What editing software to use?

[Kim Welch]

I often get asked what software is best for editing. This question and the "what camera to get" question are the most asked. First understand that good editing is about telling a story and the software is not going to do that for you.

I think i really started understanding the big picture much better in many ways and not just with software when walking through a post production trade show hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters in Javitz Center in New York City with Andrew Laszlo ASC, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0489970/

While walking through the booths I asked Andy what software he thought was best and most cutting. Turning and looking at me with this serious look he said, ".... any of them will probably do the job." I had heard so much marketing jazz and was so into all my friends and peers arguments about what was the best that he took me back a bit with his statement but it made perfect sense. I had that sudden insight flash and said, "they all work." And, Andy still looking at me with that seriousness in his eyes, nodded.

So, my answer to your question is to use whatever is at hand or available or whatever you can afford that does the job. If you want a job at a place that uses a certain software then learn it. Good editing is not software. Learn that first. If you have unlimited resources and time then learn them all and use the one you like best and feel most comfortable using. You're telling a story. Cut with what works for you.

 

[Hitech]

Windows Movie maker

Windows Movie maker

Thus far I have only used Windows Movie Maker. I've made two home movies (I did take second place in a contest with my second movie ). Even with this extremely limited experience I found WMM greatly lacking. I knew what I wanted various scenes too look/sound like, but could not produce that with the software. I was surprised by how quickly I outgrew the capabilities of WMM. It did manage to generate a strong interest in movie making and spawned a new hobby for me (my wife is thrilled).

But, as a friend of mine said, if you don't like it you should return it and get your money back.

It actually works (most of the time) and isn't bad for free. But for anything else...

So, I won a copy of "Sony's Creative Suite". I assume that will include Vegas editing software. Is that good?!?

 

[feri85]

Hi there!

Windows Movie Maker is a quite good software for home use, but only if you have a good camera.

Many-many TV stations use Edius for broadcasting:
http://www.grassvalley.com/products/edius_6
I would be difficult at first sight, but give it a try

I think Sony Vegas is a good choose for you. It's ideal for smaller projects, we make broadcast quality advertisements with the help of it.

But of course the most important thing is the IDEA and CONTENT

 

[DCGreen]

KimWelch, I wholeheartedly agree.

If you can edit with the program and get the job done, then it works, and you can do that with a lot of the programs out there, even Windows Movie Maker is fine. I use Adobe Premiere Pro, and it's great, but even it has its limitations and sometimes more simple, less expensive programs can do what the expensive ones can't, oddly enough.

 

[toph1980]

EDIUS hands down. Everybody I know who've used both FCP and EDIUS, professionals and students alike, prefer the latter. I only use FCP at college now, though I really try to avoid it whenever I can. EDIUS 6 is a monster, fast and slick, with realtime rendering features FCP and other editing software can't pull of. It got several other nice features too but I really can't point out how great it is not having to render clips every five minutes. I like to say I work 40% faster because of it.

With that said, Andy is right. They'll (mostly) all do the job. More importantly, most editing software out there is similar to one another. I mean, if you've used Premiere you know how to use FCP. And vice versa. Same thing goes for Avid, EDIUS, Vegas and all the other heavy contenders out there.

But for me, at work/home, it's EDIUS. And Avid whenever it's called for.

 

[jodymichelle]

Sony Vegas Pro 10

Sony Vegas Pro 10

I'm using Sony Vegas Pro 10. It's so easy to pick up. When I first tried Vegas Pro, I never edited anything ever, never worked in an editing program, never took a class, and I was able to edit some DSLR footage and create a video with music in 2 minutes. So ever since then, I'm continuing to use the program.

 

[Tim Kolb]

Interesting thread.

I think things may get interesting, at least in the short term...with the news of Apple actually refunding the money of FCPX buyers...

http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/...s-get-a-refund-official-faq-appears-20110629/

A large user base is a great thing...until you make a really significant move that cuts off backward compatibility.

The only current release NLEs that load legacy version FCP projects are...not FCP.

 

[grinner]

Is your shop transitioning to Premiere, Tim?

 

[garychencool]

Well I started off like many, using the program that came with the OS. In my case, it was Windows Movie Maker and I learned how to edit a series of videos into one. From there, I learned how to edit stuff.

Then I moved onto Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 and man it was very easy to use. This program was like super easy to use. I was able to pick it up and use it. Also, it was way better than WMM because of all of the features that were useful.

Now, I'm learning to use Adobe Premiere as I heard that it's really good. Import a video directly to after effects, apply the muzzle flash and import it back to premeiere without much of a hassle.

Awesome, but I kinda use Sony Vegas Pro more.

 

[Vancouver Videographer]

I've been very impressed with Adobe Premiere Pro and it is what I use in my Vancouver video production company. I find that dynamic link makes it so easy to bring a project and assets back and forth between Photoshop, After Effects, Audition, and Encore and if you have to own one or more of those apps (there really aren't alternatives to AE and PS) then PPro is an automatic, mostly because it comes in the Production Premium bundle with the other two.

I think more recently the advances of GPU acceleration have made moving to Premiere Pro CS5.5 an easy decision when you consider both render speed and quality. GPU acceleration improves both at the same time.

Here is a blog post I wrote on the subject:
Vancouver Video Production Blog - Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 Max render quality and GPU acceleration

 

[therocky]

Hello! I am using Adobe Pemiere CS5. I have small video production studio. We are editing in Adobe Premiere and After Effects CS5. It's good software for me. I think that the software isn't important. If you have good idea you can edit on all software - Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut, AVID or Windows Movie Maker (joke).

Kostov production
e-mail: anatoli.kostov@gmail.com

 

[amyclarkeuk]

It's not about the editing software its about the editors vision. There's no 'specific' editing software that you 'should' use. If you can cut and stick the footage together that's all you need. I think companies who insist that you 'must' use final cut miss the point, the quality of an editors work doesn't revolve around what software they use. If I hired an editor because I loved there work I'd let them use whatever software they where comfortable with.

Anyway that's just my opinion,)
Amy
www.amyclarkefilms.com

 

[Paul Holloway]

I go back and forth between AVID Media Composer and Final Cut Pro. The sound for me is alot of easier to work with on Final Cut Pro but I like that AVID is also available for Windows as well.

 

[Andrew Kushner]

I've found Final Cut to be the most commonly used in the professional world so that's definitely a good program to know for compatibility's sake. However, with all of the uproar over Final Cut X, some companies might be more inclined to start using Premiere, Avid, or some other alternative.

I personally like Final Cut, but as you can see from the posts on this thread everyone has their own opinion. My advice to anyone starting out would be to download a few free trials, look up some online tutorials, and see what suits you best.

 

[Tim Kolb]

Is your shop transitioning to Premiere, Tim?

Uh..yeah...in 2002...with our transition away from what was then a very temperamental OSX that couldn't even run FCP until the second release and some really quirky G4s.