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

[bonibaru]

Also: I recently got notification that Adobe is making some of its Creative Cloud functionality freely accessible to students who are learning at home during COVID-19. If your school has paid access that you could have used in a lab, you might now be able to use those creative tools at home. Info here: https://fstoppers.com/news/adobe-offers-free-creative-cloud-packages-students-stuck-home-due-coronavirus-465653

[bonibaru]

Do you want to add options for capturing source material to use? For example, I like Movavi Screen Capture to snag things I'm watching or listening to on my screen. I used it to just snag the 1 minute of audio for my Pechakuchas without needing to download an entire mp3. Also there is 4K Video Downloader which I have used to get certain shows or music videos or other source materials I need.

[extrapenguin]

I'm using Kdenlive! It's free and Linux-compatible. IDK how intuitive one would consider it, but it's got an extensive text-base online manual.

[anoel]

I've seen that Adobe is waiving fees for its monthly program for the next 60 days so definitely something to look into.

[naye]

Thank you for this list! It looks fab. Does anyone have any personal experience/recommendations for the free versions?

[wyomingnot]

For ten years I used Sony Vegas/Movie Studio (when I broke down and actually paid for my software) on my pc for editing, vdub for making clips.

Then my pc died and I switched to a mac (mini). Then I was at a loss because I had no idea what to use. I needed something free or cheap. I'm not particularly happy with what I've found for making clips (vidcutter), but it works and is free. As for putting things together, I think I've settled on Filmora.

I do have DaVinci Resolve on my drive, but when I first looked at it, I was a bit overwhelmed. I might (Should) go give it another go.

[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.

[gwenfrankenstien]

I use iMovie because it's free and comes with my computer. I'm intimidated by the learning curve of switching to something more powerful. Like the person upthread, I haven't vidded on a PC since the Windows Movie Maker days.

[melannen]

I am starting basically from scratch here (given that the last time I vidded, half the kids were still using VHS footage.)

I have DaVinci Resolve to try and HandBrake to rip and I know Audacity pretty well, but how do you clip these days? And what video formats should I be ripping, clipping, and exporting to? mp4?

[alexseanchai]

Movie Maker! thanks to piipstachio

…but it does not work like I remember