Too Many Choices: Paralysis by Analysis
Feb. 19, 2004 - There’s an intriguing notion floating around intellectual circles these days, asserting that there are too many choices in our society. Think of all the decisions you must make every day, and you’ll quickly see why some people are reaching a state of cognitive overload. That’s getting more evident here at Digital Media Net, where the most frequent question we get here at Digital Video Editing is, “What kind of nonlinear editing system should I buy?” Well, there are a lot of choices, and the best one for you won’t be the best one for me. Let’s look at the issue of the “too many choices” that we constantly face both in and out of the edit suite, and figure out some ways to avoid the dreaded “paralysis by analysis.”
Sure, it’s hard to make up your mind sometimes. Paper or plastic? Are you in the right job? Driving the right car, hanging out with the right people, eating at the right restaurants, walking the right dog? How about that computer? Mac or PC? SCSI or ATA-100? Optical mouse, or trackball, or stylus? Wired or wireless? Ouch. Too many choices. I needed to get some batteries the other day, and I faced a wall of batteries on display that included about 150 different types from which to choose. All these choices, and the necessity to navigate them all is driving us all crazy. I think part of the problem is that we’re all looking for perfection, and that’s an enemy of choice. Oftentimes, what we really need to find is something that’s going to be good enough, because perfection doesn’t really exist in the world, and especially in the subset of nonlinear editing products.
But is good enough going to cut it? The worrisome part is that your choice of editing equipment is a crucial decision. It’s so enormously important because it could make or break our careers. It could decide for us if we’re effective editors or bumbling buffoons, fumbling around and unable to execute a simple cut. Beyond that, our choices in computers, operating systems and editing systems define who we are. Many users internalize their particular tools so much that they practically become their machines. For example, some Mac users are so melded into their machines that if you criticize their Mac, you’re personally attacking them. Your choices define who you are, and that’s no less true with editing systems than it is with your choice of car, house or even pillow. You must, must make the right one. The pressure’s on. But I’m here to tell you, even taking all that pressure-packed talk into account, good enough is going to be, well, good enough.
And I’m here to help. That’s probably why you came to this Web site, to help you make a choice or two. I’ll help you figure out just what is good enough. Stick with me, because first I’m going to generally steer you toward making good edit-system choices, and then at the end of this editorial, I’m going to regale you with a barrage of ready-made, neato-keen choices that will be sure to please, no matter what your situation. That’s a tall order, but then, I’m a tall guy – about six-and-a-quarter feet – so I’m not too worried.
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But wait. Why should we get into psycho-lockup mode just because there is a variety of edit software and hardware available? “I thought it was good to have lots of choices,” you might be saying. Not necessarily. Studies have shown that the more choices that are presented to you, the less likely you are to make one, and the less likely you are to buy anything. Maybe that happened to you when you set out to buy a shiny new nonlinear editing system. Suddenly, you saw fifty choices sitting there, and you just flung up your hands and said, “I give up!” It was not always like this, I can assure you. It used to be a lot easier than this in the nonlinear editing world. Ten years ago, if you didn’t have $100,000 lying around, you pretty much had one choice: The $2500 Radius VideoVision Studio, a capture card with breakout box that you put into your Mac, which was about the only choice of computer in those days, too. It’s not so easy any more, though. There are hundreds of combinations from which to choose. Where to start?
I have some helpful suggestions that will get you on your way. First, there are lots of software-only packages available today that make the decision process easier. That’s because some of them you can actually try out, albeit in various degrees of crippledom, and see for yourself if you like them or not. Packages in this category would include stellar editors like Sony Vegas, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Pinnacle Liquid Edition, Avid Xpress DV, and Ulead Media Studio Pro. Even though most of these packages can be teamed up with hardware to make them go faster, if you have a pretty fast computer, each can give you a fairly good playback of your edits as long as they’re not too heavily-layered. Another way to ease the pain of choice is to rely on your friends and colleagues who have already gone down this road. Ask them if they’re happy with the editing system they’re using and why. Perhaps the best suggestion for choosing your system is to go with what you may already know. Did you start out on Premiere? Then go with that – you’ll save time and effort in learning, and it’ll all seem comfortable and familiar to you.
Another suggestion: Narrow your choices to two or three systems that seem right to you. I’ve noticed that many of our readers have already done that when they come to us for suggestions, and these readers are the ones who seem most relaxed about their impending decisions. Narrow down your choices by reading reviews on this site. Don’t read any other site’s reviews – they’re all misguided, boring, uninformed, and just plain wrong (just kidding). Go to a trade show or user’s group in your area and get a hands-on demo from someone who knows what he’s talking about. But most importantly, take stock in what you really need to do with an editing system, not what you think you might need to do. Pay heed to that last sentence, convoluted as it is, and it could save you thousands of dollars and hours.
Now for my flippant barrage of ready-made choices for those who are truly at the end of their ropes. These may not be perfect choices, but hey, they’re better than a coin-flip and will generally suit you unless you’re really an unusual person with needs that are absolutely unconventional. No, that’s not you, dear reader, I’m talking about somebody else here. And by the way, these aren’t beginner, low-end choices, either. That’s not really what we cover here, but if you’re just starting out, it wouldn’t hurt to have a better editing package than the lowest of the low end anyway. That said, here goes:
Matrox RT.X100 Xtreme Pro.
Sony Vegas 4.
Anything Avid. Learn the interface.
Final Cut Pro 4.
Discreet Fire on SGI Onyx.
Wait for this year’s NAB.
Use iMovie or Windows MovieMaker, included with the operating system. They can already do lots more than the first Avids, circa 1990, that cost $100K.
After Effects on Mac or PC.
Anything by Canon is good enough for casual use. Look into the JVC HDV camcorder if you’re more serious. If you’re going to do full-blown HD, get your boss to buy you a Sony HDCam SR.
There. I made your choices for you. That was easy, wasn’t it? Now you can take these choices and run with them. Heck, they’re better than flipping a coin! The best news is, they’ll help you overcome your paralysis-by-analysis. Not good enough for you? Then use the suggestions I made earlier and think about it for a while. You’ll soon discover an editing system that’s just right for you, if you’ll just look at what you want to do, examine your finances, talk to some people who have been where you are now, and try out a few systems. You can do it! Good luck.
Digital Media Net Executive Producer Charlie White has been writing about new media and digital video since it was the laughingstock of the television industry. A technology journalist and columnist since 1994, White is also an Emmy-winning producer, video editor, broadcast industry consultant and shot-calling television director who has worked in broadcasting since 1974. Talk back -- Send Chazz a note at cwhite@digitalmedianet.com.Read more of Charlie White's editorials by clicking here.
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