Just ordered A:M 2003 upgrade

#1

After hearing all these great things about A:M 10 (ie, improved stability, nice renderer, etc.), I went ahead and ordered my 2003 upgrade. I have a few questions for those of you who have actually made short animations (iow, not just clips):

What editing/compositing software did you use?

Do you know of any good, cheap editing/compositing software?

What did you use for sound?

Any other info/advice would be appreciated. I’m really crossing my fingers that this experience will be better than my 9.x fiasco;). Thanks

#2

I use Shake for compositing
It is really fast :cool:

#3

I think you’re going to find some glitches in 10.5, too - but nothing nearly as horrid as in 9.X - just don’t want your expectations to be too high. 10.5 is still beta, after all… and HASH beta at that…

In regards to compositing software, I use AE, but that’s because I know it. It does everything I want it to, and although I wish it was faster in some respects, many of it’s tools are familiar to Photoshop users, and I like it’s paradigm. The node based compositors just seem a bit cumbersome to me, but then again, I’ve never really pushed to learn how to use them.

AE is probably the least expensive of the packages out there for compositing.

For sound, there are a few possibilities - it depends on what you want to do with them. Magix Samplitude is a very cool multi-tracker, Vegas Video is great for syncing SFX, and a lot of people use Sound Forge (Sonic Foundry makes both Vegas Video and Sound Forge) - although I find SoundForge very limiting in that it’s not a multi-tracker. If Magix Samplitude could bring in video, it would be my choice hands down.

Hope this helps…

JoeW

#4

Originally posted by JoeW
[B]I think you’re going to find some glitches in 10.5, too - but nothing nearly as horrid as in 9.X - just don’t want your expectations to be too high. 10.5 is still beta, after all… and HASH beta at that…

In regards to compositing software, I use AE, but that’s because I know it. It does everything I want it to, and although I wish it was faster in some respects, many of it’s tools are familiar to Photoshop users, and I like it’s paradigm. The node based compositors just seem a bit cumbersome to me, but then again, I’ve never really pushed to learn how to use them.

AE is probably the least expensive of the packages out there for compositing.

For sound, there are a few possibilities - it depends on what you want to do with them. Magix Samplitude is a very cool multi-tracker, Vegas Video is great for syncing SFX, and a lot of people use Sound Forge (Sonic Foundry makes both Vegas Video and Sound Forge) - although I find SoundForge very limiting in that it’s not a multi-tracker. If Magix Samplitude could bring in video, it would be my choice hands down.

Hope this helps…

JoeW [/B]

Thanks for your reply:). Magix also makes a video editing app called “Video Deluxe”. Do you know if it’s any good? Adobe AE is just a little (or alot) to expensive for me. I have purchased Jasc Paintshop Pro 8 for texture creation, so I’m now looking for a video editing and (hopefully) compositing app in a similar price range.

EDIT: How does 10.0’s stability compare to 10.5’s?

#5

Originally posted by Hookflash
[B]Thanks for your reply:). Magix also makes a video editing app called “Video Deluxe”. Do you know if it’s any good? Adobe AE is just a little (or alot) to expensive for me. I have purchased Jasc Paintshop Pro 8 for texture creation, so I’m now looking for a video editing and (hopefully) compositing app in a similar price range.

EDIT: How does 10.0’s stability compare to 10.5’s? [/B]

You’re welcome - I didn’t know about Video Deluxe - but you might check to see if there’s a demo. I’ve been pretty impressed with Samplitude, and if that’s any indication, Video Deluxe might be a stronger product than Vegas Video. Like I said, I’d go for a demo and take it around the block…

I don’t know about an inexpensive compositing program. AM used to have MultiPlane, but I haven’t seen it in a LONG time. One thing to consider is whether or not you can qualify as a student and get the software through a student software outlet. When I was first getting started, this is how I bought most of my software - I signed up for some courses, and the cost of the courses was small compared to the savings on the software. You could also be a little less scrupulous and use a student that you know to buy the software for you. Teachers work as well…

I can’t compare 10 and 10.5 stability-wise - I didn’t even use 10. I’d think 10.5 is a bit less stable right now, as it’s still beta - but that’s just a guess…

JoeW

#6

Avid has released a free, non-commercial editor, so you might want to look into that.
Havent heard of anything similar for compositing though.

#7

You could try MovieXone for video editing…it’s free (Windows).

http://www.aist.de/engl/products/4_moviexone_plus/index.php

The company that makes MovieXone also has some commercial applications if you require more capablilities here:

http://www.aist.de/engl/products/index.php

If you want something that’s professional grade (editing and compositing), you might want to check out Cinelerra (Linux) here (free, open source):

http://heroinewarrior.com/cinelerra.php3

Virtualdub (Windows) can do some simple editing here (freeware):

http://www.virtualdub.org/

Another possibility for compositing would be Cinepaint (Windows, Mac and Linux) here (free, open source):

http://cinepaint.sourceforge.net/

For audio editing and multitracking, you could try Audacity (Windows, Mac and Linux) here (free, open source):

Hope one of these helps.

#8

Thanks for the links Itsjustme.

I’m downloading Cinepaint now. :wink:

#9

itsjustme: Cool, thanks for the links. I’ll check them out.

#10

Joe, you mean they removed layers?

WHY?

#11

Layers isn’t the same as Multiplane

Back in v4-v5 multiplane was a stand alone 3D compositing app that came with the newtwork version of A:M it was more full featured than just layers are now.

-David Rogers

#12

Video Deluxe 2 seems very impressive and has had some rave reviews. It has 32 tracks which can be used for video or sound. This means that you can use it for basic compositing of separately rendered elements of a shot. In the demo I had four layers of different shots superimposed. I couldn`t save it in the demo version though to check it rendered okay.

Other than this it has all the usual features such as a wide range of transitions (though you normally only use fade and dissolve anyway) and great sound features.

Seems a bargain at less than 60 quid.

Dale.

#13

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