[macmadman]

I currently have a g4 Mac with a ton of storage which i enjoy doing little projects on. However, I was recently asked a question that I didn't know the answer to with my lack of experience and figured I would post it here.

It seems a company wants to do a live show with three different cameras and audio. They asked me if i would be able to switch cameras as the show is going on and have it saved to my Mac. I told them the best way of course is to record all three cameras and then sync it up inside the machine via premiere. They didn't want to wait. So I guess what i am trying to ask is 1) is this possible, 2) is there a switcher out there that anyone would recommend and 3) which program to I use to capture it? I have dropped frames on premiere before and of course that makes it go straight to hell. Would iMovie be a better choice, just to get the footage into the machine? Thanks in advance for all your help.

[nerd]

You need some kind of switcher. I think this route will more get expensive then what your looking for. Production video switchers don't come cheap. I would look at JVC or Sony and see if they have something for under $2000. After you get a video switcher, get an audio board and mics and then pipe the audio and video into your mac with a Analog - Firewire converter. You could then set iMovie to record and let it caputure the output of your switcher.

Here's some ebay ones that can get you started as what to look for. Remember what your talking about is what people pay studio time for. Your talking about building a studio, not so hard for some but get's expensive. I would personally vote for 3 cameras and then do the switching in post, either iMovie or Premiere.

The best way to go but you need other hardware to get these up and running, ie reference signals, time base correctors, etc.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1394551772
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1394852694

This would be your best bet if you don't have a big budget. You wont get disolves, etc. but you can do all that in iMovie. All you would have to do is hook the cameras up, then put the output into your firewire converter.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1394620993

Watch out for some of the other routers like one listed above. Some of the $100 ones you'll see on ebay won't switch video on the "vertical interval" (where the top of the frame starts) meaning the video will jump everytime you switch sources. I know the one here does switch on vertical interval. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1394620993

Hope this helps,

Brad