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Bryan Lisowski
08-28-2018, 2:49 PM
Does anyone have recommendations for free video editing software? I am familiar with iMovie, but I will not be using an iPhone or iPad to shoot these videos. Basically as my son gets older playing hockey and lacrosse I would like to try and put together a highlight reel. Since I'm not sure how well this will work with sports in which constant movement is expected, I don't want to invest in something right off the bat. So any recommendations would be appreciated.

Bryan

Jim Becker
08-28-2018, 3:41 PM
If you're on Windows, Win10 has a Video Editor application included.

Bryan Lisowski
08-28-2018, 3:47 PM
I am using Windows 7. Probably should have mentioned that in original post.

Jim Becker
08-28-2018, 5:32 PM
I thought Microsoft included an application for video editing on Win7, too...but I don't have a copy to look at. My VM on my Mac is at Win10 and my CNC machine's controller PC is also Win10.

Dave Lehnert
08-28-2018, 9:28 PM
I have used a program called Lightworks. Have not messed with it much but it seems to work for my very, very limited use.

Dave Lehnert
08-28-2018, 9:29 PM
If you're on Windows, Win10 has a Video Editor application included.



Thanks Jim for pointing it out. Never noticed it before. Tagged "New" so must have been included in an update???

Bryan Lisowski
08-29-2018, 10:11 AM
I have used a program called Lightworks. Have not messed with it much but it seems to work for my very, very limited use.

Dave, this is 1 that I have researched, even with your limited use, how easy is it to figure out?

Robert Hazelwood
08-29-2018, 1:54 PM
I have used lightworks. It's actually a very capable program. Not as intuitive as iMovie (the other one I've tried) but probably more capable once you know what you're doing. I was able to put together a time-lapse video of a woodworking project (100s of clips) without too much of a learning curve.

One issue with the free version is that you can only export the video as 720p (intended for upload to youtube). If you want to do a higher resolution you would need the pro version, not sure how much that costs.

Bryan Lisowski
08-29-2018, 3:50 PM
Thanks Robert. Good info.

Dave Lehnert
08-29-2018, 6:32 PM
Dave, this is 1 that I have researched, even with your limited use, how easy is it to figure out?



I was able to figure it out and do what I wanted. I plan this fall after yard work is done to try and learn more about it.

Michael Moscicki
09-04-2018, 3:54 AM
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

DaVinci Resolve 15. The free version still has a lot of features, but it's relatively easy to just add video clips, cut them and upload the finished video.

Luke Dupont
09-11-2018, 4:43 AM
As I'm on Linux, I use Kdenlive. It's also available for Windows and Mac.

I haven't checked out DaVinci Resolve, but it also seems to support Linux, which is awesome! Maybe I should give it a look.

Don Coffman
09-22-2023, 6:30 AM
I use DaVinci Resolve. It's free and has a solid range of features, including cropping, trimming, and filters, which are great for action shots. The learning curve is steep, but many online tutorials help.

John M Wilson
09-22-2023, 10:35 AM
It will be interesting to see if things have changed much in the 5 years since the OP asked this question.

Seems like software used to improve (or at least change) quite a bit with each new version, but things seem to have settled down quite a bit over the last few years.

Has the focus moved from desktop software to phone software? Or has the move to the cloud/internet stifled innovation?

Don Corbeil
09-26-2023, 6:57 AM
I use the video editor (https://www.movavi.com/) from Movavi. It's not entirely free, but it does have a robust set of free features that's enough for casual editing. It's pretty intuitive and easier to navigate than some other editors.

roger wiegand
09-26-2023, 7:33 AM
IMovie is about the easiest to use, there's no requirement to shoot your videos with an iPhone or Pad. I do run into things I can't do easily in it, especially related to integrating separate audio and video feeds. I use it with video I shoot on my Nikon. DaVinci Resolve also seems reasonably straightforward. For more heavy lifting I use Premiere Pro, which is not free, but comes with the other Adobe software I need. It has a significant learning curve, which I have not climbed. I'd guess the Apple's Final Cut Pro is also very capable and probably easier to use.

Jim Becker
09-26-2023, 10:26 AM
^^ I agree with this for folks running MacOS. iMovie is easy, has a lot of features and is free since it comes with the OS. I use both iPhone and my Nikon DSLR for video content when I create "formal" video.

ChrisA Edwards
09-26-2023, 10:33 AM
I used Power Director when I was Windows based. When I bought my first MacBook laptop circa 2010, I used iMovie.

I tried Final Cut, but it just didn't seem logical and I was not prepared to put the time in to learn it.

About 4 months ago, I found out Power Director now has a Mac version. Although not free, I much prefer it to iMovie. The Titling, transitions and video editing features are so rich and easy to use in Power Director.

I will not go back to iMovie.

Mike Henderson
09-26-2023, 3:43 PM
I used to use Power Director but switched over to Adobe Premiere. Both were easy to use.

Mike