Video Editing Software better than Windows Movie Maker

[TechXRenAgadeX]

Hey guys

So I have been using Windows Movie Maker for editing alot of videos of various things I have done for years. They havn't been very major everything that has been major my friend who goes to school for film usually edits the videos we shoot using his programs but hes been real busy so I'm going to start taking on alot of the workload but Windows Movie Maker isn't cutting it. I love how easy it is but i do know it looks cheap and I cant overlay pictures over my videos -___-. So I'm turning to you guys to give me some advice on a solid video editing software alternative to this. I have used Final Cut Pro before but my computer isn't a Mac and i heard there is a big learning curve to Adobe products. Sony Vegas I've heard good things has anyone used this or can you recommend a good program for me? Thanks

[samsonlonghair]

You want adobe premiere. Yes, Adboe products do have a learning curve, but so will any video editor worth a darn. Look up tutorials on youtube. It's not too hard.

[J T]

I like Adobe Premier as well. I used to use it a lot back in the late 90s/early 00s, and even back then it was better than Windows Movie Editor is now. I haven't used anything else though.

I know that Final Cut Pro has become the main software that people use these days, and it was used to make movies like True Grit and The Social Network, so depending on how pro you want to go, that might be another worthwhile option.

[johnblade]

Hey guys

So I have been using Windows Movie Maker for editing alot of videos of various things I have done for years. They havn't been very major everything that has been major my friend who goes to school for film usually edits the videos we shoot using his programs but hes been real busy so I'm going to start taking on alot of the workload but Windows Movie Maker isn't cutting it. I love how easy it is but i do know it looks cheap and I cant overlay pictures over my videos -___-. So I'm turning to you guys to give me some advice on a solid video editing software alternative to this. I have used Final Cut Pro before but my computer isn't a Mac and i heard there is a big learning curve to Adobe products. Sony Vegas I've heard good things has anyone used this or can you recommend a good program for me? Thanks

As a former video editor for 5 year and now doing this as a hobby, I did use quite a bit of major software in the market. It come down to how much time you want to give yourself to understand the software from inside and out (aka: the more you put more time into it, the better the final work will come out). If you want an editing software that hold your hand a bit doing the post editing but give you some control when doing some edited, Sony Vegas Pro is the one I would recommend to look at for Windows.

Before other people here start looking down at me, let me explain. Sony Vega Pro is an easy video editing software for average people who can play around but at the same time give you some control of how to editing your video (whether it's a family trip video to a small skit you're making for youtube) without spending too much time of how to use it. Yes, because of this ease, you're very limited in certain things that other editing software in the market (Adobe Premiere Pro CS, Avid’s Media Composer, Final Cut Pro 10, and many more) will let the editors have more control.

For Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro, they're kinda the indie industry side of video editing software. Both use in making movie in holy wood and also software you need to have good understanding if you want to do any editing work in the industry. Both give the editor more control of how they want to edited the video while at the same time try to make it easy for them to do they work. I have use both in my time (Final Cut Pro 7 and Premiere 7.0) and I stick with Final Cut Pro at that time because of the instability I have with Premiere which have been fix long time ago when I left the industry. This is where most people will tell you to try to learn how to do video editing (which I agree). The difference between those two isn't crazy and you should be okay to transfer your knowledge from one software to another (or stick with Premiere Pro as they have both Windows and MacOS). But still,you need to spend quite a bit of times to understand the software and how to use it. It won't be easy but if you put enough time, it will make your life easy.

Then they is Avid’s Media Composer. That is basically industry standard for video editing software period. If you learn how to use this software professionally, you're basically set as this is where other editing software based on in somewhere or another. I never have a chance to do training with this software but from people I know who still in the industry, they did and the amount you can do in editing is kinda crazy. I won't recommenced you to try to use this software as this is something you really need to put your time into it (I mean going to college just to use this software in editing). Most likely you will get up here as it will be too much for you.

For now, stick to either Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro as the software to look for. I don't know what you're doing right now for editing but if it's something basic, those two are fine but would push a bit to Premiere just so you have more choice down the road if you want to do video editing not as a hobby but a bit more .

[Cronozilla]

There's also Lightworks which is professional software as well. There's a free version, the only downside is they've now limited output to MP4 at 720p.

It has a learning curve, for sure, but it's also non-linear and it does several things excellently. The YouTube account for the manufacturer also has hours of tutorials.

Tossing another option on the fire.

[johnblade]

There's also Lightworks which is professional software as well. There's a free version, the only downside is they've now limited output to MP4 at 720p.

It has a learning curve, for sure, but it's also non-linear and it does several things excellently. The YouTube account for the manufacturer also has hours of tutorials.

Tossing another option on the fire.

Another Software I heard but never try. Man....wish I try all the software when I have a chance.

[BRIK]

I used Vegas for many years but now I'm strictly a P. Pro man. It gives you a lot more freedom to pull off what you want.
Sure it does have a bit of a learning curve, but the basics could easily be learnt using online tutorials within a week.

[marurun]

Adobe Products are now available subscription-style. You can't even buy them outright any more. The down side is that if you use them constantly over a long stretch of time, they are expensive. The up side is that if you only need them every once in a while, you pay for a month of use, do all your editing, and then you stop paying.

[Metal Jesus]

Any pro-level video editing software will have a learning curve because they give you total control over everything you want in the frame...and in my opinion it's worth the investment if you plan on editing video for a while.

The good news is that once you learn one, you can typically move over to another after about a week, as the concepts are usually the same across software.

That said, the easiest and best in my opinion is iMovie for starting out. I know you mentioned you are on a PC but buying a 3 year old Macbook with iMovie may be a good investment AND it's easier to move to Final Cut Pro X eventually now that Apple has made the interfaces very similar

[TechXRenAgadeX]

Hey guys thanks for the ideas helps me out alot