Edit Video on Your PC
How can the answer be improved?
Nothing makes an impression like moving pictures with sound. That's why digital video continues to grow in importance online. Couple that trend with the ever-increasing availability of devices capable of high-resolution video recording—phones, GoPros, DSLRs—and the case for ever-more powerful video editing software becomes clear. Further, the software must be usable by nonprofessionals, and it has to keep up with newer formats such as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) and 360-degree VR video, and it has to be able to handle 4K and higher resolution.
Increasingly, new capabilities trickle down from professional-level software to the consumer category. That's a good thing for nonprofessional movie editors, since the more consumer-oriented software tends to make easier procedures that can sometimes be pretty tricky in the pro-level software. Read on for a survey of the latest trends in video editing software along with our top picks in the field.
Multicam, Motion Tracking, and Yet More Motion
- In this episode I talk about Getting a Mac Mini For Video Editing. Is it worth it? 2018 Mac Mini Review: A video editor's perspective - Duration: 8:49. Engadget 145,626 views.
- 15 Best Video Editing Software 2018. Because there are so many good options out there, to make it easier for you, in this article, we have divided the video editing software into several categories.
Advanced abilities continue to make their way into accessible, affordable, and consumer-friendly video editing software as each new generation of software is released. For example, multicam editing, which lets you switch among camera angles of the same scene shot with multiple video cameras, used to be a feature relegated to pro-level software. Now this and many other advanced effects are available in programs designed for use by nonprofessional enthusiasts.
Another impressive effect that has made its way into consumer-level video editing software is motion tracking, which lets you attach an object or effect to something moving in your video. You might use it to put a blur over the face of someone you don't want to show up in your video. You specify the target face, and the app takes care of the rest, tracking the face and moving the effect to follow it. This used to be the sole province of special effects software such as Adobe After Effects. Corel VideoStudio was the first of the consumer products to include motion tracking, and it still leads the pack in the depth and usability of its motion-tracking tool, though several others now include the capability.
The 4K Video Factor
Support for 4K video source content has become pretty standard in video editing software, but the support varies among the products. For example, some but not all of the applications can import Sony XAVC and XAVC-S formats, which are used by Sony's popular DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, camcorders, and professional video cameras. The same holds true for the H.265 High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. Most of the applications here now can import and export HEVC, though there are still a few holdouts.
360-Degree VR Support
Several of the products here (Adobe Premiere Elements is a notable exception) still support 3D video editing if that's your thing, though the this has been replaced by 360-degree VR footage like that shot by the Samsung Gear 360 as the current home-theater fad. As is often the case, our Editors' Choice, CyberLink PowerDirector was the first product in this group to offer support for this new kind of video media.
Other programs have jumped on board with 360 VR support, including Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, and Magix Movie Edit Pro. Support varies, with some apps including 360-compatible titles, stabilization, and motion tracking. PowerDirector is notable for including those last two. Final Cut offers a useful tool that removes the camera and tripod from the image, often an issue with 360-degree footage.
Video Editing 101
Of course, none of the extras matter if an app can't do the most basic editing tasks. At this point, however, all of the products included here do a good job of letting you join, trim, and split video clips. They also let you make use of special effects such as animated transitions, picture-in-picture (PiP), chroma-key (the technique that lets you place a subject against any background, often known as green screening), and filters that enhance colors or apply creative effects and distortions. With most of them you can add a multitude of timeline tracks that can accommodate video clips, effects, audio, and text overlays.
A tool coming to the latest versions of video editing applications is support for seamless transitions. Picture a scene showing people at a beach, and suddenly the sky zooms in and your in Rome or Paris, but it looks like you're in the same place because the transition glued the two scenes together using the sky. There are plenty of other examples of seamless transition; this magnificent video shows a good selection of them, and is partly responsible for starting the trend.
Color, LUTs and CLUTs
One of the capabilities that has been making its way into consumer-level video editing software is more-detailed color grading. Color wheels, curves, and histograms give editors control over the intensity of every shade. Related to this is support for LUTs (lookup tables), also known as CLUTs (color lookup tables). This staple of pro-level software lets you quickly change the look of a video to give it a specific mood. For example, think of the dark blue look of thriller movies like The Revenant. You can download LUTs for free from several sites or use those included with some video software to give your video a specific look. One well-known LUT type is the kind that can make a daytime scene look like it was shot at night.
