Hey Rambler,
Good call on going to Greece...video equipment will always be around, but a good cultural experience only comes around once in awhile. Understanding how people think and precieve the world is a very important and rare characteristic that is found is some of the best editors/writers.Â
Obviously a Mac/FCP system would be very expensive and is not practical for you to have right now...but this may be a good thing. I think it's very important for editors to have a working knowledge of multiple platforms (Mac/pc) and software (Fcp, Motion / Premiere, After Effects)
Now the good thing about a PC system and adobe software is that you can get started with very little money...
I've been in video production for 13 years and a professional editor for 8 years. When I started editing, computers were very slow. I was editing on a 500mhz processor with 128mb of RAM and 900mhz processors with 256mb of RAM...it was somewhat of a pain, but we didn't really know any better, but it was possible, and nowadays computers are 10 times better.
I swear to you that you can edit full length features on a basic cheap standard computer nowadays...
I have several professional computers but I still also use my 3 year old Emachine that cost $500...today, you can find an Emachine that is even better for $300-$500. I bet the computer you used to wright this thread is more than capable of editing video.
You should be in good shape with ANY standard computer today:
2.0+ ghz processor
1 - 2 GB RAM
250-500GB Hard Drive.
DVD burner
Now...once you have the computer it's time to try out all the free trail software out there...this is enough full functional trial software out there to keep you busy for at least a year.
For example...
You can 30 day get trial software for Premiere Pro 2.0 and After Effects 7
when that expires, you can get the trial for Premiere pro CS2 and After Effects CS2
Than you can get Premiere Pro CS3 and After Effects CS3
Than you can get Premire Pro CS4 and After Effects CS4
That is atleast 4 moths of very professinal software for free...and by the time you're done with all those...CS5 should be out...lol
All these programs are reletivley the same so you won't have learn it each time you upgrade.
For more free stuff check out Chris Colorado's Free Stuff blog.
When you are comfortable, Adobe offers fully functional student software that is like 75% 0ff
I don't know think FCP has any student priced software of free trials, but thats ok because your school has it so you're all good. :)
Now FCP and premiere are industry standars and very similar....one is neither better than the other for the most part.
Since you like Motion, I think you'll also like After Effects...They are both designed for the same thing, but their intefaces are much different. There are more differences between Motion and After Effects than their are between FCP and Premiere, but the concept that you learn from both can be translated to any editing software.
Motion is great, but truth be told, After Effects just gives you more options and possibilities, and most professionals will admit that.
After Effects and Motion will help you understand non linear editing on FCP and Premiere a little better and will give you the basics for entering the world of 3D animation if you ever choose to go down that road...
If you're interested in what AE can do check out http://www.videocopilot.net/
If you like it, I'd recommend starting here: http://www.videocopilot.net/basic/
Most people wonder why they can't create stunning fx and graphic element like they see on TV...the answer is that they simply aren't using AE or Motion. editors are for editing...AE and Motion are used to add life and professionalism.
I know some people that just use AE for editing and Effects!
I hope this helps you out a bit....maybe if you show your parents that you're dedicated and the possibilites of a career, maybe they'll hook you up with a decent MAC/FCS system for your graduation...or maybe you can buy one with the graduation money.Â
One thing is for sure....keep studying hard for all your subjects in school...video can be very addictive and can consume much of your time. If you don't show that you're responsible and can hadle all your responsibilites, people aren't gonna help you. If all you do is waste all your time on meaningless video projects, it's most likely you'll just be a vidiot loser and you'll end up making crappy video for youtube when you get home from working at McDonalds....
As I alluded to earlier...every sucessful editor that I met was relatively intelligent and had a solid knowledge of life and a cultural world view. The more knowlegde you have about people the more effective you'll be as a producer/editor/animator. The more you experience in life, the more opportunities you'll have to express your talent and make a decent living doing what you love.
One last thing.....editing is not always fun and at times people can get very nasty in this industry, they can be hard to work with and some projects are a pain in the arse. The first thing they taught me in production school is Patience/Perseverance/Professionalism....This is even more important nowadays since there is so much more competion, but there are still more opportunities...many people won't make it though because they give up too easy when the going gets tough...They think the media industry is always supposed to be fun and then just give up.Â
The good thing about video is that you can always practice your skills even while you're at some other job until you find a good position....you can even make some side money in your free time.....
Good Luck!
Best Regards,
Corey
