The University of Central Florida requires that students have access to a computer. That usually means either buying one or becoming familiar with the many excellent and huge computer labs on campus. Film students interested in buying a new computer need to ask themselves a big question first - do you want to cut video on this? If so, read through this site completely, as we'll lay out all the details for you here.
Tthe film department provides computer editing stations to it's own students (non-film students can not use the systems). Thus, if cutting video at home is not a priority, you can pretty much get away with any computer that connects to the internet and runs some flavor of Office-style applications (either Microsoft Office or AppleWorks or Sun OpenOffice, etc). We like Macintosh gear, so we recommend that. But a Windoze or Linux PC will work too. After all, you're just using it for email and reports.
First, let's review the standard equipment used in the UCF Film Department's post production facility. Our primary editing program is Apple's FINAL CUT PRO (currently version 4.5). FCP is a robust and economical choice for editing both digital video and beta transfers of film. The FCP package includes several excellent additional programs -- SOUNDTRACK, for composing music using a vast loop library, LIVE TYPE, for static and motion titles, COMPRESSOR and CINEMA TOOLS, the last of which is used when dealing with film transfers.
We once offered some Avid editing systems but they got old and we discovered that upgrading them was too expensive to consider. How expensive? For the cost of upgrading the software of one Avid system, we were able to build four full Final Cut Pro Edit suites. Since these are your tax dollars at work, we feel they should be spent wisely. Also, Final Cut Pro seems to be the choice du jour among independent filmmakers and a growing number of Hollywood types. Ultimately, anyone who learns FCP can learn Avid in a few hours - they are increasingly similar.
Our computers are Apple Macintosh G4 systems with OSX 10.3.4 and over a gig of RAM (OSX likes lots of RAM). Some systems have dual 1.25Ghz processors while others are older G4s upgraded with single 1.2Ghz processors. Most have 80 - 120 gig system hard drives with two additional 120 gig 7200 rpm ATA hard drives built-in. Most systems are dual screen configurations and each has it's own DV deck or beta deck for playback, capture and recording. The DV decks are either Sony DSR20s or DSR11s. The beta decks are Sony 1800s. There are also TV monitors, audio speakers and USB/Firewire hubs for users to hook in their own hard drives. We try to upgrade during summer months so once classes start in the fall, we lock down the configurations for the entire school year.
One interesting trick utilized in our setup regards sound effects. Instead of our old policy of checking out a 45 CD sound effects library when necessary, we ripped every CD to mp3 and installed 8+ gigs of SFX to each editing station. We tagged each of the more than 8,000 files with description, category, etc. This allows us to use Apple's free iTunes program as an effects library/database. Users type in a key word - car for instance - and iTunes provides a list of every sound effect dealing with cars. Users then drag the SFX they want to the desktop, convert it to an AIFF file and use it in FCP.
So those are our basic post system specs. To learn what you'll need when you join our program, read on, using those links to the right to jump to the next section.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Education Pricing
It's you're buying a computer system for school, you need to know this.
Most computer and software and hardware vendors offer deep discounts to anyone involved with education - students, teachers, school staff. For instance, Apple's Final Cut Pro software retails for $999. The education price (aka Academic Pricing), is $299. Apple DVD Studio Pro retails for $499. The education price is $149. Apple usually knocks $100 - $200 off any of it's computer systems. BTW - they don't hide these prices. To investigate, check out the Apple Store and look for their Educational Pricing section. For non-Apple stuff, look at sites like www.JourneyEd.com or go to your local campus computer store.
In general, the higher the retail price of the item, the more likely you'll find Education Discounts. Apple offers Education Discounts for every item in it's line, but for other company's software costing less than $100, discounts are tiny or non-existent.
To access these discounts, vendors will usually require some proof that you're involved with education. Quantities might be limited for personal purchases - they don't want you to open a side business reselling items. Apples Stores across the country offer education pricing on Mac computers, but they don't sell discounted Apple software. For those deals, you need to go on campus to the UCF Computer Store in the student union.
