Equipment & Software
Compass students are eligible for academic discounts at the Apple Store for Education.
Computer
15" MacBook Pro (minimum specs) - Approx. $1799
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 2 GB Memory
- 200 GB Hard Drive
- Double-layer SuperDrive
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MB
You may upgrade your computer's specs, depending on how serious you will be about editing and speed. This is a long-term investment. Some of the options are screen size, glossy/non-glossy screen (most prefer non-glossy), RAM (the more the better for advanced Studio work (Color and Motion), but 2 GB will work fine for most applications), and hard drive (200 GB is good; you may want to get an external LaCie Firewire drive for large projects, but it will not be needed at the beginning).
Camera and Tripod
Quality could be an issue. If you are a shooter, get something that will give you more than the basic over-the-counter Best Buy stuff—although some of that will work fine for your classes. Some students will want to have a professional camera in the $3000-$9000 range.
Any video camera with:
- Manual control of audio, iris, focus, and shutter
- Microphone-in jack
- Headset jack
- Firewire in/out (Note: Be sure to get a Firewire cord to match the camera and editor. The editor uses 6-pin; cameras use either 4-pin or 6-pin and cables are available for either configuration.)
- AV in/out
- If your camera uses tapes, a head cleaner and at least 5 quality DV tapes
Software
- Final Cut Studio 2
- Apple iWork or Microsoft Office for Mac
- Final Draft (Note: You can use Celtx as a free alternative, but if you get into Screenwriting you may be required to purchase Final Draft)