Where the Action Is
Many video editing apps now include tools that cater to users of action cameras such as the GoPro Hero7 Black. For example, several offer automated freeze-frame along with speedup, slowdown, and reverse time effects. CyberLink PowerDirector's Action Camera Center pulls together freeze frame with stabilization, slo-mo, and fish-eye correction, and color correction for underwater footage. Magix Movie Edit Pro Premium includes the third-party NewBlue ActionCam Package of effects. And Wondershare Filmora lets you subscribe to new effect packs on an ongoing basis.
Titles That Zing
I've been seeing a lot of attention paid to creating title effects in the applications over the past year. Apple Final Cut Pro X has added 3D title creation, which is pretty spiffy, letting you extrude 2D titles and rotate them on three axes. Corel VideoStudio in its latest version also adds 3D Titling, though not as powerful as Apple's. PowerDirector's Title Designer offers transparency, gradient color, border, blur level, and reflection in titles; Magix has impressive title templates, complete with animations. Premiere Elements offers a nifty title effect in which your video fills the text characters, and Corel recently followed suit in VideoStudio 2019. Look for an application that lets you edit titles in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) mode, so that you can type, format, and time it right over the video preview.
Gathering Speed
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Video editing is one of the most computing-intensive activities around, so you'll want the best laptop or desktop you can afford if you're serious about cutting your own movies. Most applications help speed up the editing process by creating a proxy file of lower resolution, so that normal editing and previewing aren't slowed down by the huge full-resolution files.
Particularly intensive is the process of rendering your finished product into a standard video file that will by playable on the target device of choice, be that an HDTV, a laptop, or a smartphone. Most of the software can take advantage of your computer's graphics processor to speed this up. Be sure to check the performance section in each review linked here to see how speedy or slow the application is. In rendering speed testing, CyberLink and Pinnacle have been my perennial champs.
Other measures of performance include startup time and simple stability. Again, video editing is a taxing activity for any computer, involving many components. In the past, video editing programs took longer than most other apps to start up, and unexpected shutdowns were unfortunately common, even in top apps from top developers such as Adobe and Apple. The stability situation has greatly improved, but the complexity of the process, which increases as more powerful effects are added, means crashes will likely never be fully eliminated, and they often raise their ugly heads after a program update, as I found with the latest version of Pinnacle Studio.
Free Video Editing Software
If you don't want to invest a lot of money and effort into your video editing exploits, there are a few free options. Of course, if you use a Mac, the excellent iMovie comes with it. For PC users, Windows 10's Photos app (as of the Fall Creators Update) lets you join, trim, and even add background music, 3D animated effects, and titles to video.
There are also some free video apps on the Windows Store, including Movie Moments, PowerDirector Mobile, Movie Maker, and Magix Movie Edit Touch. Some of these are quite basic, but the Magix app is fairly capable, with clip joining, transitions, and effects, in a very touch-friendly interface.
Free video editing software often comes with legal and technical limitations, however. Some widely used codecs require licensing fees on the part of the software maker, meaning they can't offer free software that can handle these standard file formats. That said, the impressive open-source Shotcut does a lot of the same things that the paid applications in this roundup do, including things like chroma-keying and picture-in-picture. Shotcut is completely open-source and free, while another free option, Lightworks has paid options that remove a 720p output resolution limit. Note also that both Shotcut and Lightworks run on Linux as well as Windows and Mac.
What About Apple?
Though Mac users don't have the sheer number of software choices available for PCs, Apple fans interested in editing video are well served, by four products in particular. At the entry level, the surprisingly capable and enjoyable-to-use iMovie comes free with every Mac sold since at least 2011. iMovie only offers two video tracks, but does good job with chroma-keying, and its Trailers feature makes it easy to produce slick, Hollywood-style productions.
In the midrange, there's Adobe Premiere Elements, which is cross-platform between Macs and PCs, and offers a lot more features and lots of help with creating effects. Professionals and prosumers have powerful, though pricey options in Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro. Final Cut is a deceptively simple application that resembles iMovie in its interface and ease of use, but it offers massively deep capabilities, and many third-party apps integrate with it for even more power. It also makes excellent use of the Touch Bar on the latest MacBook Pro, as shown in photo above. Premiere Pro uses a more traditional timeline and adds a large ecosystem of companion apps and plug-ins. It also excels in collaboration features.
Audio Editing
We still live in the days of talkies, so you want to be able to edit the audio in your digital moves as well as the images. Most of the products included here offer canned background music, and many, such as Pinnacle Studio, can even tailor the soundtrack to the exact length of your movie. All of these programs can separate audio and video tracks, and most can clean up background noise and add environmental audio effects such as concert hall reverb. A couple of the products have an auto-ducking feature, which lowers background music during dialog—a definite pro-level plus.
