New and need help for son with Autism

[Karl Walter Keirstead]

Yes, spreaders, but mid-level gives more flexibility IMO.

And the head has to be a ball head so you don't have to adjust stick lengths, but you probably know this.

I have a 5.5 lb cam (before accessories) and it works very well (for me) with Libec RT25D/RT30B that has a capacity of 13 lbs (about $800 for the head, sticks w/spreader and carrying case).

My older Manfrotto had a higher reach and a center crank and I liked those two features.

Take your time to pick a tripod !

[Karl Walter Keirstead]

On a light note, re removal of spreaders, the wider you let the legs go the greater the chance of a passer-by tripping over them.

I had an excellent solution to protecting the cam/tripod for outdoor work for a number of years.

My german shepherd liked to sleep under the setup and this gave me a diameter of about 8 feet of safe space.

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Michael L. Johnson

One thing I am anticipating, is that through his editing, I may get somewhat of an insight into how he perceives his world. I know it is not the same as all of us do. Might make for some interesting scenes.
l

Bear in mind that NLEs can work to different paradigms, so you may need to discover which one works best for him. Each has its supporters saying it's intuitive etc, however, that may not apply to your son, who may have a different take on the process to current users.

[Mike Watson]

I don't use FCP X and I don't like its workflow, however, with someone starting from scratch, that's what I'd unquestionably recommend.

[Steven Digges]

NLEs....Good thing to bring up. If they are already on a Mac platform then FCP yes. If not then I am wondering if Vegas would be the best choice.

Without going into detail I think Adobe CC would be the worst possible choice.

I am NOT a Vegas user so please tell me if I am wrong. Vegas has always had a reputation for having a user friendly GUI. You can also perform multiple editing functions (like authoring DVDs and audio sweetening) within the same GUI. You don't need to keep opening a new program/app for each task as you do with Adobe products. In fact Adobe discontinued support for Encore a couple years ago. They do not even have a DVD authoring app anymore. I think using just one Graphical User Interface would be huge for Mackenzie. That sounds like Vegas to me.

Also, for those of you that may have heard rumors of the demise of Vegas it is not true. Sony sold the rights to Vegas to Magix LTD. A UK based software co. Magix claims a total commitment to Vegas. In fact right now you can buy Vegas V13 pro for about half price and you will get the new V14 free when released by Magix in September. I got that information here at DVInfo in the Vegas forum. There is a rep from Magix contributing to the thread.

Kind Regards,

Steve

[Jon Fairhurst]

I agree, FCP on the Mac and Vegas on the PC. I mainly use Vegas Pro, which is quite powerful. It's designed for single users, rather than teams, and it follows standard Windows conventions, so there are few surprises where the UI designers got too "creative."

Regarding a spreader, definitely a mid-level spreader. A floor spreader is useless on uneven ground. With no spreader, you risk the thing splaying apart and falling to the ground, depending on the model tripod. Regarding height, I'm 6-2. Most any good 3 stage tripod should do the job.

Back on the camera, lens reach is a big consideration. For instance, the Canon XA10 has a 10x zoom from 35mm equivalent 30.4mm - 304mm. This goes from somewhat wide to moderate tele. On the other hand, the XA30 goes from 26.8–576mm, which is a true wide to a very long tele. Much wider and you get perspective distortion and other practical challenges (24 is okay, 20 is really challenging, and beyond 16 gets into special effects territory.) Having a really long reach would allow you to set up far from the job site and still get that interesting detail.

Another possibility is to go with a 4K camera, shoot wide, and pan-scan and zoom in post. This might fit Mackenzie's skill set better. For instance the Sony X70 has a 29 to 348mm range, but with 4K, you can do a 2x digital zoom for an HD output with no loss. That makes it effectively 29 to 696mm. For a given shot, you can shoot twice as wide as you would expect to need and re-frame later. This is especially helpful when you don't know exactly where the equipment will move next.

The one consideration with 4K is that you'll need lots of storage media and a powerful computer to work with it. That said, all of the popular editing systems support it. And if you're doing an HD output, you don't necessarily need a 4K monitor or video card.

