logo Sign In

Info Wanted: a Simple, effective video editor?

Author
Time
 (Edited)

I am going do a fan edit. My work will mostly involve insertions and rearrangements. I will not be performing much in the way of special effects. I have been trying out different editors, but I am facing certain challenges. Simple programs like Movie Maker do not edit with precision: I split a video between shots, but when I render the video, it is off by a frame or two, cutting off more than I want or including frames I meant to remove. Fancier programs, like the older version of After Effects I have (CS6), are not conducive to actual editing of clips and are more for effects, and also strain my limited hardware. I am trying trials and freeware of other programs, but either my computer can’t handle them or they do not edit with much precision.

Has anyone found a program that will allow me to rearrange clips and scenes without these kinds of problems? I don’t need a whole lot of bells and whistles, and I can do any special effects later in fancier software once I get the video reordered as I’d like. I just need something basic and effective.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

After Effects isn’t really for editing. You should probably try Premiere, another Adobe application. I got the hang of it pretty easily for something I did last year.

What are the specs of your PC? That might diagnose some of the other problems you’re having.

Author
Time

Thanks for the reply and suggestion. Will give Premiere a shot. These are my specs straight from Amazon.

HP 455 G3 15.6" HD ProBook Flagship High Performance Laptop PC, AMD A10-8700P Quad-Core, Radeon R6 Graphics, 16GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, DVD RW, RJ-45, Bluetooth, WIFI, Webcam, Windows 10, Black

Author
Time

Apparently Premiere can do everything, but learning how to use it is a different story! 😉

I’ve seen that Premiere + After Effects is really the way to go if you want to be a pro. But if you’re not too serious and don’t need to do that much you can probably get by with something easier and free.

Author
Time

darth_ender said:

HP 455 G3 15.6" HD ProBook Flagship High Performance Laptop PC, AMD A10-8700P Quad-Core, Radeon R6 Graphics, 16GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, DVD RW, RJ-45, Bluetooth, WIFI, Webcam, Windows 10, Black

Huh. Nothing seems wrong with those specs you have. Your CPU seems good; the GPU isn’t the best but is stills serviceable. You were probably using badly-written applications that don’t take advantage of the hardware correctly.

Author
Time

I second the Premiere recommendation. It’s not that hard to use once you get a little familiar with it, and assuming you get your source files in a format Premiere likes. I use Lagarith in an AVI container, but that’s a lossless codec so while you don’t lose quality, you do lose a lot of hard drive space…

Author
Time

ChainsawAsh said:
I use Lagarith in an AVI container, but that’s a lossless codec so while you don’t lose quality, you do lose a lot of hard drive space…

Oh yeah, Lagarith is really bad in that regard. I would recommend against this option unless you have a large budget.

Author
Time

I’m convinced that the free programs I’ve been using weren’t any good. I am fortunate to have located a place that provides older software for good prices (same place I got After Effects) and have obtained Premiere Pro CS6. I am looking at tutorials and experimenting and finding some success so far. I do enjoy the precision of its editing capabilities and hope that the export looks as good as my precise cuts. It’s not at all strenuous on my hardware.

I’m really not too dumb a guy and can be pretty expert in certain fields, but the level of knowledge of the folks on this site never ceases to amaze me. I really appreciate all the help so far.

Author
Time

I use CS6 as well, it’s pretty great! If you have any specific questions about it let me know. I’m far from an expert, but I do have more than a little experience with it.

Author
Time

So far, I’m impressed. Thank you for the offer. I will definitely reach out to you for any pointers. Thanks, Chainsaw 😃

Author
Time

How’s cyberlink powerdirector? I recently had a chance to pick it up very discounted but haven’t tried it yet.

Author
Time

You should also try VSDC. It’s entirely open-source, and even the free version has a lot of the functionality of Premiere.
You can import and export files of several dozen different formats and profiles.
You can get it from www.videosoftdev.com.