Ok, so I'm a newbie here who is very very wet behind the ears and could use some guidance. I currently own a small A/V design firm and do very well. I typically design commercial 70v audio systems and do a lot of video designs for everything from basic tv setups for bars and restaurants to high-endtele-conferencing systems for corporations. Recently I have been asked numerous times if I provide post-production audio and video work. Examples have been corporate training videos, post-prodution audio for radio, and a lot of digital signage production work. I keep saying no because I don't. But my interest has been peaked and I don't want to continue to turn down business. So my question is this; where do I start? I can't afford to spend $20K+ on a local school to learn post-production audio and video so I want to learn myself. With so many options of DAW, and Adobe or Avid or Sony or Apple Final Cut, etc, etc. I'm confused and don't know which one will suite my needs. It's so expensive for these software programs and equipment I want to make sure I buy what I need. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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BigK is right. I work in graphic design and rather than turn wor
BigK is right. I work in graphic design and rather than turn work down I look for partnerships to build my scope and serve customers better. I do a lot, but I know I can't do everything. Creative pursuits that are technical in nature are usually served best by a team - one half for the technical side of things and one for the creative. I work with a programmer who handles some of the back end code when I get in over my head. There are only so many language a designer can learn before his head explodes! Besides, focusing on my specialty has become more lucrative. Obviously I don't know how your creative nature is but you may benefit from a strategic partnership rather than stretching yourself too thin and into areas of non-expertise. You may find a studio that needs a technician or a video production company that gets asked about your side of the business and THEY are the ones turning down business! You may get partnerships, or you may get referrals. Network, and everyone wins.
Good luck.
Oh, and I did spend the $30k on schooling - worth every penny and every year (all five of them!)
If you're working on a Mac, Apple's Final Cut Studio is excellen
If you're working on a Mac, Apple's Final Cut Studio is excellent. You'll have video editing, be able to create motion graphics, and edit audio. Beyond that you'll be able to do post-production video effects, color balancing and audio (foley, audio effects plugins, etc.). The learning curve is about average for this kind of software. Final Cut Studio (Mac only) is about $1,000US - Express version about $200).
Adobe After Effects has more sophisticated motion graphics and visual effects, but also a steep learn curve. It is just made for post-production work, so you'll need an audio and video editing programs. Adobe offers Creative Suite 5 Production Premium (Win/Mac) with video and audio apps. About $1,700US.
I have no experience with Sony or Avid (except for the very early Avid software long ago).
Buy tutorial books and/or take a class; there are plenty of resources for both these suite collections. Lynda.com has tutorials on these programs and might be a good way to help you decide which software to use. Don't start taking on client work until you can reasonably work your software (duh).
I use Final Cut Studio and it has met my needs -- in fact I probably underutilized it. I usually use Logic Pro for my audio stuff, but I do use Soundtrack Pro for video work, especially cleaning up audio.
[="http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/production/whatisproductionpremium/"]Adobe CS5 Production Premium[/]="http://www.adobe.co…"]Adobe CS5 Production Premium[/]
[[url=http://="http://www.apple.co…"]Apple Final Cut Studio[/]="http://www.apple.co…"]Apple Final Cut Studio[/]
You won't be able to learn and set up all that in a few weeks. I
You won't be able to learn and set up all that in a few weeks. It will take time to become an expert and I am sure you want to deliver 1st class work (audio and video) to your customers.
My advice: Maybe concentrate on video first... That is demanding enough. Until you have together budget and knowledge, cooperate with an audio studio that can deliver what you need fast, good and affordable. Learn from them as well.
In some cases such a cooperation can be good thing, even long term. By the time you have decided for a certain video rig, the decision what audio DAW to use can be made better and easier.
You might want to visit a larger post pro studio and spy them out a bit,..visit their web sites, too. Try to be technically compatible with the good ones...