Hey Video Makers.

[pushedbutton]

I've just been asked to get a purchase order ready to buy a camcorder, a video editing suite and any useful accessories that would cover as many bases as possible.
The email request came with an attachment containing details of a Panasonic HCV130 Full HD Camcorder which we can get for about £160 and I have explained that we should be considering how this interfaces with the existing computer, which is a beast of an audio machine with pretty average but capable on board graphics. I also explained that we would need a video editing program if we were going to come up with decent end results, to which they replied we have about £1,000 in the kitty, I can't spend all of it but if I can justify spending more to achieve better results then we should go for it.
I'd like to have some sort of studio set-up and be able to do chroma key and I'd also like to capture some decent audio while we're out and about.
So I'm asking you guys if you have any ideas about what we should be getting.

[Jagwah]

:t1465:   :comp:

[pushedbutton]

It doesn't work like that. I tell them what to buy, they buy it, I don't get to hold the money.

[Julibee]

Since no one else is saying anything, I'll point you to Sony Vegas-- the highest Pro version is expensive ($599) but even the Movie Studio 13 Suite ($139) is pretty powerful and does Chroma Key. Do a little comparison to see which version suits your needs: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro/compare

A good, large green screen for studio use will run between $200-500USD (iirc), but I have successfully used a very large piece of neon green felt from the fabric store (sewed a channel in the top, like a curtain, and hung it on a rod, being careful to smooth it out as much as possible during use). If you just need a small area (say... For behind a desk or so), you can even paint the wall or hang a piece of painted MDF. The pro screens are MUCH better and easier to chroma key, though, and I recommend them if budget allows, especially if you will be doing full body/room shots.

As for Vegas vs other programs-- it's been years since I tried anything else. I just switched from PC to MacBook Pro, and haven't tried Final Cut yet. It may very well be great. I just don't know... But Vegas, once you get used to the interface, works much like DAWs, including plugins and editing video much in the same manner as audio. In fact, any VSTs I had from my Sonar days show up as available.

Surely someone else could chime in here with experiences?

ETA: You'll need lighting, too, of course, but I don't have much experience with that. I just sort of make do....

[JiggeryPokery]

Free options are free.

That's about as glowing a recommendation of the free options I can find

[pushedbutton]

I'm pretty much sold on the sony movie maker 13 premium software but what I really need to consider is how I get a live feed into it with fhd video, some external mics and what I use to process the video without much waiting around.
The PC is a Scan 3XS system so it's no slouch but it only has onboard graphics, which may well be good enough but if it can be improved to reduce waiting times then it's worth the investment. It has firewire and USB3 so they might be interface options or I might settle for a camcorder with HDMI out and a capture card.

From the looks of it we'd struggle to get a live feed into video editing software if we bought the HVC130 and it doesn't have an audio jack plug, so I'd be stuck with the onboard sound or trying to sync it with and external source.

[orthodox]

I'm pretty much sold on the sony movie maker 13 premium software but what I really need to consider is how I get a live feed into it with fhd video

Vegas Pro and Movie Studio have a capture program built in, but it supports only selected firewire devices. Usb will not work.

I capture to avi using VirtualDub, then do the editing in Vegas, render the result to an uncompressed avi again, then compress it with ffmpeg or something else. Vegas is only good at editing.

[Julibee]

Ah, yes. I didn't realize you were hoping to doing live feed. I don't know what the onboard specs are for the graphics card, and it's been years since I really looked into this stuff-- I'm almost 20 years out of a studio environment, and anything I used to know is hopeless dated, unfortunately. I'm only useful software-wise, at this point. And I synch audio and video in Vegas. Yes, it takes forever to process, too. My graphics cards were never anything to write home about. Sorry I can't help more!

[pushedbutton]

I'm pretty much sold on the sony movie maker 13 premium software but what I really need to consider is how I get a live feed into it with fhd video

Vegas Pro and Movie Studio have a capture program built in, but it supports only selected firewire devices. Usb will not work. I capture to avi using VirtualDub, then do the editing in Vegas, render the result to an uncompressed avi again, then compress it with ffmpeg or something else. Vegas is only good at editing.

That's a shame because I might as well be using the onboard card on the cheaper camcorder and my argument implodes.

[ScuzzyEye]

Open Broadcast Software was primarily designed for streaming video to services like Twitch. But it has become a powerful capture program, and is only getting better all the time. It's also free. A lot of people use it to HDMI capture their video game consoles, so I know that works as an input source.

It does live video capture with chroma keying. It can also over-lay stills that can also be keyed. The thing it does best is screen capture, but I don't know if you'll have a use for that (thought you can play back video on a second monitor, and use that as a source). One cool thing is the use of multiple scenes, that can use different sources in different configurations. You can quickly switch from one scene to another just by clicking them in a list.

Like I said, it's free, so check it out.

[pushedbutton]

Cool, I will, thanks.