Most computer and software and hardware vendors offer deep discounts to anyone involved with education - students, teachers, school staff. For instance, Apple's Final Cut Pro software retails for $999. The education price (aka Academic Pricing), is $299. Apple DVD Studio Pro retails for $499. The education price is $149. Apple usually knocks $100 - $200 off any of it's computer systems. BTW - they don't hide these prices. To investigate, check out the Apple Store and look for their Educational Pricing section. For non-Apple stuff, look at sites like www.JourneyEd.com or go to your local campus computer store.
In general, the higher the retail price of the item, the more likely you'll find Education Discounts. Apple offers Education Discounts for every item in it's line, but for other company's software costing less than $100, discounts are tiny or non-existent.
To access these discounts, vendors will usually require some proof that you're involved with education. Quantities might be limited for personal purchases - they don't want you to open a side business reselling items. Apples Stores across the country offer education pricing on Mac computers, but they don't sell discounted Apple software. For those deals, you need to go on campus to the UCF Computer Store in the student union.
Required Items
As technology prices plummet, more and more students come to film school armed with their own Dv cameras and computer editing systems. But that's not required. In fact, there are only a few technology items we require of our film production students.
The first is a firewire 400 hard drive, which is used to stored your media and files. We recommend the firewire drives from ProMax.com, as they've been the only manufacturer/vendor who promise their drives are capable of running DV video live (read product claims carefully - most drives say they're perfect for video storage, but they never mention live playback).
The benefit of owning a hard drive is that you're not tied down to one editing system. You can carry your media to whatever system is available. In the old days (ie: two years ago), students would capture media to one system's internal drives and then be stuck there all semester. The result -- some machines were very crowded while others were empty. Now the demand is spread among all the systems.
Even those who own a home editing system can benefit from owning a hard drive. While home editing systems are common, most people don't own a DV deck (the cheapest of which - the Sony DSR11 - costs about $1800). With a portable firewire hard drive, those folks can capture media using the school systems, then carry the media home to cut there. We can that SneakerNet.
For moments when a 160 gig drive is overkill, we recommend carrying one of those new fangle mini USB drives, such as the Sandisk Cruzer, pictured here. Offered in capacities ranging from 32 Meg to 512 Meg (probably more by now), these itsey bitsey drives are sometimes disguised as keychains, necklaces and even watchbands. They take the place of floppy drives and zip discs, which are vanishing fast. These drives are no good for huge video files, but they're perfect for text, photos and that song you want to bring from home and add to your video project.
We don't yet require the purchase of mini USB drives, but considering they're priced as low as $20, I suggest you pick one up pronto. You'll use it everywhere you access a computer - home, in the film department and all over campus.
Other items to consider are all the expendibles you'll need for editing and shooting. The most important of these are headphones, which are strongly recommended in the editing bullpen (gets loud in there, ya know?). Make sure you buy a traditional, closed back style of headphones. Take a look at these phones available from Sony. The basic, cheapest model is fine, they don't need to be wireless or anything fancy. Just avoid the lightweight Walkman or iPod-style phones or ear buds. And make sure you keep the mini-plug adapter, as that's what you'll need most of the time.
Other expendibles include gels and diffusion (for lights), DV tapes, blank DVD-Rs, clothespins and more. No need to worry much about these now, especially if you're an incoming freshman straight from High School (your production classes are a year away). I suggest you come and get the lay of the land and then buy this stuff from a local vendor. We have recommendations of who to deal with in Orlando.
Finally, I like to suggest that students own a digital still camera and a cheap DV camera. These items could even be combined in a single model. You won't make movies with these, but you'll use both for casting sessions and location scouting. In those situations, it's very handy to own your own gear.
The first is a firewire 400 hard drive, which is used to stored your media and files. We recommend the firewire drives from ProMax.com, as they've been the only manufacturer/vendor who promise their drives are capable of running DV video live (read product claims carefully - most drives say they're perfect for video storage, but they never mention live playback).
