#Low-cost video
11 messages in this thread
I would like some advice on using the Amiga to create titles and/or
subtitles for a video I'm making. I've never dabbled in this field, so
please assume that I know nothing.
What hardware and software would I need, or would you recommend? I'm
looking for low cost here, as it's a one-off video, and the quality will
not be particularly good as it is being recorded with a domestic video
camera. I have access to a low-end video editing suite.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Regards,
Shraddhan (from Hertfordshire, England)
Shraddhan,
There are several packages for doing titles. but I would strongly recommend
Broadcast Titler II from InnoVision Technology. It supports a number of
features that would be of special interest for your application. Particularly
if you need to run subtitles.
The product is available from a number of mail order sources or you can contact
them directly at (510) 638-0800.
Frank
Frank,
Thanks for suggesting Broadcast Titler II. However, it's rather more
expensive than I had anticipated, and I have found a cheapo package at a
third the price that _looks_ like it might be adequate.
Something to remember for the future, perhaps…
Regards,
Shraddhan (from Hertfordshire, England)
Broadcast Titler 2.0 is the standard. Other packages include ProVideo Gold
(pretty powerful) and the new TV Text Pro 2.0, which I haven't seen. These
latter two are less expensive than BT, probably in the $100-200 range.
There are some shareware/PD scrolling-credit titlers around, too.
If you're not interested in putting titles over video, you can just use an
ordinary Amiga with a color composite encoder (like the one built into the
A1200 or the $29 Commodore encoder). For subtitles or graphics overlays
you'll need to add a genlock, starting at around $150.
A high-end titling solution is the non-Toaster version of Montage. I think
it demands an AGA machine and runs around $300.
If you can afford it, consider Scala Multimedia 300. For around $400 U.S.
it makes a great titler and comes with some nice, antialiased fonts. It's
really a presentation/multimedia development package, but serves as a
wonderful character generator. It offers really nice, Toaster-like
transitions and wipes in software only, that you can combine with animated
text flows to make nice titles, such as a credit scroll that can wipe off
the screen. There are cheap versions of Scala around. In fact,the Scala
Home Video Titler was recently a free coverdisk on one of the UK Amiga
mags.
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA
via Amiga Autopilot 1.72 — the only way to fly
Ron,
Thanks for the information.
I went out and bought a Rendale 8802 FMC genlock, but the quality of its
output was not quite as high as I'd hoped, which is not surprising as it's
at about the bottom of the price range. It gave some colour fringing,
regardless of the colours I used, and some diagonal patterning.
I returned the genlock to the dealer and they are obtaining a Hama 292 for
me instead. This genlock is at the top of the price range I am
considering, so I do hope it will be adequate. Any thoughts?
My technical assistant and I will be taking the first steps in editing in
the next few days. It looks like it will be fun. He's been teaching me
the art of being a director, dragging me up the learning curve, with a
great deal of effort by me. The final deadline is 4 weeks from now – too
close for comfort.
Regards,
Shraddhan (from Hertfordshire, England)
Genlock brand names in the USA and UK are almost completely different.
Here, the standard against which the range is measured is the Supergen
series by Digital Creations. There are better genlocks in some respects,
but the Supergens are the best all-around devices according to popular
wisdom. OTOH, they start at around $600.
GVP's G-Lock is a pretty nice unit for around $400. The RocGen is not
quite as nice or versatile, but is only around $250 and remains a good
buy. IMHO, of course.
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA
via Amiga Autopilot 1.72 — the only way to fly
Ron,
I've decided to go for the GVP G-Lock, mostly because I was told it was
highly recommended by me dealer's buyer, and available by the end of the
week.
Thanks for the information.
Regards,
Shraddhan (from Hertfordshire, England)
I would advise AGAINST the G-Lock if you have an AGA machine (don't know what
you have but thought I'd jump in here becuase…), 3 customers of mine who
bought the G-Lock elsewhere and had A4000 had nothing but trouble with it and
GVP kept blaming C= for changes to the 4000 and recomended a motherboard
modification that wasn't garrenteed to solve the problem and voided the
warranty. One customer sent back the G-Lock and replaced it with the SuperGen
SX and had no problem. I spoke to Digital Creations on his behalf before his
purchase and they said they were aware of C= changes so they changed thier
genlock to work with the new machines, not make the end user alter his machine.
Ben A Lott, Multimedia GraFIX
Ben,
Thanks for the warning that the G-Lock doesn't work well with AGA
Fortunately, I am using it on a non-AGA machine. I wonder however, if the
G-Lock would be unhappy working with any hardware I might add to my
machine later.
Having bought a genlock a week ago and returned it because the video
quality was not good enough, I feel rather reluctant to repeat the
process.
Regards,
Shraddhan (from Hertfordshire, England)
Wise decision.
Ben A Lott, Multimedia GraFIX
Hi,
Broadcast Titler 2 now comes with both Standard and Super Hi-Res versions!
We've also lowered our direct price on BT2 and have special Summertime savings
on all our products in effect till July! Give me a call and we can talk about
what you need. Thanks!
Tom Patrick
510-638-0800
InnoVision Technology