Video Editing - Which applications do you use?

N

Neo

New member
I've started with the idea of getting into Video editing. I'd like to make high quality videos - and for that I have my Canon EOS 60D with a few great lenses. The video quality is amazing, but of course I need to be able to edit the footage and add some effects and text here and there.

I've purchased Adobe After Effects to help out with this as it seems you can do a lot with it, and I also have Photoshop CS6 which can help with colour correction and basic cutting etc.

To those of you who've made some videos, maybe for youtube or the likes, what Video Editing software did you use?
 
I am a video editor and used Sony Vegas 10 for a good few years before moving on to Adobe Premiere for one project and have now settled on Final Cut Pro X on Mac.

Sony Vegas or Premiere are probably the best PC edit programs available, although Vegas was the easiest for me to get into.
 
bradbear117 said:
I am a video editor and used Sony Vegas 10 for a good few years before moving on to Adobe Premiere for one project and have now settled on Final Cut Pro X on Mac.

Sony Vegas or Premiere are probably the best PC edit programs available, although Vegas was the easiest for me to get into.
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+1 for Sony Vegas. Great program. Before that I used to use Corel Video Studio but it's quite limited in what it can do.
 
I learned Premier and After Effects, but I've never actually used them. Forgot almost all of it by now. :o
 
Does Sony Vegas have capabilities and features that you can't do in After Effects? From what I've been reading / watching, it seems like After Effects is a little more "worth while" to learn. Adobe Premier seems like overkill for the videos I want to make.
 
cyberlink powerdirector is pretty easy to use, received a copy of Powerdirector 11 with my dv cam a few years ago
 
Here's an example of a video that I'd like to be able to do. Notice the text effects and subtle effects like outlines and lines etc. Would I be able to do this with After Effects?

 
Neo said:
Does Sony Vegas have capabilities and features that you can't do in After Effects? From what I've been reading / watching, it seems like After Effects is a little more "worth while" to learn. Adobe Premier seems like overkill for the videos I want to make.
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No After Effects is definitely the better program, but going straight to that with no prior video-editing experience is pretty terrifying. Definitely worth while to learn that if you have the time/motivation.
 
Neo said:
Here's an example of a video that I'd like to be able to do. Notice the text effects and subtle effects like outlines and lines etc. Would I be able to do this with After Effects?

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Seems like you want to do more on the compositing side of things and After Effects is the program for that for sure. You can do all that stuff with Vegas too, actually most video editors can do that but not on their own. They will have to be used in conjunction with photoshop or similar so you can have transparent layers etc.

Sony Vegas will have you up and editing within a day. After Effects is going to require some study. I opened After Effects once to check it out but I just don't have the time or need to learn it at this stage. I really should though.

edit* I suggest knuckling down with AE to get the exact results you want from the get go. Prepare for a steep learning curve but will be very much worth it in the end.
 
I think you should definitely do your editing in Premiere. The new Final Cut is not so nice, and the interface of Premiere is fairly similar to the older Final Cut, with the added ability of multi-platform use.
 
I'm looking for video editing software as well but my needs are much more basic than Neo's: I want to be able to edit some home movies, play with the soundtrack and do a little title editing and transition effects.
Can anybody recommend freeware/opens source (or failing that something around the R200 price point) that won't be too difficult to learn and won't install a copy of every piece of spyware known to man on my PC?
 
Mister 44 said:
I'm looking for video editing software as well but my needs are much more basic than Neo's: I want to be able to edit some home movies, play with the soundtrack and do a little title editing and transition effects.
Can anybody recommend freeware/opens source (or failing that something around the R200 price point) that won't be too difficult to learn and won't install a copy of every piece of spyware known to man on my PC?
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Windows Movie Maker would be good enough for those purposes, used it in my early days of experimenting with video editing. Not sure whether it's still included with the newer copies of Windows though (as it was with XP). Haven't used it in so long I haven't checked if Windows 7 has it.
 
