To give a little equal time to operating systems that are not Windows 7, and in acknowledgement of the recent release of Ubuntu 9.10, let’s revisit one of the most popular free distributions of Linux. (Note: that’s free as in beer and free as in speech, at least for the following distributions.)

The aforementioned Ubuntu 9.10 is one of the most prevalent distributions that can operate as a Live CD. That is to say, you can try Ubuntu 9.10 by running it off the CD that you burn it to (its performance will be hobbled since everything’s being read off the CD, but everything still works–this can be overcome by putting the contents of the CD onto a USB flash drive and booting from that instead.) This is one of the reasons why I really like this distro. If you’ve never had any exposure to Linux before, it’s worth a try; the hardest part about it is probably burning the ISO image that you download onto a blank CD. And both Fedora and OpenSUSE have new versions coming out soon as well. These are also popular free distributions with deep-seeded roots. All of them are worth trying out if you have some extra hard drive space.

But there are many more distributions than just these: check out DistroWatch for information on literally hundreds of Linux, BSD and Solaris distributions. You can filter down to the distributions that will best suit your needs. While not everyone can replace Windows outright with a Linux distribution, you might find that a free operating system offers a great way to eke some more life out of an old system that you can’t part with, or for cobbling something new together for pretty cheap.

So, back to the question we raised in the headline: can one edit video with Linux? The answer is an unqualified yes! There are at least 10 free video editing applications that can be run with Linux. At least a couple even offer AVCHD support. For more information on what’s out there and what might be worth a try, hit Wikipedia’s Comparison of video editing software and List of video editing software.

Sony Creative Software Inc., a leading provider of professional video and audio editing applications, today announced Vegas™ Pro 9.0c software, the latest update to its award-winning nonlinear HD video and audio editing (NLE) application. Vegas Pro 9.0c software features Sony® XDCAM® EX MP4 file rendering and the ability to Smart Render MPEG-2 video across different containers for faster, more seamless editing. New audio features, including exclusive élastique Pro timestretching and Import Stereo Audio as Dual Mono, offer provide even more professional depth to this award-winning NLE. Additional support for media filmed with the RED ONE video camera streamlines file access and efficiency for editors working with footage up to 4K resolution. Vegas Pro 9.0c software also includes additional card support for capture and output via SDI, HD-SDI and HDMI™. Read the rest of this entry »

The office is bustling, here at Videomaker, as we prepare for our upcoming workshops. The weekend of October 9^th is coming up fast and we couldn’t be more excited. For the first time ever, we’re offering an Intensive Lighting Workshop, as well as our Basics of Video Production Workshop.

Our Basics of Video Production Workshop is a start-to-finish course on movie making. This is a great way for beginners to become familiar with the equipment and the processes involved when telling a story with video.

For those of you who already have a grasp on the basics of video production, the Intensive Lighting Workshop will allow you to build upon your production skills and knowledge by focusing on light theory, equipment and techniques.

If you’ve been to one of our workshops you know that it’s a great way to get hands-on experience with professional equipment, learn new techniques and work with people who are as enthusiastic about movie making as you.

It’s not too late to sign up, so if you have never attended one of our workshops, or just want to build upon your previous experience, now is as good of a time as any to join in on the fun.

Click here for more information on attending a Videomaker Workshop

For years, we video producers have had to deal with how we share our videos with our associates or clients when we want to discuss changes, and where to go next. We’ve mailed VHS tapes and DVDs and waited for their response. We’ve made low-rez e-mail and FTP links… and waited for their comments.

Several companies have felt our pain and have devised better more efficient sharing systems. One such company we recently discovered is  Market7, a company that helps producers save time, money and energy as they collaborate on video productions with each other and their clients.

There are many programs that allow video file sharing, like FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites, but Market7 claims to have a complete, end-to-end solution that takes a video producer and client from the concept and planning stages all the way through to post production. This online environment can make it easy for video producers and clients to collaborate on scripts, share and view current versions of a project, provide feedback directly inside the and more streamlining the work involved in getting projects finished and out the door.

Pricing is based on the amount of storage space you use. Check out the key product feature demos.

Read the rest of this entry »