Can somebody recommend me a good video editing software?

Hi folks,

don't worry I'm not going to use this to create aweful Youtube videos, but I really enjoy filming all sorts of stuff but can't really find a good video editing software. I'm using Pinnacle 15 right now which is fine but I feel like I want a bit more options and a bit less crashes. So, what I'm looking for is something thats incredibly easy to use and also amazingly powerful. Since I guess such a thing doesn't exist, is there any software you can recommend that balances those two factors in a good way?

Thanks and look forward to my coming hilarious Youtube seri....*bang*

Windows MOVIE Maker

THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS

- Premier

- Vegas PRO

Premiere Pro CS6. Easy as shit.

After Effects CS6 is pretty easy to learn as well, but it'll still take a while.

They're expensive though.

Lightworks is working well for me right now, although there are some limits I wish didn't exist.

Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects are all you need.

Final Cut Pro is awesome if you use Mac.

That's not really a problem, I don't even want to know how much mony I spent on video games last year, also I can use it for my job (at least a bit)
After Effects looks pretty promising, is there a good manual for it? I do enjoy just trying stuff but for more advanced stuff I figured I need something more

I use iMovie.

There's an online knowledge base for After Effects - but my favorite resources for After Effects stuff are Creative Cow and Video Copilot. They'll have tutorials for everything you want to do and if they just don't happen to have one there's probably a forum thread on how to do what you're looking for.

Also, It's important to note that AE and Premiere work together - you can copy and paste edits between them and embed AE clips in the Premiere timeline. This way you can use the advanced AE features while still editing in a more typical editing environment. AE is primarily for effects work and doesn't work as well as Premiere for straight-forward editing.

Adobe has a very sweet subscription model now, which is much more reasonably priced because you can pay as you go and get the lastest and greatest versions automaticly. Be sure to try out the free trial as well......if I remember correctly they give you the full version of the software for 30 days.

As far as software, from personal experience I would use Premier. Anyone who has used video editing software should be able to pick up the basic easily, and there are endless amounts of tutorials for anything else you can think of. If your planning on doing tons of crazy special effect (like Freddie Wong type stuff) you will need After-Effects, otherwise just stick to Premier.

Hope that helps

If you can get After Effects and Premier....DO IT! They are like PB & Jelly.

Nothing much to add but another vote for Adobe Premiere. Was taught it in college and while it may seem daunting at first -seeing all the knobs and bells you can click on and tweak- it's actually rather easy once you learn that most of it you can tune out and that you only need a small portion of what's on the screen to get the job done. Until you try doing the fancy stuff anyway.

If you just want absolute bare minimum zero investment, windows movie maker does the job. It's pretty much a Fisher Price video editor, but if you have never approached a video editor before I would start there and then go up once you hit that wall and realize the things you are missing from it that you can only get when you upgrade to a big boy program.

Etherway, best of luck on your journey into amature porn film making.

I use and love Final Cut 7. Has anyone here worked with Final Cut X? It's so baffling and confusing I feel like a senior citizen using the library computer.

Or some of us have the money to buy $500 software.... He also mentioned he could use it for his job.

Anyway, I would look into Adobe's subscription model as mentioned by FonkyMucker. For $20/month you can get the program. For $50/month, you can get all their products. Those prices are if you subscribe for a full year. Adobe does perfectly though where you don't pay a full years lump sum at the start to get those prices. They just keep track if you cancel before the year is up and if you do, you can never get on an annual plan again.

I always used Roxio and thought it was good if not great. It had some software bugs but was easy to learn.

I've been using Premiere Pro, too.

You know, I'm probably going to buy a PS4 which I suspect wont be much cheaper. Why shouldn't I invest in my hobby? I also buy PC games, soooo...I dunno I guess I'm an idiot with too much money?

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm downloading Premiere and AE trials right now, let's see how this goes

Sony Vegas is the only video software I've spent a decent amount of time with and I loved it. Pretty easy to get into and there are tutorials all over the web for it.

You will HATE AVID Media Composer, but its the Industry Standard. Expensive as fuck, but reduces price if you're a student.

Put my vote in for the Adobe products, but here is also another recommendation: get another monitor. Unless you know this will be an infrequent hobby, lacking screen real estate will quickly become a nuisance when working a straight editor and effects program (like Premiere and After Effects).

Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. Also Sony Vegas 11 Pro. All of these work really well.

Not trying to pick a fight or anything, but you really are making some asinine comments. The same can be said for video games. If someone's hobby is video editing, then what is the problem paying the same amount of money on it as you would for games?

If my hobby is music, then why can't I buy hundreds or thousands of dollars in gear/software?
If my hobby is programming, then why can't I buy the tools needed to make a professional product?

If I remember correctly, you started a thread a couple of weeks ago about buying a mic for your YouTube channel. Why even pose the question when you could just go buy a shitty $20 headset. I don't see how that is any different than somebody wanting a better and more professional product than a cheap alternative.

I like Premiere a lot. Not a fan of Final Cut Pro at all.

Well, sorry if i'm coming off looking like an asshole, but, i strongly believe that, if i'm going to spend a crazy amount of money on something, i'm gonna have something physical to show for it.

And it was already hard enough for me to start buying $10/15 digital games this gen, so there's no way i will ever feel confortable paying $500 for any piece of software.

And it just rubbs me the wrong way when someone is willing to pay so much money for a digital license...

Utimately, the only reason video editing software costs so much is because studios have legal responsibilities, so they need to own those licenses, to be able to make millions producing their movies, and tv shows.

It's just Sony and Adobe trying to get their piece of the pie.

And $400-500 is just the low level package, big studios pay upwards of $3000 for each license.

@bprjctx: Okay. Now I understand where you are coming from and I have no problem with that when it comes to games. However, we are talking about PC software here. In today's world, software on the web is actually better than having software in physical form like it was 10+ years ago. If you had a physical copy and it got lost or damaged, it was a pain in the ass to try and get another copy (if you even could). Now it can just be re-downloaded. Software back then was also just as expensive as it is now so a lot of us are used to software costing a lot. I completely see your point though. Just know that it really only applies to more proprietary platforms like game consoles.

Well, I wrote a lenghty reply concerning this and your reommendation to just steal the software but it ain't worth it. I have the money and the free will to do what I want and I have no problems with buying digital stuff (like, oh I don't know a VIDEO GAME) and if high quality means a high price, well so be it. I wont starve because of it. Thanks though for your congratulations, I hope you keep your promise and remain speechless.

Take footage with an olde-timey reel-to-reel video recorder. Scan the reels into digital images. Painstakingly edit each frame with the Windows 95 version of Paint. Print each frame out and make a flip-book.

Well, first, i gotta say, i didn't promise youm that i would remain speechless in any way or form...

I was spechless at that moment in time...

But anyway, that's not why i'm here, i just say i'm sorry if i sounded like an asshole in my previous posts, but, i'm kinda strapped for cash right now, so, i guess that reading about some guy on the internet wanting to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of software, just brought out the worst in me.

So, sorry about that.

Yup!

If it just for youtube videos, you may try Smartpixel producer, it is easy to use with many effects, I used it for my youtube game video editing, it may work for you.

Solve my problem. Thanks.