New Year – New Edit Suite

After a year producing some amazing films for some amazing clients, I thought it was about time to give Video Artisan a little New Year treat in the form of a nice shiny new edit suite from those ever so knowledgeable chaps at DVC.  Even though my current 4.6 based Edius edit suite has turned out the work without a hitch the workload that looks like it’s going to be landing on my desk this year calls for something that packs a little more punch.  That said, the old edit suite is not being put out to grass quite yet as it’s going to be doing some of the lighter work that seems to pile up at the busier times.

Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton
Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton

Why chose an Edius edit suite?

I am a Grass Valley Edius man through and through these days – albeit that I’ve had varying levels of experience with just about every editing system out there.  My first entry into non-linear editing was way back with a Fast AV Master capture card running alongside a very early version of Adobe Premier (I think it was 1.2).  However, before that I honed my editing skills on a three machine UMatic edit suite with a load of other electronic gizmos that were needed to perform basic shot transitions and effects.  Oh how times have changed!  So too have the costs as that UMatic edit suite set us back about £20k which was an awful lot of money back in 1986!

UMatic Edit Suite
UMatic Edit Suite in full swing – driven by the delectable Tiffany

Though I could have coped with staying with the old edit suite for a few more months I really longed for a few of the benefits of the latest version of Edius software and a beefier computer to house it in.  For instance, the old system was a little lumpy (understatement) when dealing with the Full HD MOV files created by the Canon 5DMkII.  To overcome this I would convert all camera files to the Canopus HQ for editing.  Whilst these files were easy to handle the process of having to codec convert the files did slow down the editing process somewhat.  It also resulted in using up much more HD space than was needed. The new system will be able to cope with four or five layers of Full HD – in real time.  Yum yum!  It should also speed up the online delivery encoding process which is another thing that seems to have taken up quite a bit of my 2012.

There are plenty of new tools that I’m going to enjoy playing with too in Edius 6.5 – and probably the most notable over my old software is the new layout tool. But there’s a whole host of improvements that will make the editing process quicker and easier…

  • Colour correction tool supports 10-bit colour depth
  • Export sequence with alpha channel
  • Native RED (.R3D) support*
  • Improved XDCAM/ P2 data transfer
  • 3D (stereoscopic) editing
  • AVCHD 2.0 support
  • AVCHD 3D export support
  • EOS movie support (ALL-I (I-only), IPB)
  • Camera RAW format support
  • Filmstrip view in Timeline
  • Built-in loudness meter
  • Built-in shake stabilizer
  • 720p Blu-ray authoring support
  • Flash F4V export
  • QuickTime HQ/HQX codec (Windows/Mac)

The PC system is based on an Intel® Core™ i7-3770K Processor 3.5GHz with Hyperthreading (8M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz) running the Windows 7 Pro 64 bit operating system.  With 8GB of RAM, 8TB of SATA HD storage and a 128GB SSD system drive – the beast should fly and chew it’s way through the kind of video production work I’m attracting.

Edius 6.5
The new edit suite based on Edius 6.5

Why choose DVC for building my new edit suite?

I did weigh up the options and various sources for getting the new edit suite built – and even considered building the thing myself.  To be honest, the latter choice went in and out of my mind quicker than lightening.  Whilst I’m pretty sure I could put something together after watching a few YouTube videos and reading up on the subject – I’m a great believer in leaving things to those who really know what they are doing.  I also value the benefit of having someone to go back to if the thing didn’t work (a distinct possibility with home-build systems). I also really value the kind of support that an experienced NLE system builder can provide ‘post sale’ – and there are very few that have as much experience as the folk at DVC.  They also happen to produce some pretty comprehensive user guides with their systems which will no doubt be handy in the first few months of use.

The new system is now in the process of being built and it should be with me within the next 10-days.  I’ll be giving you updates on this and a little more background on my choice of system as soon as I’ve got it installed in the edit suite.  In the meantime, I’m gagging to get my hands on it and start using it on my next corporate film.

Freelance Video Production Services

Freelance Video Production Services

We provide a wide range of freelance video production services to video production companies, agencies, videographers and client producers. We have extensive experience in various video production roles. This includes videographer, freelance camera operator, freelance video editor, lighting, sound recording, script writing and directing. We are happy to work in either a hands-on or a consultative capacity.

Furthermore, we can also work on a project-price basis and are happy to work as part of a creative team. Please click the link below for details on our rates and kit.

CLICK HERE – Rate Card

Freelance Services Freelance Video Production Services Video Artisan
Shooter for hire at Video Artisan

Collaborative Productions

Furthermore we are willing to consider collaborative projects and help produce video content with sell-through value and royalty-based returns. We are happy to discuss any potential projects under standard non-disclosure agreements.

Freelance Video Production Service… UK-wide, Europe-wide and World-wide Coverage

We are located right on the edge of Epping Forest, Essex and the East End of London. We are therefore only a few minutes from the M25 and the UK’s motorway network.  As a result Central London is within 30-minutes via Loughton’s Central Line Underground station. This is only a couple of miles from our edit suite and office.  We are also within easy reach of either Stansted, Heathrow, City of London and Luton Airports.   In addition we provide freelance video production services on short and long-term overseas projects.

Other Freelance Services

Please visit our dedicated section for details on our script and copy writing services, and the consultancy services we offer either manufacturers or dealers within the video production sector… Copy WritingConsultancy

Facilities & Services

Video Facilities and Services

Look no further for Video Production Facilities in East London and Essex

We offer clients and other video production companies a comprehensive shooting and editing service on all video formats from our video production facilities studio in Loughton, Essex.  We benefit from excellent road links to Central London, the M25 and Britain’s motorway network and from having Loughton Underground station only minutes away and Stansted Airport within 30-minutes.

Editing Suite

Our Edius editing system is fully HD and 4K capable with both DVD and BluRay authoring and duplication. We can ingest all tape, card and HD formats and export and encode to almost anything. We also have voice over recording facilities in-house.

Please call for daily, half-day, hourly and weekend rates.

Format Conversions & Copying Services

We provide a comprehensive range of digital media conversion and copying services to businesses and members of the public. This includes converting PowerPoint and Slides to DVD, stills to DVD, video encoding and file format conversions. We also have data recovery systems for extracting images and video from corrupted media.

Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton
Our Edius Broadcast video production facilities in Loughton

Shooting Services

We have fully kitted out JVC GY-LS300  Super 35 sensor 4K camera with a range of lenses – plus DSLR shooting kits running Magic Lantern – along with JVC GY-HM650 camera with Vinten/Sachtler Tripods, Sliders, Hood & Rails, Action Cameras, Mini Dolly, Steady-cam, various lenses and accessories.  Available on a wet-hire basis only – with full-day and half-day rates.  CLICK HERE to see our Freelance section.

Video to DVD

See our new dedicated information page on our popular VHS to DVD conversion services – CLICK HERE.

Drop-in and collect by appointment to our edit suite which is located off Clays Lane, Loughton.  30-minutes from Central London and Stansted Airport – 5-minutes from Britain’s Motorway Network – 1-minute from the beauty of Epping Forest.