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What OS and Software For a Mobile Documentary Crew?
jag7720 writes "I am part of a new project that will be filming a documentary. The project HQ will be in the US but it will take us around the world and will last approx 18 months. I am the IT guy and will be responsible for most if not all aspects of hardware and software (not to include editing). We are probably going to use Google mail/calendar/docs and unlocked BlackBerrys for communications. Computers use will mainly be for communications and writing. I am a huge advocate of Linux and Open Source and I want to use it if possible. What would you recommend for an OS platform for a project like this and why? Linux? Mac? Win?"
Windows and OS X are the two best OSs for guaranteeing that all of your hardware will be supported, and for allowing you to take a lot of powerful video editing capabilities around the world with you. You may be the IT guy, but you won't be the main person doing everything OS X would be a much safer bet for getting this job done.
If it's just communications (read: email and maybe IM) and writing, then who cares? Honestly. You can buy portable toys that do those two things for $30 in Toys-R-Us these days.
If you're the IT guy, go with what you're comfortable with. You're the one who's going to have to make it work whenever anything goes wrong.
Commodore 64 with an on-hook phone coupling.
If you are the IT guy, you get whatever machines and software the team say they need and have experience on to complete the project.
You'll want Final Cut Pro, running on OS X. I love Linux too (typing this in iceweasel, running Debian on my Mac), but OS X is the only OS that really works well for pro multimedia. It's the only reason I dual boot anymore.
Considering he said " not to include editing", are you suggesting that they'll need Final Cut Pro on OSX in order to send email and communicate with each other?
I used to work as a videographer, then left and started an IT business based entirely on FOSS and my own work. The entire purpose of this business was to create a revenue stream so I could start a film business. In other words, I know FOSS well, used Linux almost exclusively on my servers and desktop for years, and know film and video well.
If you want to do ANYTHING with film or video editing, do NOT use Linux. While there are a number of great programs for editing audio on Linux and in the FOSS world, the video programs still lag behind. Many times there are issues with importing the video. (Trying to get video from my HD camcorder into any usable format on Ubuntu Intrepid was a nightmare!) There are some programs that show promise for video editing and DVD authoring, but even as late as Intrepid, many still had issues, wouldn't always burn to different DVD drives, had trouble importing more than one or two formats, or provided only a limited subset of editing abilities.
I started looking at Linux for AV work around 2001 or so and was disappointed by what was available. As time went on and I was doing my IT work for my business, I figured that by the time I was ready to do film work, FOSS programs would be as well. Sadly, 8 or 9 years later, they simply are not. Some people will say, "But xxxxx does a great job!" Yeah, it does -- if you don't need professional editing capabilities. As of now I haven't seen a FOSS video editing program that can even do what Adobe's Premiere did in 2000 for $600.
So a few months ago I bought an iMac and paid $250 for Final Cut Express. I'm stunned -- it's like I'm actually back in the world of film and video and have a program designed by film editors, not by programmers who want to tell film editors what they should need.
I love FOSS. I love it enough to say, "There are some serious problems in the FOSS world," instead of pretending everything is the best it could be. My experience is that in the Windows world the driving force behind new software is a company that wants to make something people can use so they make a profit. In the Linux/FOSS world the driving force behind new software is developers that love what they do but often are touchy when receiving criticism of their "baby" and are used to the console and do not focus heavily on the GUI design, expecting people to learn what they already know to use their programs. I'm not a fanboy, but in 2-3 months on an iMac, my experience is that the driving force of app development on Apple is users or companies that want to give the users the tools they need to do a job.
If you want to provide your people with tools that you, as a techie and Linuxer, like for philosophical reasons, go Linux -- but be aware that your creative people will spend more time adjusting and setting up and modifying their tools than they will doing their jobs. If you want to provide them with software that lets them do their jobs, instead of having to deal with settings and tech stuff, go with Mac.
They'll be traveling, working hard, dealing with all the crazy problems that come up in a project like this. They don't need the extra hassle of dealing with unfamiliar software just because you think it's neat. Find out what they use now, and make sure they can continue to use it as needed throughout this project.
-Lod
Mainly? Meaning they actually *will* want to do preview at occasions?
That's a no brainer: Mac OS X.
If they only want to communitacte and use the web, that's a no-brainer aswell: Get some cheap-ass netbooks that are cheap, small, light and don't break that easy.
If you're going into warzones, deserts or rainforests that's also - guess what? - a no-brainer: Get Panasonic Toughbooks. And some solar panels.
Another thing: If you're going on a 18 month tour as the prime IT guy and you have to ask this question I'd actually presume you're maybe the wrong guy for this sort of thing, no?
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Yeah, only amateurs use Windows software like this for multimedia.
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