Q&A: Do I need a professional video editor to be a Machinima Director?

Question by : Do I need a professional video editor to be a Machinima Director?
I was planning on purchasing Sony Vegas Pro to make a Machinima but it cost around $ 500 so instead I was considering purchasing Movie Studio Platinum which is about $ 130. Can I still make professional videos to Machinima even though it’s not considered “professional” by Sony?

Best answer:

Answer by WeAreAllHypocrites
The “professional” in any project comes from the skill of the person putting it together. Although the “pro” version does have more capabilities, I guarantee you a professional editor will make a better project on the “non-pro” version than the novice with the “pro” version. Save your money for now. Once you master the basics and some advanced techniques, you will know when you have outgrown Movie Studio and will likely be a better editor than just grabbing a bunch of features you likely have not mastered and will likely be used sloppily at this stage. You can upgrade at a discount in the future . Sony, Adobe and most others usually offer discounts to people who already own one of their products. I edit for a living and i can honestly say that over 90% of my editing could be done in movie studio or a competitor’s equivalent program in that price range. Ironically, the features that separate the pro from the non-pro version tend to be features that editors on a pro level will often use a third party program or plug-in to achieve. A good example of that is titling. I do my titling in Photoshop or After Effects. The ONLY time I use the NLE’s built-in titler is when it requires the most basic text.

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