Maida,
Your question will undoubtedly raise a MAC vs. PC debate, but as
I have spent a lot of time on both sides of that fence I hope that my
answer will be taken as semi-objective. I believe that at the present
state of things your best options with your prospective budget would be
as follows: Buy a brand new almost top-of-the-line MAC G4 (around $3000)
with plenty of memory and storage and a superdrive (DVD/CD burner), and
purchase FCP-3 (I think it is about $500 for the educational version).
The learning curve is pretty steep for Final Cut, but it seems to be
becoming a real standard for low-end professional work. This gives you a
mostly real-time editing system and a lot of budget remaining for
another camera (you should definitely have two for mutliangle
documentation or if you want to use one camera for a triggering device
and one for documentation [although you can also use a good old analog
camera for triggering, since the time-lag with Firewire is such a
pain]). That still leaves you a significant chunk of budget ($3500 to
$6500) for anything else you might need: a good editing monitor (22"
flat panel), a Powerbook for traveling performances and demos, some
software to play with (MAX/MSP with Cyclops, or Isadora, or any number
of things).
I am sure there are other great options and some of the listees
might point them out. Regardless of what you do, it is a blessing to
have a budget and choices to make. Enjoy and create, Kent De Spain
m.withers wrote:
>Dear Colleagues:
>Through a grant for dance and technology, I have the opportunity to purchase
>a computer video editing system. My current camera is a VX2000. However, I
>have 35 years of analog footage I continue to access.
>
>I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with anyone currently using
>VideoToaster (VideoToaster system is now designed for Windows 2000.) I am
>trying to get the most for the money in the low-end range ($10 - $13,000).
>Appears that I could also use the system for live performances.
>
>Any other suggestions would be most welcome.
>(If I go with FCP-3 I will need to purchase a complete Mac system.)
>
>Maida Withers
>
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