Technical Questions about Macs + Video

fable · #1 (**permalink**) Feb 23, 06

hey, just a few questions, some stupid, some not so stupid ( i think)

- my power adapter gets pretty warm, but i was recharching from essentially an empty battery, but a few friends had some serious problems with their models bought last year (powerbooks)

- my sis is ol skool when i comes to filming and photography, but through the course of a recent job, shes had to buck up to the evils of digital. Anyways she needs to make some dvd copies of a play she filmed in digital 8mm. Im under the impression that she can hook up the camera to a mac, upload the film to final cut pro, and render it to whatever format that dvds rock. Im thinking mpeg 1 or 2?

so....

-firstly is it possible? Can i hook up the camera via usb, or should i only go with either of my fire wire hooks ups, because the usb connection will be too slow?

-can i upload a digital 8mm format (whatever that is) and convert it to whatever workable format is on dvds (im thinking mpeg1 or 2?)

-is this all possible on final cut pro? Or would would adobe premier give us an easier time, with reletively similair results?

thanks in advance

pc/ez
shak

stringbeans · #2 (**permalink**) Feb 23, 06

there was a recall of batteries for ibooks and powerbooks last summer i think. check apple's website for their past recall. if you have one of the batteries they've listed then they'll replace it for free. as for your power adapter getting hot im pretty sure thats normal.

as for the usb or firewire question, it doesnt matter what you use. if your cam has a firewire connection then use that just for the speed. but otherwise, using firewire over usb wont provide any quality benefits, only speed.

fable · #3 (**permalink**) Feb 23, 06

thx beans!

Ryan Ross · #4 (**permalink**) Feb 23, 06

If you're looking for ease of use and not crazy features, then I suggest using Imovie rather than final cut. I've never really done much film making, but last semester I made a few edited movie clips with sound and effects and everything and it was easy as hell using Imovie. The interface is simple as hell, and you can convert to pretty much any format (I think). For someone whos never used final cut (like myself), it can be a bit overwhelming if youre just looking for basic features... Imovie has pretty much everything you need to cut/edit/add sounds/add effects.

fable · #5 (**permalink**) Feb 23, 06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blunted

If you're looking for ease of use and not crazy features, then I suggest using Imovie rather than final cut. I've never really done much film making, but last semester I made a few edited movie clips with sound and effects and everything and it was easy as hell using Imovie. The interface is simple as hell, and you can convert to pretty much any format (I think). For someone whos never used final cut (like myself), it can be a bit overwhelming if youre just looking for basic features... Imovie has pretty much everything you need to cut/edit/add sounds/add effects.

thx mate!

im a fast learner, and imovie just aint gonna cut it, the dvd is going to have to be a pretty professional rendering of the production my sister filmed. Shes used the program, and im just doing the assist (and getting her into the bcit mac lab) Ive been around other programs that where sort of related like sonys vegas, so hopefully it wont be too painful.

pc/ez