A few Questions from a Newbie.

[Denny Kyser]

First off let me say this is an awsome place, I belong to many Photography forums, but this one is so loaded with information regarding Videography its almost overwhelming. Please forgive me if my questions are such Newbie ones but want to get started down the right road.

I guess the first thing is to tell you what I have ordered for a Camera, I got the Canon XH A1 going to be here tomorrow. I am a professional photographer and use all canon gear, so wanted to stick with what brought me this far.

I have no clue what to look for in editing software? I do use Adobe Photoshop CS 2 and will be upgrading to CS 3 but wanted to wait and see if I should upgrade to the entire sweet, including the video part of Adobe photoshop? I know the upgrade cost is over $1100.00 but if it will make my learing curve easier, may be worth it to get what I am used to.

I build my own PC's so have plenty of Memory, and Hard Drives to edit High resolution photos, guessing this will be handy with Video as well, and I use dual core Intell processors so should be up to par in that range.

I have a few weddings coming up I have booked as the photographer so figure this is a great time to let my wife and myself shoot some "practice video" to learn on.

So any information you can give me to get me headed down the right road will be greatly appreciated.

Denny

[Ervin Farkas]

"The right road" is not the same for everyone. I would recommend "the Adobe road" since you are already familiar with Photoshop, you will feel home in all the other apps right the first time, even though there will be a learning curve. Integration between the different apps is awesome!

But don't take my word for it! There will be other opinions coming here soon. Go with Adobe if you need to be up and running fast, but if you are a person who loves experimenting and you have the time, then try the other options as well - most editors have a time-limited tryout version... download them and play around, then make your own decision.

Have fun editing!

[Michael Liebergot]

Denny, the Adobe road is a good one since you already know Photoshop.
but there is also Sony Vegas (which I have used and love for 5 years now), Canopus Edius (which many rave about), and of course Premeire Pro are among the top 3 NLE's for PC's.

I am actually in the middle of a migration to the MAC (MAC PRO Quad Core) and Final Cut Studio 2 suite (which is teh best deal going on the MAC these days).
the reason for my switch is entirely OS based, as I work on MACs in the day job (graphic designer) and hate Vista which at this time isn't good for video or 3D applications. XP is rock solid for me, but it will eventually go away. So I decided to make the jump to the OSX operating system.

Anyway the best advice is downlaod and play with the trial versions of each software and find what works best for you. As everyone has different workflows.

And as far as going from photography to video, having a photo background will be great for proper exposure, lighting, framing situations and such.

"If you or your wife are versed in audio and video, then please forgive my following post."

But I would recommend that you do a thorough search on video and audio on these forums. As video will be much more complicated due to the aspect of adding audio into the mix (it's a whole different animal). I find that my audio is MORE important to my video then the video itself.

So investing in good digital recorders, wireless systems, microphones, stands and such is recommended. Not to mention on teh video end, at least 2 cameras (1 for backup), tripods, monopods, steady devices if desired, lighting, batteries and mre batteries, and such.

I don't want to sound discouraging, but I have seen many photographers in my area trying to offer video lately, and the end result is very bad. Mainly because of the neglected audio and improper editing techniques. Capture your original video and audio the best that you can, because you are going to find that video will have much more back end work on it then photography. And if your audio is poor, you are going to find taht you are going to spend a lot of time trying to correct it. And in some instances no matter what you try, it can't be.

I do a lot of back end work, to my video on the back end (even properly exposed footage) in order to capture the look and feel that I want my video fooatge to have. All of my audio is sweetened in post to give it a richer and fuller feel as well.

Again I don't want to sound condesending or discouraging to you, just want to inform you of what you may come to find out in the near future.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

[Denny Kyser]

Thanks Evin, I am leaning torwards Adobe for those reasons and this time of year I dont have a lot of free time. I am only jumping into the videography at this time of the year to get some footage while I have weddings booked and only using the footage for future marketing. I will work with it in the slower winter season.