What's Not Here
There are more video editing software applications than we can fit into this roundup of the best options, which includes only software rated three stars and higher. The best known among them is probably Vegas Movie Studio, which was recently acquired by Magix from Sony. Sony's product used a very cluttered interface that more resembled high-end professional video editing software from the early days of the craft. Magix has made some progress in simplifying it and bringing it up to par with the competition, but more work is needed for it to be included here.
Another program, VSDC Video Editor Pro, simply has too outdated an interface, making common tasks difficult. Longtime pro video editors will note the absence of Avid Media Composer, which is simply too unwieldy for PCMag's primarily consumer audience. There are a couple of more interesting applications—NCH VideoPad and AVS Video Editor among them—that we simply haven't tested yet. Best mechanical keyboard for mac 2018 football.
The Finish Line
The video editing application you choose depends on your budget, the equipment you're using, and how serious you are. Fortunately, you're spoiled for choice with the products available. Peruse our in-depth reviews of enthusiast-level video editing software reviews linked below to see which is the right one for you.
One final note about the features table at the top of this story: Check marks represent differentiating, above-the-call-of-duty features, rather than essential ones. So, just because Nero Video and Wondershare Filmora don't have any checks, it doesn't mean they're not good choices. In fact, both offer decent basic editing on a budget.
Best Video Editing Software Featured in This Roundup:
Adobe Premiere Pro CC Review
MSRP: $19.99Pros: Clear, flexible interface. Lots of organizational tools. Responsive speed. Ultimate power in video editing. Rich ecosystem of video production apps. Excellent stabilization. Unlimited multi-cam angles.Cons: No keyword tagging for media. Some techniques require additional applications such as After Effects or SpeedGrade.Bottom Line: An expansive professional-level digital video editing program, Premiere Pro CC has everything today's pro video editor needs, particularly when it comes to collaboration.Read ReviewCyberLink PowerDirector Review
MSRP: $129.99Pros: Fast rendering. Clear interface. Loads of effects. The most 360-degree video capabilities of any video editor. Multicam editing. 3D and 4K capability. Motion tracking. Screen recording.Cons: No trimming in source panel. Number of options can make interface overwhelming. Weak color matching.Bottom Line: PowerDirector is one of the fastest and most capable consumer-level video editing apps for Windows around, and the first to support 360-degree VR footage.Read ReviewCorel VideoStudio Ultimate Review
MSRP: $99.99Pros: Wide selection of fun video-creation tools. Clear, simple interface. Fast rendering. Support for 360-degree VR, 4K Ultra HD, and 3D media. Multipoint Motion tracking. Multicam editing. HTML5 video page creation. Stop-motion tool.Cons: No keyword tagging for media.Bottom Line: Corel VideoStudio remains one of the most feature-packed consumer video editing packages around. The 2019 update adds powerful color-grading tools, seamless transitions, and text masks.Read ReviewPinnacle Studio Ultimate Review
MSRP: $129.95Pros: Clear interface. Edits 360-degree VR content. Fast rendering performance in testing. Tons of effects. Multicam editing. 4K and H.265 support. Tagging and star ratings for media. Good audio tools.Cons: Motion tracking issues on one test PC. Occasional crashes in testing. Uneven 360-degree VR implementation.Bottom Line: Pinnacle Studio is a fast, full-featured, near-professional-level video-editing application with support for 360-degree VR, 3D, and multicam edits. New color grading and four-point editing make it even more appealing, though our testing uncovered some instabilities.Read ReviewMagix Movie Edit Pro Premium Review
MSRP: $129.99Pros: Lots of video effects. Multicam. Good titling tools. Trailer-like movie templates. Solid audio editing tools. Strong disc authoring. Fast rendering. Good stability. 360-degree media support.Cons: Not much help with difficult procedures. Lacks import and organization tools. Extra costs and coded downloads for some video formats.Bottom Line: Now with faster rendering, Movie Edit Pro offers solid stability, up-to-date support for 4K, 360-degree, and multicam editing, but it trails other video editing software in ease-of-use.Read ReviewAdobe Premiere Elements Review
MSRP: $99.99Pros: Clear, simple interface. Guided Edits ease basic and advanced projects. Lots of video effects. Solid text tools. Powerful Audio editing. Good control over stabilization. 4K support.Cons: No 360-degree VR or 3D editing. No multicam feature or screen recording capability. Slow rendering speeds. No HEVC support in Windows.Bottom Line: Adobe's consumer video editing app adds a new start page, Auto Creations, a redesigned quick-editing interface, and faster performance.Read ReviewWondershare Filmora Review
MSRP: $59.99Pros: Pleasing interface. Inexpensive. Lots of effects and overlays. Good title tool.Cons: Action Cam and Cutter modes only allow one clip at a time. No search for effects or transitions. No motion tracking. No DVD menu or chapter authoring. Not a touch-friendly interface.Bottom Line: Wondershare's Filmora video editing software may not have multicam or the hottest new VR tools, but it does have a pleasing interface and lots of effects.Read ReviewApple Final Cut Pro X Review
