So, I have a tiny netbook with an Atom processor running Ubuntu 11.10. I shot some video with my camera phone and had no problem editing it. Shot some video with a Nikon Coolpix camera. It was in a lower resolution, and no problems editing. Sound wasn't great, but I just used the built in microphone in my camera. I edited out the sound in KDenlive (well, I think I just muted it or something)
I decided to pick up a Kodak Zi10, a 16 Gig sdhc card and a Sony ECM-DS70P mic. The mic is okay for clipping on my collar and talking or holding in my hand and talking. Not good at all talking with someone at a distance more than a few feet. Thinking about picking up a hand-held mic with a longer cable.
So - I learned that I can hardly even view 720P at 60 frames per second on my netbook. It is really funny. 720P at 30 frames per second is odd. I didn't even try viewing 1080P. I'm planning on bringing it down to WVGA to see if I can view it. I know I can edit and render lower resolution stuff in KDenlive on my netbook (already did with my camera). Just trying to determine if I want to lower resolution on the Kodak Zi10 or try and snag my oldest son's laptop (with a good processor and a lot of memory!).
Sorry for just blathering on. Trying to figure out what the best way to shoot, edit and render a video with my youngest son for his class project would be. We enjoyed using KDenlive to edit and render a brief segment from my Nikon, and it played just fine on Youtube. Might take that track.
So - for lower powered netbooks, what resolution would you recommend filming in? Anyone messing around with small, easy to carry microphones have a recommendation? We're trying to do an environmental film and will film outdoors, along some trails, a reservoir and a stream. We're planning on about three minutes, but that would mean a lot of video cut down to hit the three minute mark. I think 720P or 1080P would really bring out the leaves, trails and water - but I know I can't edit that on my netbook. Would Proxy editing help in this situation? Or is that asking way too much of the Atom processor?
I think that will do the trick! I have three rescue beagles, so shot four short clips of them doing Beagle things. Shot in 720P at 30FPS (I think it's at 30 - need to verify). Was able to bring them into the timeline, add a title and view the project. Render time for the short clips was estimated at a little over an hour and a half. Not a problem! I cancelled out of the render as I want to do some editing and playing now.
But! You can open, edit and play clips from a Kodak Zi10 with an external mic in KDenlive on a Netbook, and they play just fine in the default movie player. I'll try editing and rendering tonight, to make sure I can go through the process before handing the Playsport over to my son.
Proxy is the way to go on the Netbook!