[Denny Kyser]

Michael, I appreciate your input and I have some audio experience, I am sure nothing like you guys but do realize that the raw information is critical, weather it be the raw image from a DSLR, or video camera or the raw audio. The saying you cant make chicken salad out of chicken s*** holds true, although sometimes we try.

As with my photography, I know you need back ups for your backups, this is what sets the professionals apart from the ametures along with ability.

I will enjoy this learning experience and look forward to this new craft and feel in the future will be a nice addition to what I offer. I know what is being offered in my area is not even close to whats available. The videographers in this area can go to walmart and replace their equipment, and this is NO exageration.

[Michael Liebergot]

Denny great to hear.
I ahve heard that in some areas vidoegraphers are several years behind teh curve. I did a wedding few years back in MD Line Maryland (by MD PA line) and teh DJ commeneted on my rig setup, and told me that many in his area in PA were still suing SHVS cameras. Which blew my mind.

So it's gerat that you are wanting to learn a new craft.
"I am a firm believer that when you stop learning you stop living."

In my early editing days, I started with Ulead Media Studio Pro and Premeire 6.5 (Premeire Pro is much improved), and never really liked the AB method of editing.

Once I tried Sony Vegas I found that the single timeline based NLE was so intituative to work with. As was the layout and feature sets in the program. I was able to do everything in the program (audio is fantastic as it started off as an audio editor), compositing (you have x/y/z axis control of your image), and color correction features (pro style scopes and more). And most important, the program does not crash. It's rock solid. Also Sony Vegas and DVDA will cost you much less than the Adobe suite.

But I will say that a lot of my collegues have been suing Canopus Edius. And especially if I was working with HD footage I would go out and get that NLE to work with. Right now it is probably the best kept secret going on the PC side. It used to be Vegas, but Vegas has fallen behind in some areas which are considered standard in PPRO and Edius.

[Denny Kyser]

Thanks for all the help, lots and lots to learn, and I wouldnt consider offering a service until I am Great at it.

Finding this place is a huge help, at least I can get answers to some questions no one around here can answer.

Once again thanks for all the info.

[Josh Laronge]

Denny,
As a wedding photographer (canon) who added video in the past year (xh a1), I was in the same boat as you. Possibly the best piece of advice I could offer is get a good VIDEO tripod. No photo tripod will cut it for video if you intend to pan the camera even the smallest amount. You can get a Libec 38 for around $600.00 which will work well to start out. Especially with ceremonies and speeches, you need to be on sticks (in addition to other techniques) to separate you from Uncle Joe.

[K.C. Luke]

Hi Denny

Congrats joing the beauti of Video and Audio World. You will see great pictures great sound on your new coming A1. I have a friend be using A1 on some wedding and events. He love so much. :)

[John Bosco Jr.]

Hi Denny, Welcome

I'm going in a different direction. I use and prefer Avid Liquid 7. I was a premiere editor and it took a little getting use to Liquid, but now I wouldn't go back. Native HDV, background rendering, burn DVD right from timeline, and the most important feature in my mind is what I term as the "Always Save." It constantly saves the project, so if you do get a crash, you just pick up where you left off, undos, redos and all.

Adobe Premiere is a nice system, but it's too dependent on third party vendors to make it work right. I use FCP at work. Although I consider FCP better, there are features on my Liquid that blow FCP away. Oh, I even forgot to mention the thousands of effects that you get with Liquid.

For event editing, Liquid is the best in my opinion. I have Photoshop and After Effects also. With Liquid, I didn't pay that much more than the Adobe bundle price, purchasing Photoshop and After Effects seperately. Whatever you decide, good luck. Oh, by the way, seriously think about a good camera light for your A1 as any HD camera is not as light sensitive as SD. You'll be fine during the Ceremony but not at the reception. I Recommend at least a 25 watt system; 35 watts is better.