Don’t forget
about at least one VTR, some distribution and insurance etc.
So here we
have it:
Full FCP =
$180 000 (ground up)
Full
DS = $256 000 (ground up)
Difference
= $76 000 or AS I SAID about 25%
Considering
the power and the eventual cliental you could attract with the second option +
amortized over expected life span + amount you can charge, the answer is simple
You buy
what you like and what you can afford.
D
-----Original
Message-----
From: Scott Malkie
[mailto:ltc.vitc(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005
4:14 PM
To: DS(at)Softimage.COM
Subject: Re: If not DS...
Well go ahead and try to outfit a suite, that is as versatile as a DS
suite, with the console, VTR's, DA's, monitors, scopes, mixer, chair, phone
etc. and has a workflow that allows you to output the same quality, in the same
time for - as you put it "A FIFTH THE COST OF DS", no sir, it
won't happen. Been there, ran the numbers and honestly, there is only
about a 20-25% difference in price between other "Pro-sumer" systems
and DS if you are fitting from the ground up.
Ballparking here, and using list prices -
Assuming building a suite from the ground up:
Huge Media Systems RAID: $10000. (4TB)
VideoTek VTM-450E HD Scope: $17000. (HD/SD scope)
Sony 27" HD CRT: $27000. ($1k an inch or so, before cards)
Dual 23" Apple Cinema Displays: $3000. ($1.5k each)
Mixer: $2000. (01V or equiv.)
Console/Chair/Furnishings: $10000. (Really can be as cheap or as pricey
as you want here)
Miscellaneous: $7000. (Power strips, racks, cables, fancy keyboard,
decent speakers)
All that stays no matter what NLE goes in.
Now for the rest:
Apple Quad-Core G5: $3500.
Blackmagic Decklink HD Pro PCIe card: $1500. (oh, and IT DOES 4:4:4)
Apple Production Studio: $1300.
Shake: $3000.
Tinder for Shake: $650.
Sapphire: $1700
Automatic Duck I/O bundle: $800.
Photoshop: $600.
After Effects: $1000.
Anything I might have left out software-wise: $4000. (codecs, speciality
software like Traffic, etc.)
Now, some quick math tells me that just the FCP side of the suite works out to
be around $20,000.
A DS, even before Tinder / Keylight / Photoshop is how much now?
Even if we're talking about building from the ground up, an ultra-tricked out
FCP suite is easily at least 1/4 the cost of a DS suite. And, in the hands of
the right operator, can do some things substantially easier than the DS.
(Underlining, H.264, Native HDV come to mind...)
Of course, an all-in-one solution like the DS will always have speed and
general ease-of-use advantages over a multiple software solution like the Apple
Production Studio. But is the small amount of time you save every day by
not opening a different program worth the $100K+ more you pay for the DS?
Do you not think you'll use at least Photoshop and After Effects daily with a
Symphony Nitris? Talk about clunky - at least with 'round-tripping' I can
use the same media - I can't imagine boucing stuff back and forth in
uncompressed HD between a Symphony Nitris and After Effects.
Apple and their hardware vendors have constantly improved and innovated with
FCP and Motion; Avid has taken a 15 year old interface and added 3 year old
hardware to it. Where's my SDI Mojo? Where's my 4:4:4 Nitris?
Apologies for the length. FCP is not a 'prosumer' NLE
anymore. Perhaps you mean to say 'Liquid.'
- Scott Malkie