The benefit of owning a hard drive is that you're not tied down to one editing system. You can carry your media to whatever system is available. In the old days (ie: two years ago), students would capture media to one system's internal drives and then be stuck there all semester. The result -- some machines were very crowded while others were empty. Now the demand is spread among all the systems.
Even those who own a home editing system can benefit from owning a hard drive. While home editing systems are common, most people don't own a DV deck (the cheapest of which - the Sony DSR11 - costs about $1800). With a portable firewire hard drive, those folks can capture media using the school systems, then carry the media home to cut there. We can that SneakerNet.
For moments when a 160 gig drive is overkill, we recommend carrying one of those new fangle mini USB drives, such as the Sandisk Cruzer, pictured here. Offered in capacities ranging from 32 Meg to 512 Meg (probably more by now), these itsey bitsey drives are sometimes disguised as keychains, necklaces and even watchbands. They take the place of floppy drives and zip discs, which are vanishing fast. These drives are no good for huge video files, but they're perfect for text, photos and that song you want to bring from home and add to your video project.
We don't yet require the purchase of mini USB drives, but considering they're priced as low as $20, I suggest you pick one up pronto. You'll use it everywhere you access a computer - home, in the film department and all over campus.
Other items to consider are all the expendibles you'll need for editing and shooting. The most important of these are headphones, which are strongly recommended in the editing bullpen (gets loud in there, ya know?). Make sure you buy a traditional, closed back style of headphones. Take a look at these phones available from Sony. The basic, cheapest model is fine, they don't need to be wireless or anything fancy. Just avoid the lightweight Walkman or iPod-style phones or ear buds. And make sure you keep the mini-plug adapter, as that's what you'll need most of the time.
Other expendibles include gels and diffusion (for lights), DV tapes, blank DVD-Rs, clothespins and more. No need to worry much about these now, especially if you're an incoming freshman straight from High School (your production classes are a year away). I suggest you come and get the lay of the land and then buy this stuff from a local vendor. We have recommendations of who to deal with in Orlando.
Finally, I like to suggest that students own a digital still camera and a cheap DV camera. These items could even be combined in a single model. You won't make movies with these, but you'll use both for casting sessions and location scouting. In those situations, it's very handy to own your own gear.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Laptops
Many students prefer laptops because they're easy to carry and can function as both a home and road system. Happily, both flavors of Macintosh laptop can handle video editing and writing term papers. But there are important issues to keep in mind.
First, by nature of a design that stresses small size, laptops have fewer expansion options than tower systems. It might not matter to you, but consider it. Also, due to their portability, laptops tend to get more banged up than home systems. Plus, laptop hard drives, disc drives, motherboards, etc. are all generally less robust than their desktop counterparts, which contribute to their fragile nature.
For these last two reasons, I strongly recommend purchasing an extended care policy for any laptop (Apple's Extended Care - Education price $183) if it's possible. In the state of Florida, you need to be a business to buy Applecare - regular folks can't do it (I've purchased it as a freelance writer). Applecare typically triples the life of your warranty. I've used Mac laptops and tower systems since 1986 and only on laptops have I experienced bizarro failures of the hard drive, motherboard and disc drive. One out-of-warranty repair will usually cost more than the 3 years of extended care, so it's a worthy purchase.
Lower-priced Mac laptops come under the moniker of iBooks. Unlike the shiny metal cases of their more expensive siblings, Powerbooks, the iBooks are made of white plastic. There two primary models, one with a 12" screen and another with a 14" monitor. Academic pricing will get you an iBook for as little as $949 (sans a disc burner). Add in the massive software package that's included and you get a sweet, sweet deal.
