I’m probably going to be buying a Mac notebook with iLife '11, music/video production for the use of. I’m an acoustic musician and the videos produced will primarily be used as demos to send to venues at which I want to perform.
I’m expecting to spend about $1,200 on the computer and another $50 for the iLife package, but I could use some expert help with the following:
What would be the camcorder that I want to buy to shoot the video?
What mic would I want to buy to get the sound that I’m going to want? I’d like to be able to take signal directly off the amp, as well as voice mic. Options! I want options! I also want the listener to be able to hear my fingerprints going across the strings.
I am not trying to make this a Mac v PC argument but if you are buying the Mac specifically for the video editing Windows has long since taken the top slot for best video editing software.
if not then…
it depends on a few things, are you planning on filming yourself live? as in at the venue? or in your house/where ever? few cameras do well in club lighting, but for simplicity I recommend either http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/20/review-microsoft-lifecam-studio-1080p-webcam/
(ignore the bit about bulky and not portable, IDK what kind of crack he is smoking to suggest a literal palm sized camera isnt portable.)
or Google Shopping - Product not found
you could get a pair of these, set them up far apart from each other and get a good stereo sound track off them if you just use one as a mic.
both shoot well under a nice range of conditions, both have sensitive mics, and compared to a camcorder of any decent quality both are free.
if you need a cam corder for other reasons then I am not the person to ask.
I am curious… what software do you use on Windows? I had used Adobe Premiere on Windows, but that was a long time ago. I now have Premiere Pro on the Mac, as part of CS4. Haven’t used it much lately though.
I tried Windows Movie Maker and iMovie, and they’re good for basic editing, but as soon as you want to break out of their pre-defined templates (say, add a subtitle track in a language not in the program’s selections), you need to step up to something more complex.
Now, if you’re talking DVD authoring software, the best I’ve used was DVD-Lab on the PC. It was the most flexible, and always gave me the option of breaking out of its pre-made templates. Again, though, I haven’t done much of this lately, and I’ve barely used the corresponding Adobe software on the Mac.
The Mac with the iLife suite is the only decision I have made about this project, so that’s pretty settled. And yes, it’s got to be a camcorder or two.
Sony Vegas is pretty high end Video editing software, I think the most complex thing I have made had over 20 separate camera angles edited into a single clip. its to much for most peoples needs though.
if you want something more simple I would skip Vegas though.
for CamCorders if you are after multiple I would get at least one that shoots 1080p, you will love the quality and you can always tone it down in editing later…or maybe not, check to see if iLife can actually handle editing 1080 before you get the camcorder.
Would you consider a DSLR? In additional to interchangeable lenses, manual aperatures, manual depths of field, and high def video, you get all of those goodies available for still photography, too. They’re gaining some momentum in the television industry, and there’s been at least one non-mainstream film filmed with them.
Assuming your plan is basically to use the Mac as a recording studio and not just to edit videos that have been recorded externally with the camera and microphone:
I use that mic to record classical guitar and mountain dulcimer onto the computer – tried several other microphones and this one worked best by far.
If you intend to record with just the camera and mic and then edit on the computer, you need to be sure the camera will accept an external mic; the one you mention does but many lower end cameras don’t … and, of course, for recording acoustic music, the microphone will be much more important than the camera.
The last camcorder we bought was 3 years ago, so I don’t know anything about what is out now, but the guy who sold it to us mentioned something that was very useful.
If you plan to take videos of any quality, look at a camera that writes to a tape, not to flash memory. Cameras can write to tape much faster than they can to flash. With a camera that only uses flash memory, the limits on resolution is probably how fast the camera can write the info, not how good of an image it can actually take.
Obsolete. All cameras that write to SD (for example) can write to SD at full resolution, otherwise they’d not be capable of that resolution in the first place. For full 1080p, you need a fast card, but those are a dime a dozen, too, because even still cameras need super fast write speeds.
DSLR’s can be very good but are generally time limited, ie under 30 minutes or even less, particularly at HD.
They’re designed to shut down before the sensor dies. The link given above explicitly says heat wont kill them, so not sure why it was given as evidence. It doesnt use the shutter when doing video (other than when turning videomode on and off), or that would shorten its life considerably.
The main problem with DSLR’s though is the autofocus if you need that - its very slow. And the other problem is price - getting said lenses and camera can add up to a fair bit, so it depends on what you’re considering as alternatives.