Note that the cameras listed above are low-end pro (prosumer) cams that will have good quality without too much video compression as well as record good audio. You can find consumer cams with similar specs on the surface, but the video compression will be higher and the audio won't be as clean. In addition, you can plug a pro mic into these cameras, while you would need extra equipment to add a pro mic to consumer models.

[Brian Drysdale]

Lightworks has a clean and simple interface and it can be operated in a number of ways. Generally it's easier to learn for those users not carrying any baggage from other NLEs. It really depends on what he wants to do, you can shoot and then upload to Youtube and Vimeo for free, For the all the other export options you need the Pro version.

[Noa Put]

Don't believe what they are telling you Michael, Edius 8 is the best NLE and I know because I am using it.
Just kidding, not about Edius but about not believing the others. :) Your choice in a NLE is even more difficult then choosing a camera, it will be very difficult to switch if you don't like a NLE, when I switched from Premiere to Edius it was like starting all over and even the most simple tasks required me to go to the Edius forum for advice. For your son that might be an almost impossible task so I would not take that choice very lightly. Once you make a choice you will have to stick with it.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Before more NLE recommendations, we should learn, 1) which OS he uses, and 2) what other creative programs is he comfortable with? (In other words, not just games and content sites but things like Word, Excel, Paint, Music sequencers... stuff that is user-input driven.)

[Ron Evans]

I have been following this post from the beginning but just went through it all again. Not quite the same issue but I have my wife shoot the closeups for me when I shoot theatre and she may have some of the same issues!!. Tell me what to do and how but will get very upset if things do not work exactly as described !! She uses a Sony AX100 on a Sachtler ACE tripod with LANC remote. The camera is setup in auto exposure ( but with a gain limit and fixed shutter speed ) with AE shift and she looks at the zebras to turn AE shift wheel to get rid of them. ( I have preset the zebra level and she knows that if it is on a white shirt she can ignore ) She uses manual touch spot focus to set focus ( touch the thing I want in focus ). I also have taught her composing to the grid that can be set on the LCD. Standard rule of thirds. Her closeups make all the difference to my productions. She has got very good at shooting and has really no idea how the camera is setup.

So to cameras I think Noa suggested the DVX200 in an earlier post a camera that could do this in much the same way and still be a full pro camera when needed. I expect the AG-UX180 may also work closer to the way I get my wife's AX100 and may have better touch responses than the DVX200. I am waiting to see what the full specs are too.

For NLE's you may want to look at Vegas Movie Studio Platinum. It will do everything a beginner would want , is not expensive and has the same user interface as the full Vegas if he decides to move up into the more elaborate editors. Though the real difference with Movie Studio to Vegas Pro is just more stuff !!! Also Movie Studio has a few things that Vegas Pro does not have !!

I too normally edit with EDIUS 8 WG but also have Vegas ( full and Studio versions over many years ) and ADOBE CS6. For a single track edit, Vegas ( or Vegas Movie Studio ) will operate real easy and sliding clips over one another will automatically dissolve the video and audio.Nice and easy for a beginner to do and understand. Yet the timeline is just like any of the pro NLE's.


Ron Evans

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Karl Walter Keirstead

Yes, spreaders, but mid-level gives more flexibility IMO.

And the head has to be a ball head so you don't have to adjust stick lengths, but you probably know this.

I have a 5.5 lb cam (before accessories) and it works very well (for me) with Libec RT25D/RT30B that has a capacity of 13 lbs (about $800 for the head, sticks w/spreader and carrying case).

My older Manfrotto had a higher reach and a center crank and I liked those two features.

Take your time to pick a tripod !

Walter,

Thank you for the reply and the information it contained. I will certainly weigh all my options, and be deliberate in my choice of a tripod set up. I have had many good examples and suggestions already.

Thanks

Michael

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

Bear in mind that NLEs can work to different paradigms, so you may need to discover which one works best for him. Each has its supporters saying it's intuitive etc, however, that may not apply to your son, who may have a different take on the process to current users.

