Tips on the Best Free Video Editing Software
Hopefully you caught lots of great family action on tape this holiday season. The question is: how to turn all your great footage into a holiday home movie special? There is lots of inexpensive video editing software out there. But why go inexpensive when you can go totally free? Well, for one, free software doesn't come with the same level of support as software you pay for, and there's no guarantee that it will work as advertised. It may also be missing some of the features of commercial software. But that’s not to say that there aren’t some great free options. Check out these top three free video editing suites:
1. Apple’s iMovie HD – Once the only free game in town for Mac users (now Avid’s FreeDV also runs on OS X, as does HyperEngine-AV) iMovie HD is a powerful entry-level video editor for Mac users. It has advanced video editing features and a lot of add-on and plug-in support. There is also plenty of third-party support, and you can upgrade smoothly to Apple's Final Cut Express (FCE), which can import iMovie movies directly. If you opt to use iMovie HD, check out David Pogue's iMovie HD & iDVD: The Missing Manual. It's an essential reference guide.
2. Avid’s FreeDV – Originally developed for Windows XP (but now runs on Macs on the OS X platform), this is a capable and full-powered editor with a clear upgrade path for professionals. There are over a dozen video tutorials on Avid's site to help you teach yourself, and if you have any interest in becoming a professional editor in television or movies, this should be your choice. Note that Avid FreeDV is the only product in this roundup to use the two-screen setup in its interface, such as you'll find in Premiere Pro. This product has a nonstandard interface, in terms of platform (Windows or Mac) which can make it fairly difficult to use and thus a somewhat steep learning curve. Some people hate it, but for others it's love at first sight.
3. Microsoft’s Movie Maker 2 – This is a very capable video editor that ships free with virtually all new XP computers, with upgrades available on the site. The interface is great. It's easy to work your way through a project (just follow the built-in task list on the left-hand side to make your movie). And it already has third-party support for plug-ins, for things like transitions and filters. Note: it does everything but DVDs.
Comments
I started my website, www.tailgatingideas.co.../, a few months back and have been looking for a way to promote it through places like YouTube. This article was very helpful when it came time to choose a video editor. Keep up the good work.