambling on...

Thanks all,

Dive safe

DeanB