Brian

Thank you for the reply, and the insight. I do not know for sure yet, but you may be very right about Mackenzie.

Thanks

Michael

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

I don't use FCP X and I don't like its workflow, however, with someone starting from scratch, that's what I'd unquestionably recommend.

Mike

Thank you very much for the reply. If I may ask, why would you recommend FCP X ?

Thanks

Michael

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Steven Digges

NLEs....Good thing to bring up. If they are already on a Mac platform then FCP yes. If not then I am wondering if Vegas would be the best choice.

Without going into detail I think Adobe CC would be the worst possible choice.

I am NOT a Vegas user so please tell me if I am wrong. Vegas has always had a reputation for having a user friendly GUI. You can also perform multiple editing functions (like authoring DVDs and audio sweetening) within the same GUI. You don't need to keep opening a new program/app for each task as you do with Adobe products. In fact Adobe discontinued support for Encore a couple years ago. They do not even have a DVD authoring app anymore. I think using just one Graphical User Interface would be huge for Mackenzie. That sounds like Vegas to me.

Also, for those of you that may have heard rumors of the demise of Vegas it is not true. Sony sold the rights to Vegas to Magix LTD. A UK based software co. Magix claims a total commitment to Vegas. In fact right now you can buy Vegas V13 pro for about half price and you will get the new V14 free when released by Magix in September. I got that information here at DVInfo in the Vegas forum. There is a rep from Magix contributing to the thread.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Steve

Thanks for the reply and the heads up about Vegas. To be honest, I thought my choices would be between Adobe and FCP, and I was thinking between the two, FCP might be a better fit for Mackenzie.

Thank you

Michael

[Michael L. Johnson]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

I agree, FCP on the Mac and Vegas on the PC. I mainly use Vegas Pro, which is quite powerful. It's designed for single users, rather than teams, and it follows standard Windows conventions, so there are few surprises where the UI designers got too "creative."

Regarding a spreader, definitely a mid-level spreader. A floor spreader is useless on uneven ground. With no spreader, you risk the thing splaying apart and falling to the ground, depending on the model tripod. Regarding height, I'm 6-2. Most any good 3 stage tripod should do the job.

Back on the camera, lens reach is a big consideration. For instance, the Canon XA10 has a 10x zoom from 35mm equivalent 30.4mm - 304mm. This goes from somewhat wide to moderate tele. On the other hand, the XA30 goes from 26.8–576mm, which is a true wide to a very long tele. Much wider and you get perspective distortion and other practical challenges (24 is okay, 20 is really challenging, and beyond 16 gets into special effects territory.) Having a really long reach would allow you to set up far from the job site and still get that interesting detail.

Another possibility is to go with a 4K camera, shoot wide, and pan-scan and zoom in post. This might fit Mackenzie's skill set better. For instance the Sony X70 has a 29 to 348mm range, but with 4K, you can do a 2x digital zoom for an HD output with no loss. That makes it effectively 29 to 696mm. For a given shot, you can shoot twice as wide as you would expect to need and re-frame later. This is especially helpful when you don't know exactly where the equipment will move next.

The one consideration with 4K is that you'll need lots of storage media and a powerful computer to work with it. That said, all of the popular editing systems support it. And if you're doing an HD output, you don't necessarily need a 4K monitor or video card.

Note that the cameras listed above are low-end pro (prosumer) cams that will have good quality without too much video compression as well as record good audio. You can find consumer cams with similar specs on the surface, but the video compression will be higher and the audio won't be as clean. In addition, you can plug a pro mic into these cameras, while you would need extra equipment to add a pro mic to consumer models.

Jon

Thank you for the reply and all the information !

Good information on the tripod and about Vegas Pro. You raise some good points about camera reach, and I would be willing to bet that sometimes we may not be able to get as close as we might want. Besides wanting to "future proof" ourselves, another reason for my considering 4K was as you say the things you can do in post, which indeed may fit his skill set better.

I will be buying a new computer robust enough to do the video editing, and will invest in storage as well, for archives and as a safe guard.

Once again, thank you.

Michael
,