orey10m

Q: Help with getting MBP ready for simple Video Editing

I am trying to get things set up on a somewhat older Macbook Pro.

 

Here's my system configurations:

OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.5

Macbook Pro, Mid 2010

Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory 4 GB 1067 <Hz DDR3

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB

 

I have been told that my GPU is massively underpowered, i.e. 256 MB of VRAM is far too small.

Through my research, I've also determined that the GPU cannot be replaced, as I think it is soldered in to the motherboard.

 

Further, my harddrive is probably not good enough either, right? Core 2 duo is not as good as newer i7. What are my options then?

 

I used to be able to run at least iMovie and slap some clips together for short videos, even add music. I lost iMovie when upgrading to Yosemite, and am trying to figure out if it's worth trying it again (for $15). Before doing so I have tried Davinci Resolve 12.5 (which is wayyy more than my computer could handle), and then I even tried the simple GoPro studio software. Turned out the GoPro software isn't that simple if you're not using GoPro footage, and my computer struggled to convert, render, even view the files. And I don't think I would have been able to do any color grading in GoPro software so I'm kinda over that. I don't think I need the full capabilities of Final Cut Pro, as I'm just looking to throw together some vacation footage and some still shots, also a timelapse here and there as a part of the video, etc.

 

I feel like mentioning the GoPro software just lost me a lot of cred in asking this question, but that's where I'm at. I don't really want to go out and start building a computer for video editing (although it seems I could do so for relatively cheap ~$600)

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? What would you do if you could do it again?


Also, the camera I'm mainly recording footage and stills with is a Panasonic G6

 

Thanks for any help!

iphoto, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 26, 2016 6:14 AM

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Q: Help with getting MBP ready for simple Video Editing

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Jul 26, 2016 6:30 AM in response to orey10m
    Level 6 (18,658 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 26, 2016 6:30 AM in response to orey10m

    Regarding iMovie  .  .  .  have you tried looking in your AppStore account to see whether it is still available to download free?

     

    It is highly likely that you won't be able to install FCP X directly from the AppStore on to your computer as it probably doesn't meet the minimum specs for the latest version.

     

    However, you could download it on a more modern Mac and copy it across but you really need a more powerful Mac.

     

    You can download a free 30 day trial copy to see whether it will actually work from:-

     

    http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/trial/

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Jul 26, 2016 6:50 AM in response to orey10m
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Jul 26, 2016 6:50 AM in response to orey10m

    What Ian said; give the trial download a try. Although the MBP specs are light, it seems to meet the tech requirements. Don't expect too much in the way of performance, but you may find it's OK for your needs. To get the most of the setup, assuming you decide to purchase the software, get an external FW 800 drive and store your media and libraries on it. Upgrade your RAM to at least 8 GB; that will help. Also, regarding your stills, your system will absolutely hate huge res stills. So resize them to approximately your project size.

     

    Good luck.

     

    Russ

  • by Alchroma,Helpful

    Alchroma Alchroma Jul 26, 2016 12:46 PM in response to orey10m
    Level 6 (18,906 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 12:46 PM in response to orey10m

    What the others suggest.

    Your Mac specs appear to be just "over the line" and should work.

     

    I used to have a G6 and it works with FCP X no problems.

     

    Al

  • by BenB,Helpful

    BenB BenB Jul 26, 2016 12:45 PM in response to orey10m
    Level 6 (9,816 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 12:45 PM in response to orey10m
    • You'd want an external, fast, hard drive for your Library and media.
    • 4GB RAM is not going to cut it, unless you're working on the smallest, shortest Projects ever.
    • FCPX will "run" on your laptop.  The performance you get out of it will depend on the external drive you're using, and the complexity of the Project timelines you're using.
    • iMovie is still in your Purchases section for download.
  • by orey10m,

    orey10m orey10m Jul 30, 2016 5:13 PM in response to BenB
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Video
    Jul 30, 2016 5:13 PM in response to BenB

    Thanks for the help and info everyone. few more questions:

     

    I cannot find iMovie in my 'purchases' section of the AppStore, but to be clear,  I never purchased it. It used to come preloaded on macbooks, and that's the version I used to have. If there is a way to go back and activate it though , please offer some more details.

     

    I have an external hard drive, but it is only USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. That's not fast enough right?

     

    So, say I did upgrade my RAM to 8MB, and upgraded my external hard drive to a Firewire one, would my GPU not still be a big problem?

    Would I be able to fairly seamlessly/quickly view and edit video then?

     

    Lastly, what did people do to edit video like 6 or 8 years ago? That's kinda where all my technology is sitting it seems...

     

    Thanks

  • by orey10m,

    orey10m orey10m Jul 30, 2016 5:40 PM in response to Russ H
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Video
    Jul 30, 2016 5:40 PM in response to Russ H

    Also, how do I resize my photos to the size of my project?
    Are we saying like, I have a video that I want to be in my project that is 1920 X 1080. So I should batch resize all the photos to 1920 x 1080?

     

    Thanks

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Jul 30, 2016 7:20 PM in response to orey10m
    Level 7 (21,770 points)
    Quicktime
    Jul 30, 2016 7:20 PM in response to orey10m

    Your aspect ratio for stills will probably be 3:2, so you can't resize them to conform to a 16:9 ratio frame. but you can – for improved performance – resize them in a photo editor to make the vertical 1080 px. You can do that in a photo editor. (Preview can do this.) If you don't like the pillar bars at either end, scale up the image in FCP.

     

    Russ

  • by Alchroma,

    Alchroma Alchroma Jul 30, 2016 8:34 PM in response to orey10m
    Level 6 (18,906 points)
    Video
    Jul 30, 2016 8:34 PM in response to orey10m

    Another option is to change the G6 picture aspect to 16:9 for when you know you will use the pics in video.

    The G6 has 3 presets for this type of work, once set choose the preset and fire away.

     

    BTW: USB 3 will be fine for basic editing but ensure the drive is formatted to Mac OS Extended.

    If your drive has important existing stuff on it, back it up first as formatting will erase it.

     

    Al