Video Editing Software Choices

[lola]

 So let's talk tech!

For those of you already set on your editing software, what are you planning on using?

For those of you just starting out, what hardware (Mac, PC, chromebook, ipad?) are you planning on using? Have you tried any editing software before? 

Here are a couple of lists of current software options that seem pretty comprehensive to me...

Free

Full list with prices listed

Out of these, I (Lola) have used Premiere (what I use now), Final Cut Pro (which I love), and imovie, which is not non-linear and I found very frustrating for vid-making.

I also use the iPad app Lumafusion, which is pretty amazing for an ipad app. 

I have heard really good things about Davinci Resolve -- it's free and apparently as powerful or more than Premiere. I'm thinking of downloading it today and trying to make a set of pechakuchas on it, so if anyone wants to join me on that adventure, please do! 

I've also heard good things about Wondershare Filmora as a somewhat affordable and intuitive first step video editing software. 

A few tutorials on YouTube I dug up that seem good: 

Excellent Davinci Resolve Tutorial
Another Davinci Resolve Tutorial

A whole tutorial playlist on Filmora 

LumaFusion Tutorial for Beginners

Also, there are some great affordable tools for screengrabbing and downloading (like, from YouTube).

4K downloader is stellar for getting HQ files from YouTube (I'm trying to think, I may have had to go premium to get the 1080p...
and Movavi is great for screencapturing things, well, playing on your screen

We can add to this list as I find more and get a sense of what software folks are using!

Comment below with any questions, suggestions, or resources!! 

Comments

[sophie_448]

*waves* I won't have time to join the exercises until/unless I get locked down but! I am a pretty devoted Mac user, and I use Final Cut Pro X. (I *cough* may have acquired it by ~nontraditional means because omg it's $300 yikes.)

Having recently had a lengthy conversation where I was like "I don't know what 'clipping' is? Am I doing vidding wrong??" and now more or less understanding the concept... ish, I will say that FCPX removes the need for clipping (for me). It allows keyword tagging of your source (actually the feature that led me to upgrade from iMovie). And then you can show just the clips that you tagged by clicking on the keyword.

I find the interface very intuitive, although of course as I go on and try different things, I discover even more features.

[valoise]

I'm glad to see someone else finds the FCPX tagging process eliminates the need for separate software to make clips. Back when Final Cut Express was a thing, I loved it but still needed to make clips to work with. The changes in the user interface with FCPX were extreme, but now that I've gotten used to working with it I love the tagging feature.

I normally have a rough idea of where I want to go with the vid and as I review the source I tag various 'clips' with keywords that are relevant either to specific lyrics in the music or to themes or motions, etc.

[bonibaru]

This keyword tagging thing sounds AMAZING. I'm a person who sweeps through source and builds folders with clip libraries as I go and label them myself with my own keywords. If my vidding program could search those automatically it would be so much faster.

[lola]

There are so many things I miss about Final Cut! And I didn't even know about the tagging thing.

BUT it looks like Resolve does a similar tagging thing, so I am totally going to try that!!

[sophie_448]

I'm gonna be real, I've literally never clipped as many people seem to do. And tbh my tagging usually breaks down well before I actually finish the vid. I've always imported my whole source to work with, separated by episode or by film. And then basically scroll back and forth through it 87 million times until a vid falls out? Even though I've had it explained to me I just can't really wrap my head around the process of like... pre-deciding things before the clips are laid out on the timeline? I mean, obviously I have some things in mind before I start, but not like what I've heard other people describe.

[bonibaru]

This is a perfectly valid way to vid! In my younger days I did the same thing! Now, though, after many years and many fandoms and advancing age I don't trust my own memory. My clip library serves two purposes: I re-watch the source again (with no sound! It changes how I relate to the images when the audio dialogue & sound effects & scoring is yanked!) and make notes for myself as a vidder instead of a fan while clipping, and I can search for things I might have forgotten exist if it takes me a few weeks to get back to it.

[lola]

Oh, totally, I never clip!! I just don't have the patience. If someone gives me clipped files, then I'll use them and it can be awesome, but I also just love the feeling of more intuitively running through the footage and seeing what inspireds me! Until a vid falls out, LOL, that's totally it!

[nyctanthes]

Oh my goodness. I've been trimming/clipping using QT, but QT doesn't work anymore for this. So if I can do it within FCP...I can vid/edit still images again!

And agree that iMovie is good. And free!