When it comes to video editing software, there are numerous options and types available. With so many choices, finding the right software for your specific project can be a challenge. There is editing software that you can use anywhere for free online and there is software that requires a powerful computer and costs thousands of dollars. With such variance in cost, type, and power, it is important that you carefully research what type of video editing software is appropriate for the project at hand. Before running out and buying something, try these few tips and tricks to save some money and better understand your options.
Try It Out for Free
Before shelling out the cash for the more expensive high end software, give the free options a run through. You may find that the free software options have the features you’re looking for. iMovie (on Macs) and Movie Maker (on Windows) come installed on new computers and tend to be fairly intuitive to use. These options are free and often have inexpensive or free upgrades that you can find online. Find upgrades for iMovie here and upgrades for Movie Maker here. The features, graphics, and special effects offered on these free editing options are often perfect for hobby video enthusiasts and can be great for beginning video editors. Trying out these options initially is a good first step. You may find that one of these free options provides everything you need.
Try before You Buy
If you’ve tried out the free options on your existing computer or available online and you think you need something more powerful or with other features, you should consider purchasing more sophisticated video software. There are many purchasable video editing software options available such as Avid, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe. Because these options can vary in price and editing features, trying them out before you buy may be extremely useful.
Check out your community schools and libraries to see if they have video editing software that you have borrow or rent. You could also try contacting video professionals in your town or city and see if they have software that is available to use or rent. Moreover, many higher end editing software offer free limited trials. These trials are a good way to explore your options without making a major commitment. With the ability to try out the software before you purchase it, you can decide which programs feel most comfortable for you and meet your primary needs. The best way to determine which software to buy is to find the software that you are most comfortable using.
A Few of Your Options
Pinnacle Studio (by Avid)
This is one of the more reasonably priced options available for video editing software. With a fairly intuitive interface, Pinnacle Studio is relatively easy to get started with and provides a lot of feature that you can learn to use as you become more fluent with the software. This software offers several extremely useful features and provides both standard definition and hi definition options. The biggest setback that Pinnacle Studio seems to have is that running the hi definition option will run your PC very hard and the program uses a tremendous amount of hard drive space.
Adobe Premiere
This software is definitely one of the crowd favorites for video editing software. There are several different versions of the software available at varying prices. The larger the price tag the more features and functions the software will offer. Adobe offers several attractive video transitions and various audio overlaying options that many people are pleased with. There are some limitations to the text animations that the software offers and the cost is roughly over 500 dollars.
Apple Final Cut Studio
This software is by far one of the best video editing packages available. With numerous useful features and a clear and attractive interface, Final Cut boasts one of the best all-around packages. Even a few major motion pictures have even been edited using this software. That being said, Apple Final Cut Studio is very expensive (over 1000 dollars) and is only available for Mac OS. There are other versions of Apple Final Cut that are less expense, but also offer fewer features.
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This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes for online universities blog. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.