The 12" model is fine for homework and internet, but it you're going to cut video, you might want to spring for the larger screens (although the 12" is nice for editing on the road). It helps a lot. The built-in 256MB of RAM is weak so buy at least another 256 MB RAM for a total of 512MB of RAM (check DealRam.com for the best prices). A full gig o' RAM is even better if you're editing video. And if you're cutting video, you'll want to connect that external firewire hard drive you bought for class. It's always smart to keep video off a single internal hard drive and store it on a different drive than your operating system.
Higher-end Mac laptops go by the name Powerbooks. These come in three screen sizes - 12", 15" and 17" (BTW - the 17" Powerbook is huge. If portability is a concern, practice picking it up before you sign a check). Compared to iBooks, Powerbooks have bigger hard drives, faster processors, more RAM, better video cards, more video out options and other bells and whistles.
Is the price difference worth it? That's up to you. If you're going to use the extra output options, definitely. If you want to hook up another monitor, absolutely. But many folks are hard pressed to justify bypassing the 14" iBook for the more expensive 15" Powerbook. Granted, Apple has recently beefed up the Powerbook line, making it a better choice for power users. If you're really aiming for inexpensive portability, buy the cheaper iBook, use it for two or three years and then step up. If you want the more robust model, buy a Powerbook.
If you're going to cut video with a laptop at home, consider buying a cheap 19" monitor, which shouldn't cost more than $200. Add a full-size USB keyboard and mouse and your Powerbook will suddenly feel like a full-fledged desktop. This arrangement even make the 12" Powerbook a viable contender. Sweet. After additional RAM, the next best upgrade you can buy for your laptop is a quicker and larger hard drive. Laptops usually comes with 4200 rpm or 5400 rpm drives. An aftermarket 7200 rpm drive will make a laptop fly. Look for drives made by IBM/Hitachi, Western Digital and Seagate. Avoid Maxtor.
Students with laptops can use the department's DV decks to capture media. Just bring in your firewire hard drive, capture at one of the stations, then take the media home on the hard drive. We call that Sneaker Net.
First, by nature of a design that stresses small size, laptops have fewer expansion options than tower systems. It might not matter to you, but consider it. Also, due to their portability, laptops tend to get more banged up than home systems. Plus, laptop hard drives, disc drives, motherboards, etc. are all generally less robust than their desktop counterparts, which contribute to their fragile nature.
For these last two reasons, I strongly recommend purchasing an extended care policy for any laptop (Apple's Extended Care - Education price $183) if it's possible. In the state of Florida, you need to be a business to buy Applecare - regular folks can't do it (I've purchased it as a freelance writer). Applecare typically triples the life of your warranty. I've used Mac laptops and tower systems since 1986 and only on laptops have I experienced bizarro failures of the hard drive, motherboard and disc drive. One out-of-warranty repair will usually cost more than the 3 years of extended care, so it's a worthy purchase.
Lower-priced Mac laptops come under the moniker of iBooks. Unlike the shiny metal cases of their more expensive siblings, Powerbooks, the iBooks are made of white plastic. There two primary models, one with a 12" screen and another with a 14" monitor. Academic pricing will get you an iBook for as little as $949 (sans a disc burner). Add in the massive software package that's included and you get a sweet, sweet deal.The 12" model is fine for homework and internet, but it you're going to cut video, you might want to spring for the larger screens (although the 12" is nice for editing on the road). It helps a lot. The built-in 256MB of RAM is weak so buy at least another 256 MB RAM for a total of 512MB of RAM (check DealRam.com for the best prices). A full gig o' RAM is even better if you're editing video. And if you're cutting video, you'll want to connect that external firewire hard drive you bought for class. It's always smart to keep video off a single internal hard drive and store it on a different drive than your operating system.