[Julibee]

At least I bumped the thread?

[zeebot]

I use Vegas Pro 11, love it!

[selig]

One thing to look for…
You want an editor that can do "native editing" without first transcoding. The camera you mention records AVCHD video, which not every editor can support directly. Consider choosing a "video system" rather than first choosing a camera then settling for editing software that works with that camera.

My advice: talk to a video expert (like EditEd4TV if you can find him) to be aware of any workflow issues before committing to any format.

[Noplan]

I edit my videos with the cheapest Magix Video Editor for 60 Euros. Thats enough for my purposes. Chroma Key and some other cheap effects are also on hand.
I record the video material with my Sony hg20 or i use my Smartphone (ph discover hipster style :s0230: ) like i did in the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu7E4doAGqM

[ScuzzyEye]

One thing to look for…
You want an editor that can do "native editing" without first transcoding. The camera you mention records AVCHD video, which not every editor can support directly. Consider choosing a "video system" rather than first choosing a camera then settling for editing software that works with that camera.

If you're doing live capture, over HDMI, it doesn't matter what format the camera is recording in, but what the capture software is saving to disk.

OBS, by default uses x264 as an encoder. So you'll end up with a MP4 with AVC video, and stereo AAC audio. You can set the bit rate for each of those. There's the ability to create custom command line options for x264 to increase quality, if needed (at the expense of CPU time and disk space).

Many people who use SLRs to shoot video really like it if there's a clean (no GUI display) HDMI output. That way you can capture raw digital video that hasn't already been compressed into a file. There are battery powered hard disk recorders that can be strapped to the camera rig just for this purpose.

That's sort of what would be simulated here. The camera will be connected to the computer via HDMI, and the computer's hard drive is where the video will be recorded (doesn't hurt to record locally to the camera as a backup, just in case something goes wrong).

[pushedbutton]

Well considering we've got to stay on the prosumer side of the fence and we can't have any monthly overheads I've had to make a choice about a camera and I went for the Canon HF R50 which i got with an accessory kit for just under £200.
Not a chance of justifying over £100 on software so I opted for Sony Movie Studio 13 Suite. A capture card and a dedicated graphics card will have to wait until the next round of upgrades too.
I'm sure we'll be able to cobble something half decent together with that lot for now, there's always room to upgrade.

[TheFatControlleR]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adobe-Photoshop ... lements+12

That aside, in the digital realm (most things being equal once digitised) quality of video needs good glass and great light. The quality of the sound (of course you already know) depends on the quality of the input device.

[dreampolice]

You could get Adobe Creative Cloud for $30 a month and that includes full blown premiere and photoshop etc. 

[pushedbutton]

No I can't, I'm not allowed, even at the £17.90 we could get it at.

[selig]

Well considering we've got to stay on the prosumer side of the fence and we can't have any monthly overheads I've had to make a choice about a camera and I went for the Canon HF R50 which i got with an accessory kit for just under £200.
Not a chance of justifying over £100 on software so I opted for Sony Movie Studio 13 Suite. A capture card and a dedicated graphics card will have to wait until the next round of upgrades too.
I'm sure we'll be able to cobble something half decent together with that lot for now, there's always room to upgrade.

Curious why you'd need a capture card in this day and age?

[ScuzzyEye]

Curious why you'd need a capture card in this day and age?

I was saying this above. In pro studios the cameras have SDI outputs, and the signal is sent to the recorder over coax. That's how you record uncompressed frames. But on consumer equipment there is no SDI. But in recent years the analog composite video output has been replaced by HDMI so people can hook their cameras up to a TV easily. A really nice side effect of this, is that the camera can now dump uncompressed frames over HDMI. So instead of using the local storage on the camera to record lossy compressed video, that's difficult to edit because of backward predicted frames, you can capture the HDMI output on another device. Blackmagic makes a whole host of gear for this purpose. Both capture cards for the computer, and on-camera recorders for use in the field.

[pushedbutton]

Well wherever possible I'd like to involve the people in the group and on the whole they don't have an endless supply of patience. Being able to do chorma key and other effects from a live feed would make for a more hands on experience. It's not critical that we get to the stage where a capture card would be of any use, but if in the future I wanted to do something and had to replace major items to achieve it I'd struggled to get the go-ahead to do that. Plus for some reason management seemed to want to get all this sorted and basically asked me to get it together over a weekend.
As far as choosing sony over adobe, I don't want to cloud the issue of what we have and haven't got when it comes to adobe produces cos I want access to them all. Plus having tablet integration may or may not be a pointless gimmick but again it's something for the group members to get involved with. Personally I'm not taken by bells and whistles and I'd probably use adobe at home but I need bells an whistles to impress the people who get the money to buy stuff for the group.
The guys who sold me the PC recommend the BlackMagic Intensity Pro capture card but would probably not recommend the sony suite, but then again they like adobe too.