[TheCase]

Hi,

Is this video editing software any good I mainly want to do green screening, boost audio and picture, and upload onto the software with my camcorder and download back via firewire in and out wich my camcorder can do, is there something better?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Vegas-M...7112279&sr=1-4

Thanks

[senu]

Your link is to Ver 6 There is (was) a ver 7 not available in the UK
The latest is
Ver 8 which is Windows Vista friendly and perhaps the one to go for now . I think £60 is a bit much to pay for a product which has had 2 major updates especially as the newest version is unlikely to cost a great deal more but YMMV.

I think it is rather good, quite popular and it has great tutorials but some folk take a while to get used to its GUI
But

Is there something better?

What you have described can be done with virtually any of the currently available software titles (Adobe Premiere Elements , Pinnacle Studio, Ulead Video Studio ,Serif.. Magix Movie Studio ect)

The differences are mainly
Ease of use
Graphic user interface and how you get on with it
Stability
Upgrade path ( if you chose to become Semi pro)
Computer minimum Specifications

The actual features are broadly similar and the level of Use cuts in range from novice to advanced amateur Even Semi pros may use them for short projects which dont need fine level of control , as the output quality from them tend to be respectable

Most of the titles ( including this one at least the latest version) are available as download trial versions so you can ( up to a point) , try before you buy. Most also have online tutorials , Forums, third party books and training CDs ect

[TheCase]

Thanks. Version 8 is not relised in the UK yet, So I will have to wait till september, or could some shops have it allready? Is there any other softwares people will recomend that is just as good for the cheap price

Thanks

[felix2]

Originally Posted by senu

I think £60 is a bit much to pay for a product which has had 2 major updates especially as the newest version is unlikely to cost a great deal more but YMMV.

...especially since Amazon used to sell Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 6 for around £45 for several months!

[TheCase]

Can you suggest any other movie editing software for around £70 I just want to do advance green screen, tune up audio and picture, add film grain, and upload from and back to camcorder

Thanks

[senu]

Originally Posted by TheCase

Can you suggest any other movie editing software for around £70 I just want to do advance green screen, tune up audio and picture, add film grain, and upload from and back to camcorder
Thanks

I did. ReRead my post.

If you can get the said Sony for cheaper ( Say £40) it should be fine.

Pinnacle Studio 10.5/11 and Adobe Premiere Elements 2/3 as well as Ulead , Serif and Magix offerings don't cost more then £70
I'm not sure of what you mean by "advanced" green screen but if by that you refer to chroma keying, they all can , Some with more amount of control than others
Tuning up audio and Picture all can do. Adding film grain, I know Adobe and Sony have filters Im not as sure of UleadVS or Pinnacle Studio (Ill have to check) but I imaging they are most unlikely not to have it
I deliberately chose not to recommend any over another as I have have used all ( apart from Serif) and my personal feeling is that preference of one over another is purely a personal thing rather than one being " better " than the other

[TheCase]

Thanks. I meen by advance features as in losts of features to fine tune my chroma keying. I am looking at Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus now. Does this have alot of chroma keying features, does it have film grain, does it have some kind of color and audio boost (i think it does, I saw it on the site just to make sure though) can I upload from and to my camcorder?

I did find this video on youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=q4Ry0lHRg7E

Thanks

[senu]

I have UlleadVideoStudio 10 plus .. not 11 and even that does all you ask for TBH ( Oh ....BTW that video cracks me up.. that chap must be hopping mad with the software!)

Having used Adobe Premiere ( I dont mean Premiere Elements which I still use) in the past ( Premiere has a bit of a learning curve,) and Pinnacle studio ( very easy to use though capable beneath the surface) . I find they both have one thing in common despite differing target market .. A certain quite logical GUI.
This equally applies to one of my Favourites Avid Liquid 7 which puts some people off as they find it "non intuitive" at first unless they persevere with it

In my personal experience ( this is subjective , mind you) UleadVS is very capable but in some ways a bit wizard driven to the point of exasperation if you get more ambitious with control
It is however a very good product and one of the forum members here is something of an expert on its use ( Brian110507) and can say more
As for the stability problem all of them have some albeit in very differing amounts ( some are rock stable on most systems) and in fact Pinnacle Studio has just as bad a reputation as your linked video hints at .....sometimes software is buggy sometimes some folks PC just isnt set up properly.
but
In my experience all the software titles hide some of their abilities to do intricate things or allow you control over certain processes, With Ulead Video Studio Im not sure it has them or is better at keeping them hidden

[TheCase]

Thanks. I am pick softwares up really quickly I am a computer wizz but I was reading reviews about Pinnacle and alot came up as its very buggy could be the same person but I think I will go with Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus

Thanks

[senu]

Good luck. If you want to try any other and are unable to download trial versions ect..You can PM me

[TheCase]

Just installed the demo I love the 5.1 surround sound feature cant find green screen thing but I think I might of not download the plus version they say it has it. It froze, i got a criticail error when i closed and is very laggy and the colors are very good in the preview window but i think they go normal once uploaded I have a powerfull PC not too sure why but that hasnt put me off, I think I will go with this thanks

[TheCase]

I dont want to be annoying all my posts last forever I just want to get the right one. I just got one more question, how about Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 what are your views on that software, It looks good, it has chroma keying feature, you can upload to and from your camcoder (not too sure about any boost effects or film grain) but its looks quite good, any comments? I will think I will go for this.

Thanks for your time guys.

[felix2]

Personally I'm a big fan of the Sony Vegas / Serif MoviePlus GUI & workflow (which are to all intents and purposes identical). Many seem to find it a bit odd to get to grips with to start with, especially those used to using other video editors like Adobe and Avid, but personally coming from an audio background (& I understand Vegas grew from Sound Forge audio editor), I find the very typically "Windows" / drag & drop timeline style very intuitive (more so with Serif than with Vegas). But Serif 5 is a bit short on audio features, especially compared with Vegas Movie Studio Platinum, and also has pretty basic parameters for chromakey (green screening), although that works fine for what we do with it. Serif 6 is due out before too much longer.

I too get exasperated with my copy of Ulead 10+ and sadly wouldn't be keen to recommend it (both for its bugs and it not being able to do basic things you'd expect of a ~£50 video editor). Adobe Premiere Elements is by all accounts a very strong program, and I think used to lead the field for picture effects, colour correction, etc etc (and possibly still does, although Vegas & others may have caught up by now). When I tried Premiere Elements, I didn't have the patience to get on with it. It's the hardest work on the PC in terms of hardware requirements, and I found it the hardest work on the operator too! I got too frustrated when I couldn't just immediately put a video clip on the timeline, but I guess with a couple of hours starting to suss out how it works you'd soon be well on your way - and I understand that Adobe have made a sterling effort to make the current version 3 a lot more friendly to new users than ver 2 was. If you can wait 'til Vegas MS Platinum 8 comes out next month, personally I'd wait for that. Otherwise I reckon go for Adobe. Either way, I'm sure you'll be very happy.

[TheCase]

Again I will give this one a miss, I dont like it because it seems to do exactly the same as WAX software from Debugmode does and that is for free. I really need a software in the next week looks like I will have to wait for Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8.

Thanks

[jonna]

You can download it for £40https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com...pid=446&disp=1

[TheCase]

That looks good, but I like to have the CD incase I need to reinstall and I like the documentation that comes with it ... what happends if the download doesnt work .... I can see this might not go well. It says the package version comes with sound effects and lots of things but it doesnt list any of them in the download version not too sure

Thanks