I am Alyssa Maucere. I've helped direct, produce, film, and edit many projects for bands such as Pike Vs The Automaton, Lord Dying, Bongzilla, Glory In The Shadows, plus my main editing job for Matt Pike’s “Guitartial Arts” series available currently on his Patreon (Patreon.com/mattpike).

It’s occurred to me that using a 9-year-old computer with outdated and underperforming components may be why I took about a year off from doing video/editing. I had gone on hiatus the past year, and upon returning to my trusted 2014 MacBook Pro, I realized I was not able to run any updated programs. I did my research, and using DaVinci Resolve 19 was impossible. So I did the only thing I could: download an OpenCore Legacy Program so that I could install an operating system that would run MacOS Ventura v 12.5. Everything seemed like it was running better than before. But then I began working my magic. Multiple composites later, the computer was running just as slow as before. No amount of cleaning the hard drive of unnecessary programs, making proper adjustments for CPU/GPU usage, not even a 2TB external hard drive could make the computer run smoother.

For instance:

Optimizing media for fast-edits took 45 min (3 clips = 25 min of footage).

Playback of optimized footage played at only 3-9 frames per second at 1/4 of the original resolution (24fps footage is optimal).

A single 15-minute project took 4 DAYS, 8-hour workdays. It should take me 2 days maximum for a project closer to 45 minutes.

Exporting a 15-minute project currently takes 9 hours in 1920x1080.

Every possible option has been explored and it comes down to a 2014-2015 MacBook Pro 13.3 inch Intel i5, 16GB RAM with 250GB Hard Drive does not cut the sauce!

WITH YOUR HELP, YOU WILL BE HELPING STREAMLINE THE VIDEO EDITING PROCESS SO I CAN FOCUS ON FILMING MORE CONTENT FOR MUSICIANS, CREATORS, AND PROFESSIONALS IN NEED OF ADVANCED EDITING SERVICES. I PROVIDE THE HIGHEST QUALITY TO MY CLIENTS AND TO THEIR VIEWERS. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF A NEW COMPUTER (PLUS NECESSARY ACCESSORIES) WITH THE FOLLOWING SPECS:

2 to 4 TB SSD Hard Drive

32 GB (or higher) RAM

Intel Core 7 (or Ultra 9 if enough raised)

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB

Excellent cooling system

Appropriate level of Power Supply

Appropriate 4K monitor

Keyboard

Mouse/mousepad

Any necessary external SSD for backups

128 GB SSD cards for future filming

To build this, it will require up to $2000. With this, I will go from editing once a month to being able to take on full-time projects and long-form filmmaking for years to come.

Thank you for taking the time to look and to donate. I am currently doing everything I can to save money and work whatever jobs come my way, but this necessary technology is the only way I can grow my business. I don’t have much, especially at the moment, but I am determined to keep providing affordable work for fellow musicians and creators to help express their vision.