Making a film is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. To pursue it as a profession, however, one must focus on all aspects, including video editing, compositing, color grading, audio editing, 3D rendering, and so on. Here’s why choosing the best laptop for film students is critical, as they must meet every processing required to gain comprehensive professional exposure.
It is a unified process, and students cannot select software that is tailored to a specific role. Instead, they must be well-versed in all relevant software for creating visuals, editing images, and generating customizable audio.
A good quality display, for example, is the first step in selecting the ideal computer. While a good display is a must You need power CPUs as faster processing will be required. To handle graphic-intensive tasks, resourceful GPUs will be needed. An Excellent battery backup for working and learning on the go should be prioritized. Aside from that, a film student can benefit from industry-leading wired and wireless connectivity to keep up with dummy filmmaking workflows.
Aside from the listed specifications, you should always check the amount of RAM (the more the better) on the laptop, followed by the accessibility of a Thunderbolt 3 port. You need to set up external workflows for color grading, editing, and compositing all at once.
Minimum System Requirements
Based on the filmmaking preferences, we have thoughtfully enlisted the minimum system requirements. For example, the bare minimum of features is still adequate for basic audio, video, and compositing editing.
| Display: 15 inches |
| Storage: 256 GB |
| RAM: 8 GB |
| CPU: Intel core i5 |
| Battery: up to 3 to 6 hours |
The best laptops for students are as follows:
Razer Blade 15:
With an impressive specs sheet on display, it is one of the most popular choices among filmmaking students. The Hexa-Core Intel i7-10750H chipset is a category-leading addition in terms of performance and raw power. The turbo clock speed of up to 5GHz ensures faster logic processing, which is required by more demanding filmmaking software modules such as Renderman, Logic Pro, and others.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU is extremely powerful, and the existing Turing Architecture and a greater number of CUDA cores make sure improved GPU accelerated rendering and perhaps even advanced 3D modeling for gaining knowledge more about film-centric advances.
You get 16GB of RAM for efficient multitasking and a dual-storage module for handling large amounts of data. While the 512GB Solid-state drive helps with boot-up times, it is best to install the most resource-intensive applications here for faster access. 3D models, large files, audio projects, and even reference or study materials are all accommodated by the storage. Filmmaking students seek out exceptional displays, and the Blade 15 shines with its vibrant 15.6-inch panel. The matte Full HD panel provides excellent visibility.
Specs:
| GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 |
| RAM: 16 GB |
| SSD Capacity: 512 GB |
| CPU: Intel core i7 |
| Screen size: 15.6 inches |
MSI Prestige 14:
If your budget allows, you should always choose an all-in-one machine like the MSI Prestige 14 as a filmmaking student. This laptop allows you to dabble in every aspect of filmmaking while also designed to cater to your occasional leisure needs.
For video and audio editing requirements, the Intel Core i7 is a great processor. In addition to the four cores on, it also offers Hyperthreading technology. This technology enables you to use all 8 threads simultaneously. This helps a lot in the activities i.e., video editing, color grading, 3D rendering, etc. as these are all multi-core activities. Further performance is improved by the 4.9 GHz turbo clock speed that enables you to manage the workflow tasks with convenience.
The MSI Prestige 14 has a GeForce GTX 1650 GPU. The GPU has a VRAM of 4 GB. This GPU is equipped with AI-assisted and real-time ray tracing capabilities. You can use them to make the best use of graphic intensive or intricate resources that are in link with the software units of filmmaking. You can easily handle 3D modeling applications like Houdini, Maya, and more with the 4 GB VRAM.
The system memory of MSI Prestige 14 is 16GB. It helps you deal with the extensive workflows using StudioBinder, Storyboarder, and Evernote. The data access gets sped up by 16 Gb of RAM. Further, it has an SSD capacity of 512 GB.
The 14-inch panel is extremely vibrant and, thanks to the improved color clarity, stands out as a major highlight for filmmaking students. The GPU and Display work together to teach students about advanced color grading.
Specs:
| GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 |
| RAM: 16 GB |
| SSD Capacity: 512 GB |
| CPU: Intel core i7 |
| Screen size: 14 inches |
Lenovo V15
Lenovo V15 laptop is good enough for filmmaking. We will discuss each of them to understand how well they suit the needs of a filmmaker. Lenovo V15 intel core i5-10210U is a 15.6 inches laptop with 1920 x 1080 resolution. You could crop your photos or use subtle zooming effects. Furthermore, if your final output is less than 4K, you should not lose any quality because you shot everything at the higher 4K resolution. 4K video output at 1080p opens a plethora of creative possibilities.
It has an intel core i5 processor of the 10th generation. It is supported by 8 GB RAM. This increases its efficiency for work. The SSD capacity is 256 GB, but it can be upgraded. It has an Intel UHD Graphics GPU. For 4k video playback and video rendering, this is a good option.
The operating system is windows 10 pro. It has many surprising features. Windows 10 Pro already has an in-built video editor, but you can also download other editors for filmmaking purposes.
Specs:
| GPU: Intel UHD Graphics GPU |
| RAM: 8 GB |
| SSD Capacity: 256 GB |
| CPU: Intel core i5 |
| Screen size: 15.6 inches |
Bottom line:
Many other laptops can be used for film editing outside of this post. I have attempted to list the best laptops for filmmakers based on different demands and budgets. If you’re a complete beginner, you don’t need to invest in an expensive laptop to learn. You can begin with an inexpensive Intel Core i5 processor having 8GB of memory. Beginner-level GPU can also work.
The Razer Blade 15 may be the best option for film students who could use a portable and strong machine without paying a premium price, but the battery life is average. MSI prestige 14 and Lenovo V15 are also viable options.