MSRP: $299.99Pros: Magnetic, trackless timeline. Superior organization tools, including libraries, ratings, tagging, auto analysis for faces, scenes. Support for 360-degree footage and HDR. Multicam support. Fast performance. MacBook Touch Bar support.Cons: Nontraditional timeline-editing may turn off longtime editors. Can't import projects from previous versions without a third-party plug-in. No stabilization or motion tracking for 360-degree video.Bottom Line: Apple's professional-level video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, brings a wealth of power in an interface simple for pros and consumers alike. Recent highlights include rich support for 360-degree content and improved stability.Read ReviewNero Video Review
MSRP: $49.99Pros: Inexpensive. Plenty of video effects. Good audio tools. Solid file format support, including H.265. Compatible with 4K content. Burns DVD, Blu-ray, and AVCHD.Cons: Light on features. Outdated, unconventional interface. No 360 or 3D support. No motion tracking. No direct output to social networks.Bottom Line: For less money than the competition, Nero offers a wide array of enthusiast-level video editing capabilities, but the interface is dated and it trails in support for new formats and techniques.Read ReviewApple iMovie Review
MSRP: $0.00Pros: Beautifully simple interface. Color matching for consistent movie looks. Classy themes. Great chroma-keying tool. Lots of audio tools. Theater feature shares movies to all your Apple gear.Cons: Not as flexible as some PC video editors. In the name of simplicity, some useful controls are missing. Does not support tagging. Lacks multicam or motion tracking capabilities. Limited to two video tracks.Bottom Line: Apple's excellent entry-level desktop video editing application can turn your footage and photos into impressive productions.Read Review
It is often believed that Apple has forged together a mighty fortress around its products be it the Macbook, iPhone or iPad insofar as tackling the influx of freeware is concerned. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t come across a reliable software that is not paid on OS X. The predicament is also true for video editing programs. After all, there are hundreds of programs clamouring for the coveted spot of the best free video editing software for Mac. In such a scenario, how does one expect to come across a formidable video editing program that can be used for crafting videos for YouTube? By going through our roundup of the best free video editing software for Mac, of course!
These free video editors that we managed to scour on the internet are all adept in one way or the other. Some of them are open-source, while some run across platforms. Without further ado, let’s get started-:
An open-source Mac video editing program, Kdenlive or KDE Non-linear video editor is based on MLT Framework which harps on flexibility and ease of use for users. Since Kdenlive is a non-linear video editor, you can always revert to your previous settings. Compared with other video editors on the market, this brilliant software is renowned for supporting all sorts of output and input formats including the likes of AVI, FlashVideo, WMV, MPEG and QuickTime.
It also packs a resplendent set of plugin effects for video and audio processing. Moreover, Kdenlive brings to the forefront a powerful titling tool that can be harnessed by both advanced as well as beginner users.
Interestingly, it also supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios for NTSC, PAL, and some HD standards including HDV and AVCHD. In fact, Kdenlive gives enough leeway to users for ripping videos on a DVD via its smooth and simple menu. So much so, you would be glad to know that it can export videos to any DV device as well.
If you are on the lookout for a no-frills attached video editor with absolutely no knick-knacks on its UI, then Avidemux is highly recommended. Not only is Avidemux intrinsically designed for some great filtering, encoding and simple cutting tasks, but it is available across platforms such as Microsoft Windows, Linux and BSD. The novelty factor that injects Avidemux into our list of the best free video editing software for Mac is its high compatibility with hordes of input/output video formats.
For instance, Avidemux supports a variety of video, photo and audio formats that are all DVD compatible such as ASF, AVI, MOV, MPEG, MP4, AAC, AC3, JPG, et al.
Much on the lines of Avidemux, Blender too is available across platforms such as Windows, GNU/Linux, OpenBSD and FreeBSD. Its USP lies in being a free 3D graphics application that can be used for rigging, texturing, skinning, modeling, animating, UV unwrapping, rendering, adding water and smoke simulations, et al. to name a few.
Blender is also a non-linear video editor so you can go back and forth through your edits seamlessly. What’s more, it sports a barrage of features such as particle simulations, visual effects, compositing, video game templates, interactive 3D applications, and some great animated filters. If you are an advanced video editing enthusiast, then Blender packs all the right punches and is definitely one of the best free video editing software for Mac to go after.
