I know this gets brought up from time to time but what's everyone using for computers and editing software, my wife and I are thinking of opening a store here and trying to see what would be some good entry-level equipment for us. Thanks ahead of time.
I agree that DaVinci Resolve is a good product. There's a paid edition (Studio) as well as the free edition, but you probably won't need that unless you're doing fancy stuff like rotoscoping.
However, taking a step back, do you already have a computer? If you do, it makes sense to look at software that matches your existing OS (e.g. macOS or Windows).
It's also worth thinking about what features you need. E.g. do you just want to trim the start/end off a video, or are you combining footage from multiple camera angles?
Running Final Cut and Apple compressor on a M3 max Mac with 64gb of ram. It absolutely devours even raw 4k video timelines with multiple streams and effects / motion.
What you use for editing will greatly depend on your OS. For me it's my M3 Macbook Pro and Divinci Resolve. I also use After Effects and Premiere Pro but Resolve is my go to for video and color grading. Premiere Pro does have stronger 3rd party support however so it's always give and take.
flank said: I agree that DaVinci Resolve is a good product. There's a paid edition (Studio) as well as the free edition, but you probably won't need that unless you're doing fancy stuff like rotoscoping.
However, taking a step back, do you already have a computer? If you do, it makes sense to look at software that matches your existing OS (e.g. macOS or Windows).
It's also worth thinking about what features you need. E.g. do you just want to trim the start/end off a video, or are you combining footage from multiple camera angles?
This is why I will always ask what the person can afford for a camera or machine first before anything. Depending on the processing demands, he may or may not be able to use all a software's features.
For instance, if you don't shoot in RAW, it's probably not worth your while to consider the more advanced editors because outside minor adjustments for exposure, color balance, hue and contrast, you're not going to have much of the dynamic range to do anything else because the colors are baked in. It's nice to have but there are about .01% of people here who probably use their editors to the fullest.
Even if you do shoot in RAW, now you have to make sure your comp can handle the demands of color grading, adding effects, transitions, titles, overlays, etc. Proxies help but if you are previewing in 4K or even 1080p on some machines, you can experience longer render times. And then you still have to factor in the learning curve.
It's give and take.
It's a balance of understanding what you plan on shooting with, in what format, in what resolutions, what machine you plan on using to edit and how much post production work you plan on doing. It's why most of these folks just say "fuck it" shoot off their phones
Love you, too
