New to DV Editing...
 

Hey! I'm buying a JVC GRDVL120U. All I want to do is record some stuff when I go flying and put it together and make a few videos. But I want the videos at really high quality though. Does anybody know where to lead me to start? As for what software to buy,ect. I'm going to put the video to music also if able. Also, I want to add in titles and stuff (like a character generator does at a new station). I worked at a news station for a few years in production so I know a little about photography but nothing about editing really.

Thanks!

i assume the camera is DV and you have a computer ? what operating system ? what processors speed ..

if computer meets min spec's

you might look at a pyro basic 1394 ( $50). at least in April it came with ullead MS 6e pro ( e = editor only not the studio pack with paint etc) ... with MS6 pro you can edit, add titles etc ... it also came with studio 5 by ullead which is very easy to use and will also do what you asked BUT the MS 6 is much more powerful .

For simple plug and play editing, with the features you spoke of a good place to start is an entry level Mac. The basic IMac comes standard with IMovie and will handle the job quite well.

If you have a PC/Windows preference there are some good systems to be had but make sure you go to someone who specializes in building these systems. One of the members of this board is involved with such a company called Videoguys, they would be a good place to start.

The third option is a Casablanca. These NLE systems are standalone machines designed to work with your TV and include some basic effects and titling.�@They are dedicated to NLE only and cannot be used for anything else.

Thanks for such a quick response! Yea, it's a Mini DV Cam that I'm going to buy at Circuit City tomorrow. I'm also going to buy a firewire card. I have an AMD Duron 950MHz w/ 512mb PC-133. Plenty of hard drive space for editing, capturing, etc. Maybe there are some tutorials somewhere for MediaStudio 6? Like I said before, I just want to put some videos together - nothing professional, although I would like them to look as professional as I can get them. No jumpcuts or anything like that.

Thanks Again!
Nick

Since you are new to DV editing I would suggest Pinnacle Studio 8. For the money wyou will be editinga nd creating projects in a few minutes. It is easy to use and has a great deal of power for a sub-$100 package. If you have a 1394 card just get the software only version. If you need a 1394 then get the DV version. If you want some really powerful 3D effects they spend the extra $80-$100 and get Hollywood FX for it. This should do all you need for some time.