Mister 44 said:
I'm looking for video editing software as well but my needs are much more basic than Neo's: I want to be able to edit some home movies, play with the soundtrack and do a little title editing and transition effects.
Can anybody recommend freeware/opens source (or failing that something around the R200 price point) that won't be too difficult to learn and won't install a copy of every piece of spyware known to man on my PC?
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Out of all the open source/free editors I've seen this looks about the best: http://www.lwks.com/ though I've never tried it.

The most widely acclaimed open source editor is Kdenlive but does not work with windows unfortunately. Linux only.
 
brendanvb said:
Windows Movie Maker would be good enough for those purposes, used it in my early days of experimenting with video editing. Not sure whether it's still included with the newer copies of Windows though (as it was with XP). Haven't used it in so long I haven't checked if Windows 7 has it.
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I'll have a look again, but I tried it a few years ago and it had a nasty habit of crashing on me. IIRC, it is pretty limited in file formats as well, even if you have the codecs installed on your system. Maybe the Windows 8 version is more stable.

bradbear117 said:
Out of all the open source/free editors I've seen this looks about the best: http://www.lwks.com/ though I've never tried it.

The most widely acclaimed open source editor is Kdenlive but does not work with windows unfortunately. Linux only.
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Thanks, I'll give it shot.
 
From my Experience, Adobe Premier is easy for simply editing your video and sound, putting in titles, etc... After effects is a package that can achieve a lot more, and do the same thing as Premier. After effects as it says in the title is great for adding things to your footage, doing a bit of motion graphic stuff, but it will take quite a bit of time to learn...

So my recommendation would be to push through with After Effects, or take a look at Autodesk Combustion...

 
Mister 44 said:
I'll have a look again, but I tried it a few years ago and it had a nasty habit of crashing on me. IIRC, it is pretty limited in file formats as well, even if you have the codecs installed on your system. Maybe the Windows 8 version is more stable.
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Yeah sorry, forgot about things such as formats. Now I remember the insanely huge files a little 5 minute video I created would be. And back with the XP version I don't think it supported HD resolutions. Hopefully they've improved things like that with a newer version.
 
Before I started working as a journalist I worked as a video editor and worked with Final Cut Pro - I have to echo Pooky's sentiments though, once it "upgraded" to Final Cut Pro X, it changed completely. I didn't stay in the industry long after that, but I started using Premier between the change and me leaving my old job.

After Effects is an absolutely amazing program to use - it's not ideal for offline editing, but for grading (especially if you have the right plugins) and other post-production effects it's seriously cool. It takes some practice, but like Photoshop, once you understand the fundamentals and get to grips with the space you're working in, you can pull off top-notch stuff with that beast.

If you want to get into After Effects, look at Andrew Cramer's tutorials at VideoCoPilot - you'll be astounded at what you can do, and how easy he makes it look.
 
qornea said:
Before I started working as a journalist I worked as a video editor and worked with Final Cut Pro - I have to echo Pooky's sentiments though, once it "upgraded" to Final Cut Pro X, it changed completely. I didn't stay in the industry long after that, but I started using Premier between the change and me leaving my old job.

After Effects is an absolutely amazing program to use - it's not ideal for offline editing, but for grading (especially if you have the right plugins) and other post-production effects it's seriously cool. It takes some practice, but like Photoshop, once you understand the fundamentals and get to grips with the space you're working in, you can pull off top-notch stuff with that beast.

If you want to get into After Effects, look at Andrew Cramer's tutorials at VideoCoPilot - you'll be astounded at what you can do, and how easy he makes it look.
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Yes when FCPX was first released it was not great at all. It had quite a number of initial deficiencies which have since been resolved. Why they released FCPX in that state is beyond me. It was basically iMovie So. Apple botched the release big time causing many Final Cut users to stick with 7 or move over to Premiere.

3 years down the line and FCPX is just awesome, they actually have a 10 year development plan so new functionalities are being added and addressed all the time.

Apple is still a douche company though, Im no fanboy at all for various reasons. Only reason I work on Apple and FCP is that its currently industry standard and clients think you are the shizniz and are worth your salt if you work with certain equipment. stupid.:mad:
 
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