Higher-end Mac laptops go by the name Powerbooks. These come in three screen sizes - 12", 15" and 17" (BTW - the 17" Powerbook is huge. If portability is a concern, practice picking it up before you sign a check). Compared to iBooks, Powerbooks have bigger hard drives, faster processors, more RAM, better video cards, more video out options and other bells and whistles.Is the price difference worth it? That's up to you. If you're going to use the extra output options, definitely. If you want to hook up another monitor, absolutely. But many folks are hard pressed to justify bypassing the 14" iBook for the more expensive 15" Powerbook. Granted, Apple has recently beefed up the Powerbook line, making it a better choice for power users. If you're really aiming for inexpensive portability, buy the cheaper iBook, use it for two or three years and then step up. If you want the more robust model, buy a Powerbook.
If you're going to cut video with a laptop at home, consider buying a cheap 19" monitor, which shouldn't cost more than $200. Add a full-size USB keyboard and mouse and your Powerbook will suddenly feel like a full-fledged desktop. This arrangement even make the 12" Powerbook a viable contender. Sweet. After additional RAM, the next best upgrade you can buy for your laptop is a quicker and larger hard drive. Laptops usually comes with 4200 rpm or 5400 rpm drives. An aftermarket 7200 rpm drive will make a laptop fly. Look for drives made by IBM/Hitachi, Western Digital and Seagate. Avoid Maxtor.
Students with laptops can use the department's DV decks to capture media. Just bring in your firewire hard drive, capture at one of the stations, then take the media home on the hard drive. We call that Sneaker Net.
Desktop Systems
There's a wide range of options in Macintosh desktop systems, all of which will run Final Cut Pro,. However some systems will run it much better than others. Which box is right for you? That's a question best decided by the size of your wallet and your plans for the machine,
If you're just testing the waters of video editing and don't want to blow much cash, the low end of the line in for you -- and that means the eMac. Similar in shape to the very first iMac (aka the Gumdrop), the eMac offers a straight-ahead 1.25 G4 Ghz processor, a flat 17" CRT monitor and somewhat weak 256 MB of RAM. The low end model - equipped with a DVD reader/CD-R drive and 40 gig hard drive is a bargain at $749 (education price). The higher-end model with a DVD-burning Superdrive and 80 gig hard drive is only $899 with the education discount.
To make this machine serious, you must boost the RAM significantly. I would add at least a 512 MB chip and take it up to 768 MB of RAM. Also, I recommend picking up the clear plastic Tilt & Swivel Stand, which brings the machine up to the proper eye height. As always - plan on using your outboard firewire hard drive to store video media. The eMac isn't the speediest machine in the Mac world, but it will get the job done, particularly if your video projects don't involve a lot of rendering.
The new iMac G5 is out and it rocks hard. A speedy G5 processor, 17 or 20 flatscreen, 7200 rpm drive and a design that makes it look the iPods big brother. Cooooool. Again,the installed RAM is weak at 256 mb, so expect to bump that up to a full gig or so. But considering education pricing starts at $1199, that shouldn't be a problem. I want one now. Street date is mid-September. More details when we get 'em.
G5 Towers occupy the high end of Macintosh desktop systems. With 64-bit internal hardware supporting a G5 chip, they are miles faster than anything Apple has ever released, making them perfect for processor-intensive application like Final Cut Pro. Currently, all three models come with dual processors, DVD-burning Superdrives and fast serial ATA hard drives. Education pricing ranges from $1799 for the dual 1.8 Ghz model up to $2699 for the dual 2.5Ghz.
There is room for an additional serial ATA drive inside the cabinet and if you're cutting video, that's an essential option. Also, as usual, boost the RAM as much as possible. The G5 systems can take as much as 8GB of RAM (4GB in the dual 1.8 system) and while you don't need to go that far, at least 1GB is standard, more if you can afford it.
With the G5 towers, you need to purchase a separate monitor (unless you're bringing your own). Apple would like you to fork over the dollars for of their beautiful new Cinema Displays, which range in size from 20" to 30". They are magnificent, but to be honest, I find them a tad overpriced. If you got the scratch and enjoy looking at a thing of beauty, go ahead and spring for it. Otherwise, you might consider other options in the monitor field. Keep in mind, flat panel screens like this Cinema Display run much, much cooler than their CRT counterparts. If heat build-up in your editing space is a concern, flat panel screen could be part of the answer.
