Rusty Rogers
SACRAMENTO, CALIF.
After many years in the video production business, I understand how critical it is to leverage the latest technologies and tools to make my projects as sophisticated and informative as I can.
However, my editing software is based on the same package that I've used since the mid-90s—Grass Valley's EDIUS. It's been a rock-solid performer that's helped me complete jobs that others couldn't.
STICKING WITH A FRIEND
While some of my colleagues like to focus on "flavor of the day" nonlinear editing systems, I'm still very pleased with the speed and versatility of EDIUS. That's why I've followed it through its many versions over the years, and haven't found a more comfortable interface or useful toolset.
Lately, I've begun shooting HD video with a Canon T2i DSLR, and EDIUS fits this workflow perfectly. I still use traditional camcorders, so EDIUS's ability to handle multiple formats, codecs, resolutions and aspect ratios on the same editing timeline—and still edit natively in real time—is a huge time and effort saver.
I recently used Canon and Sony cameras to capture a four-day Sikh wedding ceremony with dozens of hours of footage. I was able to easily import the various video files and begin working immediately. By using the numerous image-processing tools within EDIUS, I completed the entire project in just a few days. As a bonus, I surprised the bride and groom—and more than 600 guests—with a next-day highlight edit of the main ceremony. EDIUS made it easy.
EFFECTS ADD SPARKLE
While I'm a traditional cut and fade editor and try to keep to a minimum of effects, I do enjoy the variety of effects I can add to make the piece more interesting or to give it a distinctive look. I especially like the "Old Movie" filter and "Border Darkening" features found within EDIUS. Such effects add extra rich colors that make the video images pop off the screen.
I run EDIUS from a Lenovo 20D desktop PC workstation with dual Xeon 5550 processors, 20 GB of RAM and 13.5 TB of storage. I'm so familiar with the way EDIUS handles effects in real time that I often forget that I can complete a project a lot faster than some of my peers who use other systems. That is, until we start talking about our projects. When I hear what some other editors have to go through, I try to hide my surprise.
The software does all of things that I need it to do, and it allows me to customize the interface to work the way I like.
While I continue to follow and update my EDIUS platform, I still have fond memories of working with the original EDIUS software.
I'd like to find my original version to see how far I (and EDIUS) have come.
However, through all of the versions, I still can't find a more intuitive interface and one that doesn't require me to go through extra steps to do what I love to do most—tell compelling stories and provide accurate accounts of past events.
Rusty Rogers has been an independent videographer and freelance film/tape editor for more than 20 years. He may be contacted atrogers.sacto@sbcglobal.net.
For additional information, contact Grass Valley at 503-526-8100 or visitwww.grassvalley.com.