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Overall, with a ton of advanced features including modifier-based modeling tools, character animation tools, Python for embedded scripting, and a node-based material, Blender is indeed a powerhouse of video editing on Mac.
Another open-source entity, OpenShot Video Editor like most of its ilk is incredibly simple and makes video editing nuances easy and quick for beginner users to learn. Despite being a powerful cross-platform software which also runs on Windows, and Linux, OpenShot Video Editor packs an array of rich features such as 3D animations, slow motion and other time effects, to name a few.
For those who work for hours on end splicing up videos, you would be delighted to know that OpenShot supports unlimited tracks on its dashboard with sublime trim and slice capabilities. Not to mention, users can make use of its rich animation framework to bounce, slide, fade, and animate elements. Also, there are tons of video titles and effects to choose from, all of which make OpenShot a paradise for slick video editing.
Shotcut is a robust open-source video editor that can deliver impressive results on the lines of OpenShot. In fact, it is replete with loads of dazzling features that are well complemented by an immersive and great-looking interface which resembles a top-notch paid video editing program more than a free open-source software.
Moreover, it also supports a wide range of video files and output/input formats including 4K video. But, Shotcut’s USP lies in being the best free video editing software for Mac users who work extensively with audio files and use audio effects frequently. Nevertheless, this free video editing software also packs some impressive video effects including compositing and transitions.
Without a doubt one of the most powerful video editors in the game right now, Lightworks includes some snazzy goodies such as multi-cam editing, titling, video effects, etc. complemented by a multi-layered timeline approach and non-linear editing. Remember, timeline style of editing offers more control to snip away at videos and it is something one would expect from a comprehensive editor like Lightworks. In fact, you can create some incredibly polished video content via over 100 effects available on Lightworks timeline and avail stock audio/videos from Audio Network and Pond5.
Also, you can even render or export your project in 720p output to YouTube and 1080p output to Vimeo. Moreover, with a vast toolkit at the helm, Lightworks is ideal for intermediate users who want to get the most of out a free video editor.
If you are seeking a full-fledged video editing program that dons many hats, then HyperEngine-AV is one of the best free video editing software for Mac users. Powered by twelve studio-quality effects from Arboretum’s Hyperprism audio processors, HyperEngine-AV is a hyper beast, literally. Of course, it can do all the basic video editing stuff such as capture, organize, edit, process, and render video/audio/text for creating high-definition DVD quality movies and even create slideshows.
What’s more, it offers some sublime text features for displaying opening/ending credits, karaoke lyrics and section titles with proper scroll direction, alignment and editable font, style, colour, and size.
A staple of Mac computers, iMovie comes bundled with every new Mac OS X and is absolutely free. Its latest iteration, iMovie 11 sets the bar higher and comes loaded with some great features such as audio editing, one step effects and movie trailer, etc. Always renowned for its social media integration, iMovie lets you share your edited movies to YouTube or export videos to your iPhone, iPad, in just a few steps.
But, bear in mind iMovie is exclusively free if only you buy a new Mac. That being said, iMovie is still considered as one of the best free video editing software for Mac users and enjoys a good reputation.
What would a list of the best free video editing software for Mac be without mentioning Da Vinci Resolve? Bolstered by the same high-quality image processing abilities as its premium version, the free version of Da Vinci Resolve is a powerful video editor boasting some of the finest colour correction capabilities that are hard to find in other free or premium programs. So much so, it works seamlessly with external hardware panels to pave the way for faster editing.
Mac For Video Editing Specs
Moreover, Da Vinci Resolve can output in SD, HD and Ultra HD video quality, which is enough to satiate most users. However, professional users might feel disappointed with limitations on some advanced grading and tracking tools.
SEE ALSO: Best Video Editing Software for Beginners
Don’t mistake it for VLC Media Player, which is a video player/converter. Although, VideoLan Movie Creator is also developed by VideoLan Organization for playing videos and some media formats. But, it is a great stepping stone for beginners who are just learning the tricks of video editing and starting to explore movie creation.
Not only does VideoLan Movie Creator provide convenience for creating movies thanks to its simple and easy-to-use interface, but also churns out videos in high quality. However, there is one slight glitch. Some users have experienced issues pertaining to sudden crashes while running this program.
And…that’s a wrap! So, did you like our roundup of the best free video editing software for Mac? Did we miss out on any good editing software that you know of? Sound off in the comments.
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Best Mac For Video Editing Mac Pro Vs Imac
SEE ALSO: Best Free Video Converters for Mac