Another thought - when editing video, many people like having two screens to handle all the bins and open windows. Although a large Cinema Display will hold everything, some people prefer getting two smaller screens or one bigger flatscreen for the actual movie windows and then a much cheaper CRT monitor for extra open windows. This is the way we have it set up in our editing rooms.
If you're just testing the waters of video editing and don't want to blow much cash, the low end of the line in for you -- and that means the eMac. Similar in shape to the very first iMac (aka the Gumdrop), the eMac offers a straight-ahead 1.25 G4 Ghz processor, a flat 17" CRT monitor and somewhat weak 256 MB of RAM. The low end model - equipped with a DVD reader/CD-R drive and 40 gig hard drive is a bargain at $749 (education price). The higher-end model with a DVD-burning Superdrive and 80 gig hard drive is only $899 with the education discount.
To make this machine serious, you must boost the RAM significantly. I would add at least a 512 MB chip and take it up to 768 MB of RAM. Also, I recommend picking up the clear plastic Tilt & Swivel Stand, which brings the machine up to the proper eye height. As always - plan on using your outboard firewire hard drive to store video media. The eMac isn't the speediest machine in the Mac world, but it will get the job done, particularly if your video projects don't involve a lot of rendering.
The new iMac G5 is out and it rocks hard. A speedy G5 processor, 17 or 20 flatscreen, 7200 rpm drive and a design that makes it look the iPods big brother. Cooooool. Again,the installed RAM is weak at 256 mb, so expect to bump that up to a full gig or so. But considering education pricing starts at $1199, that shouldn't be a problem. I want one now. Street date is mid-September. More details when we get 'em.
G5 Towers occupy the high end of Macintosh desktop systems. With 64-bit internal hardware supporting a G5 chip, they are miles faster than anything Apple has ever released, making them perfect for processor-intensive application like Final Cut Pro. Currently, all three models come with dual processors, DVD-burning Superdrives and fast serial ATA hard drives. Education pricing ranges from $1799 for the dual 1.8 Ghz model up to $2699 for the dual 2.5Ghz.
There is room for an additional serial ATA drive inside the cabinet and if you're cutting video, that's an essential option. Also, as usual, boost the RAM as much as possible. The G5 systems can take as much as 8GB of RAM (4GB in the dual 1.8 system) and while you don't need to go that far, at least 1GB is standard, more if you can afford it.
With the G5 towers, you need to purchase a separate monitor (unless you're bringing your own). Apple would like you to fork over the dollars for of their beautiful new Cinema Displays, which range in size from 20" to 30". They are magnificent, but to be honest, I find them a tad overpriced. If you got the scratch and enjoy looking at a thing of beauty, go ahead and spring for it. Otherwise, you might consider other options in the monitor field. Keep in mind, flat panel screens like this Cinema Display run much, much cooler than their CRT counterparts. If heat build-up in your editing space is a concern, flat panel screen could be part of the answer.
Another thought - when editing video, many people like having two screens to handle all the bins and open windows. Although a large Cinema Display will hold everything, some people prefer getting two smaller screens or one bigger flatscreen for the actual movie windows and then a much cheaper CRT monitor for extra open windows. This is the way we have it set up in our editing rooms.
Software
Having decided on the computer that's right for you, the final question is what software to load into the thing. This is one place where Macs shine. Although you might not get the latest games as quickly as possible on the Mac platform, the creative programs available are industry-standards. And the free software included with most Macs systems gives you everything you need to make the system the hub of your digital lifestyle (as Apple PR reps are fond of saying).
