Recommend a video editor

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-03-07 06:57pm

Hi there.

I have been tasked to do some video editing. I need an editor capable of:
- joining and splitting audio/video tracks
- the usual editing (cut, copy/paste, crop, adjust size ratio etc)
- if possible, add some nifty effects like flashes, fadeouts, slow motion and even stopping a frame while continuing with the music track.

Does anyone know what program can do that?

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-03-07 07:47pm

On PC: Adobe Premier, Adobe After Effects.

On Mac: Finalcut Pro, Avid.

Avid is a bit of a bastard and I'm not sure why we're still using it when I personally find Finalcut Pro the superior Mac-based program.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2008-03-07 08:08pm

The main one I've learned with was NewsEdit, no suprises what it was intended for...though it does mean it's very fast and simple to work with if you can lay your hands on a copy.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-03-07 08:18pm

Hmmm....any freeware programs, or will I have to pay to get some quality?

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-03-07 09:05pm

Windows Movie Maker? I've never really used it, but it might to be able to do what you want and it comes with windows.

Instant Sunrise · Post by **Instant Sunrise** » 2008-03-08 02:01am

There, Avid Xpress, Avid Xpress Pro, and Avid Media Composer for the Mac and PC. Or Final Vut Pro for the mac.

There's a free, and rather limited version of Avid out there, but it has since been discontinued. Or you can use iMovie or WMM, if your really desperate. If you're serious about this though, your choices are Avid or Final Cut Pro. Pretty much nothing else.

Oh yeah, Avid, and FCP have a learning wall to it.

Alan Bolte · Post by **Alan Bolte** » 2008-03-08 01:53pm

The few times I've found myself editing video, I've used nandub. I think you can do most of what you're looking for, but outside of cut/paste I don't really know. Also, it's intended entirely to work with AVI files, so you may have to find another program to convert files if you want to work with other formats. I don't know how it compares to WMM, I didn't look at that too closely. I know this guy makes his videos in WMM.

Jaepheth · Post by **Jaepheth** » 2008-03-09 01:53am

I've always used Virtual Dub

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2008-03-09 01:48pm

Try Wax. Its free, and you can do some special effects. I use Sony Vegas (Platinum). You can get that for about $100.00, and Wax can be used as a plug-in.

Lazarus · Post by **Lazarus** » 2008-03-09 03:31pm

DO NOT use WMM unless you're not worried about quality - it halves the picture quality of anything you do with it.

For my student film I used Adobe Premiere Elements, but I would also recommend against this since for me it was an absolute pain. It has lots of counter-intuitive features and just plain stupid design flaws.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2008-03-09 04:46pm

Indeed, Adobe Premiere sucks. I haven´t used any other video editing programs so i couldn´t say if the other ones are better or if video editing programs are designed by morons in general but Premiere is just plain annoying which i find rather bizzar since it doesn´t even have that many functions.

Terralthra · Post by **Terralthra** » 2008-03-09 11:23pm

Virtual Dub.