So at the moment I'm looking into Vancouver film school for Jan 2010 going in looking to be an editor. I recently just built a PC for 2 grand, and now im looking for some kind of Video Editing program that won't put me way out(seeing tuition is 19,000 for the first year, wont even go into how much for the second year)

Im looking at Sony Vegas Pro 9 just because it seems to be the cheapest out of the ''decent'' editing softwares at the moment im using Movie Edit pro or somethings, its alright but im going to eventually need something better.

Also once i actually get into VFS i have 24/7 access to all their labs, software, etc so this is another reason i probably dont want to spend $1000+ on software at the moment. Jan is still a long wait to do editing on good software so i thought i might as well practise on something decent so my knowledge is a bit higher then it is now.

Any advice/suggestions would help.

What is the film school using to do their editing on? Are they using Mac's or Windows pc's? Might be a good idea to get the same software as the film school or a cut down (cheaper) version so that you are at least familiar with the interface and how the software works.

Here's a couple of suggestions for saving money if you want to go with Vegas.

Option 1.
Buy Vegas Movie Studio then buy the upgrade to Vegas Pro. It's quite a saving.
In UK Prices (Online from Sony Creative Software - so you can probably do even better)
Vegas Pro 9 = £494.95
VMS £38.95 + Upgrade £335.95 = total £374.90
A saving of £120 !!!

Option 2
If you don't need the absolute latest version and may well dump it once you have access to other software, find someone who has upgraded to Vegas Pro 9, from Vegas Pro 8 (or an earlier version). If they no longer want their earlier version, they can sell it to you (and tranfer the licence) all perfectly within the terms of the Sony licence.
The only limitation is that the older version cannot be upgraded to a later version (because the serial number has already been upgraded)

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Tim

from what i have read they use pretty much everything... Macs, HP computers...

I think they work a lot with after effects but im not really ready to dish out the money for that yet.

After Effects isn't an editing program as such. It's used to create special effects and motion graphics whereas Adobe Premiere Elements 7 or Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 is a very sophisticated non linear editor. Premiere Elements 7 would be a good program to start on and it costs about £70 to buy. It will let you become familiar with it's interface and how it works. Or why not download a 30 day trial and see what you think.

word. i was looking at the digital design program when i came across after effects in the list.

i have a couple mates who run a videography business filming weddings and stuff, they just bought premiere a while back, i think we are filming a short film in a few months and im hoping ill get some kind of introduction to it then.

ill download the trial of elements and take a look at it. How does upgrading with Adobe work by the way? For future reference.

Thanks

Downloading a few 30 day trial versions of AE, Premiere Pro and or Elements and Soundbooth would be a good idea. What do you mean by how does upgrading work? I don't know what type of deals Adobe or any of their suppliers are doing at the moment you would need to check the individual re-seller nearer the time to find out.