cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I'm a seasoned photographer interested in at least trying out video capture. What do you folks use for video editing. Not looking for anything expensive, at least not initially, nor anything overly complex. To start, just being able to extract a short clip from a longer video and have something I can post would make me very happy. I am a Lr Classic user. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

I have Adobe Premiere, but use Microsoft Movie Maker for quick edits. So easy to use. I’m interested in what others have to say. Premiere is a very deep (read: difficult for me) program.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Cinelerra. http://www.cinelerra.org It's free.
--Bob

pixbyjnjphotos Loc: Apache Junction,AZ

I just shot a one hour event with a Sony video camera. Had about 10 segments of video to put together. It already had sound so no audio to add. I tried several programs and ended up using the cheap ($49) version of Vegas Video. It worked out very well. Produced a pretty good quality video to burn on DVD. Found it fairly easy to use just the basics to put together my video. Vegas Video has a lot of features that I didn't use. It is rated in the top 10 programs by the reviews I found. If you have the facility to use Linux, Open Shot works very well. I have used it in the past. Couldn't use it this time since the computer I have Linux on only has 2 gig of ram. Wasn't enough to make it work. Have a GREAT DAY!

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

I'm a retired film/video editor. And while I use Premier most of the time, I have found that Premier Elements is a very good starter program, with lots of useful tools and is not at all difficult to learn.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Chris,

I had that question six years ago when my granddaughters wanted to make videos. I started following the Adobe Premiere Elements forum, gradually started answering other's questions and last year Adobe appointed me as an "Adobe Community Professional" or "ACP"! My goal is to help one person a day. Doing so has built my knowledge of Premiere Elements and I've become biased. It is my recommendation. It does have a free trial. Shoot a few clips, install the trial and see for yourself.

That said, there are about a half dozen good programs for video editing that are priced under $100. I would be happy to list them for you. The all have fans.

The initial reason that I started picked Adobe Premiere Elements from the group was because of a high quality and fascinating course on Linda.com. It took me a couple days and $30 to gain the skills to make videos with titles, music tracks, etc.

Before you go that route, you might use what is in Lightroom Classic. It has a video editor built in! It will definitely "extract a short clip from a longer video and have something [you] can post". You can even bind the extracted clips into a "slideshow" and export a video file. Respond if you want more information on where to start.

One of the unique features in Premiere Elements is that it can work with Lightroom's processed RAW files to make slide shows or mixed photo and clip composites. For example, you can put your best RAW shots from a trip into Lightroom, develop them, load them into Premiere Elements, add a title, exactly fit background music, export an MP4 video file and put it on YouTube for friends and family.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Burtzy, I would love to hear more of your story!

Barn Owl

I received the advice from a "Hogger" to buy Corel VideoStudio. I notice they have a newer version than mine. Any rate, I had to learn how to avoid the crashes (I use Win 10.) and slight variances in how I initially designed a video and how it appeared as a final MP4. In addition, if you don't care about their templates, there is a steep "learning curve" with No verbal technical help. The available recent tutor program on YouTube were helpful. I wish Corel would support more updated choices on YouTube--especially for people who don't use templates. I am disappointed with VideoStudio limited number of music choices. (In fairness, the ones they do supply are useful--especially for family videos). If I had the time, I could write a two page outline to Corel and tell them corrections they need to address in VideoStudio. Nonetheless, I recommend the software for those with a bunch of self-determination and wanting a relatively inexpensive program. Once you master VideoStudio, it proves to be a good purchase.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

Hi Bill. I was a film editor since 1977, (apprentice, assistant, editor...the usual route.) During that period, I worked on lots of feature films, many uncredited, (like as a sound editor on Star Wars. Not as exciting as it sounds...almost everyone in Hollywood was cutting sequences for that one) In 1980, due to the actor's strike, I moved into sound editing since it offered more stability and then back and forth between picture and sound for a while. But I had cut several projects, all on film at that time. I spent some years working in television, on shows like Dallas, Knots Landing and Flamingo Road. I moved back into feature films in 1984 and worked on Goonies, The Color Purple, Amazing Stories and a long list of television movies and special projects. I have two Emmy's (both in Sound Editing), an Oscar nomination and several peer awards, most of which no one will have heard of. I have worked for Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro and Michael Jackson among many others. When I retired a few years back, I had a lot of photographic and video gear, so I started a business from my home. It has grown slowly, which is fine with me. I don't want to work too hard. I edit on Premier and Elements, depending on what I am cutting. (Cutting is a term I use since cutting is what we did to film.) I know almost everyone in the business but am nowhere near as famous the pets of any of the people I know.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

I have used a number of programs but I just discovered one that is fantastic and for most uses it's free. Product name is DaVinci Resolve by BlackMagic Design. you can check it out and download it here: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
The full studio program is $299 but the free program has 95% of what the paid program has in it. For me I'll purchase it when I start doing 4k video that the free version won't handle. There are some really good tutorials on you tube. Be sure to search for DaVinci Resolve 14.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Windows Movie Maker is free and will do what you want. If you get serious about making videos I'd recommend Adobe Premiere plus Adobe Audition for editing sound. Premiere and Audition work together to do sound and video editing on a single platform.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

By the way, DaVinci Resolve has a sound editing program built in that is exceptional so it eliminates the need for a separate audio program.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I tried DaVinci Resolve a couple of years ago when it first came out. It came with a downloadable 1,000+ page manual. I tried but just couldn't figure out how to use it. Much like Gimp, another free program that I just couldn't get the hang of using. I found Premiere Pro easy to use, and I had been using Audition for years from when it was free Cool Edit Pro, before Adobe bought it. Premiere Pro is a lot like Photoshop in that there are many youtube videos to explain any feature you get stuck on. And like Photoshop, much of it can be used in a relatively easy fashion, with many of the same features (cropping, highlights and shadows, color intensity, etc). Audition has eq, echo, etc. and you can offset the start of the video and audio clips on the timeline to make the audio precede the video if you like. DaVinci may have all the same features. I am using CS6 so there is no monthly fee.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

The new DaVinci Resolve 14 is a lot easier to use and there's a lot of help on YouTube. It's a lot more integrate than the older version of Resolve and Primer and a heck of a lot cheaper.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I'm using CS6 so there's no monthly fee. I couldn't use the free version of Davinci anyway because I am shooting 4K video now with my Coolpix B700.
How did you find the leaning curve with Davinci Resolve14? Does it have all the features of Premiere like cropping, multiple windows, fast/slow motion with/without changing the pitch of the audio, film dissolve transitions and fades, color grading, creating spotlights, changing the color of the light?