{"id":1774,"date":"2017-02-03T02:50:34","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T08:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/picknotebook.com\/blog\/?p=1774"},"modified":"2018-05-27T11:29:12","modified_gmt":"2018-05-27T17:29:12","slug":"best-film-students-laptop-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/picknotebook.com\/blog\/best-film-students-laptop-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to the Best laptops for film students (+ 5 Top Picks)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \"Film Film students often need to have fairly powerful and capable laptops in order to really excel in their chosen major. As a current major in film who wants to eventually direct 3-D animated movies, I am in a unique position to understand exactly what kind of devices are the best laptops for film students.\n<\/p>\n

\n As a student who intends to work for a company like Pixar or Dreamworks, I find that after I’m done working on my scripts, I do a lot of editing on my high definition files. This can happen inside my school’s film lab or even in my off-campus apartment, but in any situation, it’s really nice to have a good laptop for this part of the job.\n<\/p>\n

\n Some university film programs like the American University School of Communication<\/a> have computing requirements for their film schools, so make sure that you know what type of machine you need before you start your semester.\n<\/p>\n

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Playback<\/span><\/h3>\n

\n A sizeable portion of any film student’s workload will be in media playback. We tend to watch a lot of movies for inspiration and are always looking at our own work so that we can decide what needs editing or what needs to be reshot. A great laptop is the perfect for this because you can take it with your to the lab or to the set so that you can see the current work.\n<\/p>\n

\n With that in mind, your laptop should have an almost flawless level of playback capability. I tend to like a larger screen despite what this does to the laptop’s weight. Also, the resolution is one of the most important stats; many directors prefer an HD or above level of resolution. This way, you can see how the final project will look on most screens when you’re premiering it.\n<\/p>\n

\n For a standard HD resolution, look for a monitor that has a native 1920 x 1080 pixels. You might actually be familiar with this resolution as 1080p. Today, it’s becoming more and more common for our media to be in a 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution, which you may know as 4k. Personally, I think it’s better for your long term needs as a film student to seek out a 4k display because it leaves you more visual options insofar as clarity.\n<\/p>\n

Portability<\/span><\/h3>\n

\n This will vary on the student’s needs. I’ve already mentioned that I like a larger screen, especially when I’m mastering footage, but some of my friends prefer a more portable powerhouse laptop. This means that they seek a laptop that is a little lighter, maybe around four pounds or less. These are easy to carry from class to class, and as long as they have the performance, should work well for most film students.\n<\/p>\n

\n Portability is also a stat that is dependent on overall size. There are some larger laptop computers coming onto the market, so if you want one that’s more portable, shoot for one that is about 14 inches or so. These will be easy to store in a pack and use when needed.\n<\/p>\n

Performance Level<\/span><\/h3>\n

\n I’ll be honest, as a computer enthusiast, I find that the vast majority of student laptops cannot manage the high-end editing and encryption programs that are needed for work in film. A good laptop will need to run demanding programs like Adobe Premier Pro CC 2017, Corel VideoStudio Ultimate X9, and Lightworks Pro. To give you an impression, here are the stated requirements for Adobe Premier Pro CC as stated on their site<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n