I tell you, for editing, you can't go back after you've had Avid. I've edited about 25-30 hours now and very slowly, and now I really know how to make some fine cuts, while other programs take a while to learn... Avid also has a great interface, everything is neatly organised and it makes it much easier to edit your movie.

As for DVD authoring, Adobe is master now, I've heard. Adobe Encore is the master-authoring now, and I've got it, though I haven't tried it out yet, but from what I've read it looks pretty promising... You can easily edit your menu's in Photoshop, add subtitles and audio tracks, etc... for lower budget you might want to try out Roxie DVD Creator.

Greets gotan

Are the basics of editing programs the same (with the exceptions of the commands for the funtions)? What I mean is do adobe premeire, Final cut, avid, and the other good editing programs all have timelines, bins, importing/ exporting clips, and other basic stuff? Are the only differences in the special effects that can be done?

The reason why I'm asking is because 1. I am a beginner in editing, 2. I currently have adobe premiere 6.5 and a PC, and 3. I don't see any general concensus over whether a Mac or PC is better for editing no matter which forum I look in or which articles I read.

So what I'm wondering is - for a beginner, is it worth getting better software and equipment? Or learn the basics with what I have now? Would professional editing software like Final Cut pro and Avid really be that difficult to learn for a beginner?

thanks

quote:

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Originally posted by RFranco:
But shows like 24 and movies like Cold Mountain are done Final Cut Pro.

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nope, 24 is done on avid.

Well, as I told you, AVID xpress Pro is very easy to learn. It really depends if you want to spend some money on better editing software. Do you really you need better editing software? Ok, how much are you willing to pay...? So it's a bit hard to answer your question...

gotan