Hey there. I'm helping out a friend who just started out a photography company, and they would like to find out what editing software is best. They've experience in still photography, and would like to expand their business to video as well.
They haven't given me any criteria to look for, but I guess from the looks of it I think this is what they really need:

1. Efficient and stable - no need for a super powerful NASA grade computer, and definitely not prone to crashes and freezes.
2. Professional finish - they wanna use it for wedding videos and such, and make DVDs.
3. Not that great of a learning curve - my friend would like me to do the job as I do have experience editing videos (forgot which software I used back in the day, but I'm sure it's not that powerful), but since I'm studying I don't really have the time. Therefore, they would probably need something that can be learned fairly quickly.
4. Price - Heck, I guess it's not actually a problem. But do mention anyway if you know.
5. PC - not Mac exclusive.
6. Audio - if I put soundtrack in and I want the real sound of the video at the same time to play, I don't want the two sounds to muffle each other. Just one being quieter than the other, and transition form soft to loud in one smooth flow. That sort of thing.

There are only 2 softwares that I know of that's any good, and it's Adobe Premier (very PC intensive) and Sony Vegas Pro (a lot lighter but I'm not really sure how that thing performs). Any video editing gurus out there, preferably who works in this field of consumer videos, would care to lend a hand and help me out?

This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Jul 3 2013, 10:39 PM

i use Canopus EDIUS

From a brief read of a review, it seems like a perfect thing for an average PC. Actually I don't mind having little features, I like videos/montage to be relatively simple. Never really a fan of overly edited piece, a little here and there is fine, like transitioning from chapter to chapter, or filters to enhance the atmosphere. The best part is up to the cameramen on scene. But for leeway, I think it's best to have as little limitations as possible.
How's audio on that thing though? I forgot to add that to my list, it's very important.

i use adobe premier cs6.
there is volume control for each track you add, and the volume from video aswell.
easy to learn. took me few hours to master how to mingle this n that.
Uses alot of vram/ram n cpu intense when editing longer video.

Adobe premier + Adobe after effects + Adobe Audition will be the best can do everything setup.

Though I'm not using that now.
Among Vegas, premier and Canopus, I prefer Vegas. Simply because it seems a lot more intuitive with an easier learning curve. I was editing videos after watching 20mins YouTube tutorials haha

Currently using fcpx with apple motion and adobe audition though.

This post has been edited by LegendLee: Jul 4 2013, 01:16 AM

It seems I can narrow down to 2; Vegas and Canopus.

This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Jul 4 2013, 03:46 AM

Tempted to recommend Adobe Premier at first. But then I thought about the hardware requirements, and what if they have to make like 5-6 in a few days. It seems silly to decline customer requests because, "our computers are too slow".

I'm more inclined towards Vegas at the moment, because like you said, it seems easy to learn and has enough capabilities, unless someone have other suggestions.

I'm using Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.0

and btw if you are needed to do some 5 - 6 video in a few days, you surely can afford a high end computer.

I would totally recommend using adobe products.

I used to use sony vegas and when I finally made the switch it has been nothing but great.

Not only are there many useful plugins, your photography division probably uses photoshop and illustrator on a regular basis (or will eventually do). The integration between adobe programs makes workflow a hell of a lot easier.

My 2cents is to upgrade the editing pcs rather than skimming on the program itself because at the end of the day a better workflow increasing efficiency is what will push that company forward (If it's there for the long haul).

CS6 is good

They're just starting out so they don't know what to expect. And yeah they can afford it, but for a small company of only 3 cameramen with no video editing experience, they need to dial down a bit on the computer hardware, and complexity of the software. Right now they're focusing on cameras, lenses and other equipments, as well as a good video cam. Good software and PC can never beat good ol' creativity and proper recording.

No budget still for their PCs. Would a high-end laptop be able to run Premier with ease?

high end laptop surely does the work.
my laptop with a 2years old i7+a low end graphic card+8gb ram can run premier with ease.
opt for fast processor and more ram for rendering

Yeah, I don't see a problem why not. If it's just premier and other editing software + only for work.

1. high end laptop does not work as well as a desktop. a core i7 on a laptop works like and i5 / i3 on a desktop.

2. depends on what they're shooting. an entry level body with simple lens can do wonders if you know the technique.

all it takes is 1 video assignment and you can build a good computer for video editing.

for video editing, best to get a macbook pro. Then they can do editing on the go. That laptop can also be used for storing videos on the go and general tasks when on-site.

If you want to do professional video editing, you have to master adobe video editing products. Just like graphics designers need to know adobe photoshop and so on. Sure, there are alternative but adobe pretty much monopoly video editing and photo editing world.

i disagree. practically any other laptop can do just fine, one does not need to spend on Macbook Pro just to do video editing on the go.

and I pretty much disagree with this whole Apple and Adobe thing.

Just go with your budget, using a non Adobe stuff doesn't mean you can't produce nice videos, professionally or not.

I would urge them to get Adobe premier in the end.

I think right now it's more important to acquire skills, camera hardware and further experience in video recording first. There's no point in having the best software and computer if the raw material is crap, right? Heck, I even made a more "professional" looking video compared to our multimedia department back in poli, using only multiple cameras and Movie Maker. It was a one time thing, included interviews and such, quite fun and challenging and took days to complete a 5 minute video. I should've been the head of multimedia at the time, but I wasn't even in the department at all. Then I used a more powerful editing software I got from a friend, forgot what it was, and I just went crazy making a corporate video using it. I can't imagine one day when I have the time to master Adobe products, or proper hardware to run it.

Thanks for all the input you guys!

This post has been edited by VagueConcerns: Jul 5 2013, 09:25 PM

My take - when starting business, be realistic. No reason to aim for high-end everything.

Get a simple video editing software, even the one I mentioned is so cheap and yet you can already have more than enough for basic video editing.

Those basic stuff once put together properly, still can impress.

Just even a Core i3 setup with a cheap software would work fine. You take a bit longer to encode the video but it's justified.

Once have more money, just upgrade the hardware to improve the video production time.

As for the software, if it works fine then there's no reason at all to go full Adobe suite.

If one is going to use adobe premier exclusively, I don't see any reason to get a Mac.

If I have the budget, I'll get the new razer blade laptop for adobe premier lol.

Either way, it's not the cool effects and what not that makes a video good. Gotta get the basics right like simple cut, merge, sync and flow. Don't need advance features most of the time.