Fire_Starter wrote:Skittles was done in Magix, was it not?
yes, +Photoshop +Particle Illusion
LordNog wrote:Okie doke. Thanks for the input guys. I think I might go with Vegas just because I'm a diehard Sony lover. But who knows Adobe Premeire might work out better for me. I'll have to get the demos of both and see for mysef. Thanks again!!
Maybe I'm a tad late, but ima post this anyway...
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Before you pick a program:- Be weary of the version of the program you are getting. Some lack certain features.
- Premiere Pro has all the features unlocked.
- Premiere Elements (consumer grade) is very gibbled (framerate/settings control, effects etc...)
- Certain versions of Vegas (like Pro) have masktools build into the program. Others don't.
- Be aware of how widely used a program is for finding online tutorials/support
- Like others mentioned, check out the free trials
And here is my
very biased opinion of some NLE's (I use Magix, so that in mind, like Yue warned about...):
Magix ...is kind-of limited in terms of effects (no mask tools for cutting out characters frame-by-frame), but you can always use GIMP (free) and save using .png format that retains the alpha/transparent channel of the image. So that's not a problem. One of the biggest advantages of Magix is the interface and controls are really intuitive, and there are hotkey labels for almost everything: Zoom in/out using ctrl + mouse wheel... or you can jump to specific zoom-levels with ctrl+1...2...3... . Cut simply by pressing the 't' button. Fades are created in a split second using the handles on the corners of objects in the timeline. Layer stack-order is in reverse which is better for workflow (IMO). Comes with automatic scene detection/splitting simply via right-click. If you are using an editing-friendly format (like UT Video), scrubbing the timeline is lightning fast (My impression is on par with Premiere Pro).
So for raw editing with effects handled externally, Magix is a champ.
Price: ~$60 and from what I could tell, it's not much different from the Plus version (~$100) or even the Pro X version (~$400), at lease for making AMVs. Keep in mind it doesn't have as wide a user-base, so it's not as easy to find tutorials or get support if you need it.
Vegas...has controls almost the same as Magix, (just make sure Vegas can recognize your mouse wheel button for zooming in/out... or it will be really difficult to navigate the timeline) and for Vegas Pro, you can even customize hotkeys for certain functions, or create them if you know how to write scripts (like jumping to zoom-levels, which Vegas does not have out of the box). Even if using an editing-friendly-format, and disabling resample/deinterlace/field order and using different preview modes.... I've experienced Vegas still has minor lag when scrubbing the timeline compared to Magix or Premiere-- however RAM preview kind-of makes up for that: The timeline might not be as fast, but the preview (even with full effects) will be liquid smooth just by hitting shift+b, depending on how much RAM your computer has. Does not have automatic scene detection for some reason. Has a wide user-base.
So for a range of simple to advanced tasks in one package, Vegas is a good choice, depending on the version you get.
Price: ~$50-100. The Pro version is ~$600, and I found it to be very feature-rich compared to the consumer-grade versions (like masktools, hotkey assignment, and a wide range of key-framed effects)
Premiere/AE (After Effects):[The following has been crossed out to avoid providing misleading information. I certainly have not mastered Premiere, so keep in mind what I have written is based on my limited experiences with the program]...I really don't like the interface. You can supposedly do the most with this combo (I get the impression Vegas Pro can do almost as much aside from semi-automatic masking). The thing is, [for me] it feels a little more tiring to do simple tasks like cutting and fading. If you don't want to switch between the Razor/Selection tool there is no one-touch cut button, unless you set a hotkey for it; and there are no one-step linear fades either (like other programs where you just drag the corner of the clip) Instead you got to use keyframes, which can give you more control of your fades, but isn't as convenient as some other programs. Some people may like this, some people may not, and it could take some time getting used to the program to learn it's advantages. But based on my experiences, Premiere is not for me (though I do play with it from time to time). As a suggestion, if you are more comfortable using another program, you can always do your basic editing with the program of your choice, then use AE by itself afterwards... which is what I recommend doing... (it is called 'After' Effects for a reason; it's more of an effects-compositing program than an NLE). Things just won't integrate as seamlessly as when using Premiere with AE (Premiere can export it's timeline directly to AE without needing to render an intermediate... although if you use Vegas with DebugMode Frameserver, you can frameserve your Vegas timeline to AE... which can help... but it's not a perfect workaround... ).
So if there are certain advanced things you can't seem to do in another program, Premiere/AE seems like the way to go.
Price: Expen$ive (~$800 for the full version which you would want...)
Final Cut Pro: ...I don't have a Mac to test FCP; and besides, Mac's can't natively run important tools like AviSynth, etc... amongst all sorts of other useful windows-based tools.
So if you are chained to a Mac, use FCP.
Price: ~$300 (down from $1000. Oh Apple, you have such good marketing gimmicks >.>)
DebugMode Wax:...at the moment, I would say this is the closest thing to a free program for making AMV's. Unfortunately, it's more of an effects-compositing program with the layered-interface similar to AE (if you have 100 clips, you need 100 layers... or at least that's the way it seems to work...), so I don't know if you want to use only Wax for making AMV's. Also you are pretty much forced to make clips with VirtualDub beforehand unless you really want to trim each layer separately in the timeline. Alternatively you could serve trim() scripts natively with AviSynth if you know how. I suppose, if you are very tech-oriented, this could actually be quite powerful-- even has Dynamic RAM preview.
So if you are on a budget, and don't mind a high learning curve, DebugMode Wax is a viable option.
Personally I use Magix, but I'm currently working on customizing Vegas Pro to make it work the way Magix does (I already have some custom scripts for creating zoom-level-hotkeys with ctrl+1..2..3; and I'm working on some automatic scene detection with AviSynth. I still haven't figured out a way to fully disable the stupid loop region though... ._.)
~Phan