video editing, what are folks using?

[Michael610]

What are folks using for video editing?
What do you like/hate about it?
I was hoping to find something that was free but I haven't yet found something basic, reliable, and free...

TIA

 

[dirkclod]

I have a 27” 5K iMac and ccame with iMovie. For me it’s easy to use
. Looked at other software but was over my head. And that’s pretty easy

 

[Kilrah]

Resolve.

 

[Tooclosetothesun_fpv]

I was using Adobe Premier for close to 15 years when i recently made the jump to Final Cut to try it out and i absolutely love how flawless and smooth the entire proxy process is which makes working with large files on an old rig a far less frustrating experience. But if you want something as you said "basic, reliable, and free..." then your answer is DaVinci resolve

 

[Chaosrider@brilliantfrogs]

Wondershare Filmora.

It was cheap (not free) and extremely easy to learn.

 

[akdrone]

Da Vinci resolve is by far the most powerful free software out there. I use final cut pro But it is not free. I am not sure I would call da Vinci resolve simple. There is always a trade-off between power and simplicity.

 

[harleydude]

Adobe Premiere Pro. Not free. Not easy. But powerful, which is what I need.

What I hate about it is the same thing I hate about DJI. They push updates down the pike which cause stability issues. Unlike DJI, Adobe gives the user the option to roll back, which I did. I presently have a permanently installed 2020 version of Adobe Premiere shielded from updates "just in case." I also have a very old version installed on my Windows 7 disk. I basically do the same song and dance with Adobe Premiere as I do with DJI.

D

 

[harleydude]

I was using Adobe Premier for close to 15 years when i recently made the jump to Final Cut to try it out and i absolutely love how flawless and smooth the entire proxy process is which makes working with large files on an old rig a far less frustrating experience. But if you want something as you said "basic, reliable, and free..." then your answer is DaVinci resolve

Adobe has greatly improved the Proxy file experience. It's a couple buttons to create proxies for all the files in a given project. Then there's a toggle button to toggle between proxies and full resolution files.





You can tell Premiere where to create the files (I use a scratch SSD). You can then save those proxies so you can revisit the project months or years later without having to recreate the proxies. Simply park the proxies and point to them. I'd say overall the proxie experience in Premiere is a good one.

FWIW, I edit on a pair of Dell 32" 4K monitors behind an NVidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (Founder's Edition).

Last time I tried to edit using FCP was on my G5 (which I still have). Back then it was a horrid experience. Everything had to be transcoded and god forbid footage was from two different cameras. I'm sure it's much better now.

D

 

[akdrone]

With the new M1 macbook pros you can laayer multiple 4K videos and play them back smooth as butter even with all sorts of effects and nonsense added.

 

[Michael610]

Da Vinci resolve is by far the most powerful free software out there. I use final cut pro But it is not free. I am not sure I would call da Vinci resolve simple. There is always a trade-off between power and simplicity.

I literally could not see any of the words/controls/fonts after I installed Resolve. Perhaps my fault for doing it on laptop, but they said the only way to make it larger was to change the screen resolution in the OS...which essentially makes the screen smaller. I'm already using reading glasses, don't want to start using a magnifying glass, I'm not THAT old...yet.

 

[Tooclosetothesun_fpv]

Adobe has greatly improved the Proxy file experience. It's a couple buttons to create proxies for all the files in a given project. Then there's a toggle button to toggle between proxies and full resolution files.

View attachment 5895

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You can tell Premiere where to create the files (I use a scratch SSD). You can then save those proxies so you can revisit the project months or years later without having to recreate the proxies. Simply park the proxies and point to them. I'd say overall the proxie experience in Premiere is a good one.

FWIW, I edit on a pair of Dell 32" 4K monitors behind an NVidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (Founder's Edition).

Last time I tried to edit using FCP was on my G5 (which I still have). Back then it was a horrid experience. Everything had to be transcoded and god forbid footage was from two different cameras. I'm sure it's much better now.

D

I am aware of the proxy process on Premier, however in my much older rig than yours ( talking 2010 imac27 here) i feel that FCP is making better use of my rig's resources to deal with large files and proxies. I understand that this is completely anecdotal but i feel that over the years despite the amazing new features the recent Adobe programs have become so bloated that make them very hard to use on older rigs

 

[nosnoop]

I am aware of the proxy process on Premier, however in my much older rig than yours ( talking 2010 imac27 here) i feel that FCP is making better use of my rig's resources to deal with large files and proxies. I understand that this is completely anecdotal but i feel that over the years despite the amazing new features the recent Adobe programs have become so bloated that make them very hard to use on older rigs

Maybe true, but recent codecs like H.265 is very taxing on the older systems.

 

[katherinewings]

I'm new here but let me share some insights. When it comes to video editing, there are various options available, and finding something that's free, basic, reliable, and meets your needs can be a challenge.
One software worth considering is this video editing software. It offers a free version that provides essential editing features, making it a good choice for beginners. While the free version may have some limitations, it can still get the job done effectively. If you're looking to add sound to video, this software has got you covered too. You can easily add music, voiceovers, or other audio effects to enhance your video projects.

 

[harleydude]

I'm new here but let me share some insights. When it comes to video editing, there are various options available, and finding something that's free, basic, reliable, and meets your needs can be a challenge.

You're new, so I will tell you that you should ask this question in your own thread. As it sits, this is a COMMENT in someone else's thread.

D

 

[harleydude]

I am aware of the proxy process on Premier, however in my much older rig than yours ( talking 2010 imac27 here) i feel that FCP is making better use of my rig's resources to deal with large files and proxies. I understand that this is completely anecdotal but i feel that over the years despite the amazing new features the recent Adobe programs have become so bloated that make them very hard to use on older rigs

The simple answer is to not update. I have two versions of Premier on my machine. A stable 2020 version, and the latest/greatest. If the second "latest/greatest" gives me a bit of trouble, I move back to the 2020 version. There are caveats to that strategy that I won't get into here, but as of this writing, the latest version is stable.

Premier is like any other editor. It's very powerful, which makes it a bit daunting for beginners. But the more you use it, the more you appreciate its features.

I have an old G5 with FCP on it. I remember trying to use it was a nightmare. I'm sure that that old version probably looks nothing like the version you use today, but as an old time editor, I can say that my personal experience with FCP was pretty disastrous. I ended up going back to Sony Vegas. But I concede that that was years ago when FCP wasn't as user-friendly as it is now.

D