First, the operating system is Mac OSX (currently version 10.3.4, aka Panther). It's a fast, beautiful and stable UNIX-based system that will run for weeks or months without a restart if you care and feed it properly. The big trick in running OSX is not to fight the organization system expected by the software. Don't move critical files around unexpectedly or change drive names willy nilly. Also, leave the system on overnight so it can perform a host of UNIX maintenance routines automatically.
OSX comes with a software autoupdate feature which you should use, although I like to switch it to manual as opposed to letting log on by itself. Autoupdate checks with Apple's servers and finds any software updates available for your system. Installation is as simple as clicking and restarting. When you first buy the system, run autoupdate a few times, as an upgrade once installed, might open the door to a different upgrade.
The Mac's primary software package containing digital creation applications is iLife. This includes iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, iDVD and Garageband. Given away free with new systems, iLife is also available for the bargain education price of $29.95 ($49.99 retail). If you're not doing creative stuff for a living, these applications are fine. Think of them as entry-level. When you're ready to get serious, there are professional level versions of all except iTunes. iMovie is trumped by Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro, iPhoto by Adobe Photoshop, iDVD by Apple's DVD Studio Pro, Garageband by Apple's Logic and/or Soundtrack. Needless to say, the pro level versions cost much more.
Our department uses iDVD and iTunes quite a bit. Garageband is installed, but more students use Soundtrack for creating original musical scores from a loop library. iPhoto is usually bypassed in favor of Adobe Elements (see below) and iMovie by Final Cut Pro. However, we keep those apps installed as there are some occasions when they are useful.
For cutting video on a professional level, Final Cut Pro is totally the way to go. It has everything you need, it handles anything you throw at it and the interface is so intuitive, you'll be comfortable ten minutes after turning it on the first time. As mentioned earlier, the FCP software package includes a host of other useful programs - Compressor, Cinema Tools, Live Type and Soundtrack. Considering the $299 education price, the FCP package can't be beat.
For those wondering, Apple's Final Cut Express is stripped down version of Final Cut Pro, available for only $99 to education buyers. It offers mostly the same interface and cutting environment, but some critical features are left out. For instance, the Batch Capture option. In FCP, you log your entire tape, mark all the segments you want to capture and then Batch Capture all of the them. The software does the work while you take a break. In FC Express, the user must capture each clip individually, which is very time consuming. Also, FC Express lacks the additional programs and most of the advanced features of FC Pro.
Trust us...spring for the extra $200 and get FCP. If you're coming to this school to make movies, you'll be happy you did. If you want a lowball video editor, use iMovie, which is free and fine, it a bit clunky compared to FCP.
We recommend two additional software packages to make your box complete. The first is Adobe Photoshop Elements. This is a lite version of Adobe's full-blown Photoshop package, but what it lacks is mostly geared to hardcore print users (CMYK support, 4-color separations). It's great for photo manipulation, working in layers and quick static titles. And it's cheap - less then $50. iPhoto still offers some cool features this doesn't, such as the possibility of making a bound book from digital images. But for correcting and manipulating an image, Photoshop is clearly superior.
Finally, you will probably need a version of Microsoft Office, which contains industry standard programs like Word, Excel and Powerpoint. The Student/teacher version of Office currently sells for $149 and that includes three licenses, so you can install it at home, on a laptop and someplace else.
Should you want to avoid buying Microsoft Office, there are options. Macintosh computers usually come loaded with Appleworks, which is an Apple version of an office applications. They are not as robust as Microsoft apps, but they get the job done. The Appleworks word processing and spreadsheet files can be saved directly to the formats of their Microsoft counterparts, easing translation issues.
There's also an excellent freeware version of Office created by Sun called OpenOffice. Look for it on Versiontrack.com. OpenOffice requires installation of X11, a special program within which OpenOffice runs on OSX. Once you've got X11 installed, Openoffice works nicely. If it has a flaw, it's that it doesn't look or feel like a Mac program. It looks and feels like Windows, which I find ugly and distracting. They are working on an Aqua version of Openoffice to mimic the OSX look. Hopefully, it'll arrive soon.
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