Free Video Editing Software...I need suggestions, please.

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loveofjazz

loveofjazz

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I'm looking for suggestions for free video editing software.

It's been suggested that I use DaVinci Resolve. I'm looking in to it, but video editing is new to me. I just want to know what other valid options that are available.
If you have suggestions and experience with any other free video editing software, please share.

Thanks ahead of time for any info y'all can offer.
-jimbo
 
Hi! As far as I know, there's nothing that can compete with DaVinci Resolve without having to pay. Learn to use it, at first it may seem complicated, but it gives great satisfaction in the long run.
 
If you are used to using DAW software you might get on better with Reaper. Its video editing isn't as sophisticated as Resolve but it does all the basics. Vegas also works in a similar way but is more expensive.
 
I don't know if Blender will run on other operating systems besides Linux, I think it will. but it works, its free, there is a learning curve. I have used it to make 5 videos so far.
Download — blender.org
From what I see you can do just about anything with it. 3d animation to video sequencing.
 
Blender looks like its available for both Windows and Mac, as well as Linux, but I don't see anything about it editing video files like you would get from a camera, just animations and stuff.

Does it actually allow you to edit things like H.264 or Mpeg4 video along with effects?
 
As far as I know yes. It can do all the things the big boys do as far as I know. I just haven't gotten there yet. If you click on the link I provided you can see what can be done with just a little bit of knowledge. I know you can import mp4s and movie clips etc. I haven't needed that but one of these days I will get around to trying it.
 
I’ve tried DaVinci Resolve, but honestly, it felt way too complicated for me as a beginner. I wanted something that would let me jump into trimming clips and adding simple effects without getting lost in menus. A friend suggested movavi instead, and it’s been a lot more user-friendly for straightforward projects. The free version does enough if you don’t mind the basic export limitations, so that could be worth a look if you just want to focus on the basics and don’t want a big learning curve.
 
I've rarely had an issue with programs being "too complicated". I've had to deal with learning commercial business systems like Adage and SAP over the years, and they make a program like DiVinci or Reaper look like childs play. Corporate accounting systems are incredibly complex, and being that they are customizable for each customer's application, there is rarely a resource like Youtube where you can just ask for help.

The key is to learn the basic elements well, then as you need a new twist or technique, you search that out and add it to your skill set. I've got both DaVinci and an earlier version of Cyberlink PowerDirector, plus a couple of old video programs that are just too simple and limited for today's video processes. Every program has it's quirks. What is logical to me might be totally illogical to you. While I might question the workflow of PowerDirector, once you learn it, that is irrelevant.

It's like driving a car. Most people today can't drive a manual tranny because they never learned that skill. I taught my kids how to drive one, since I had manuals until I got a company car with an automatic. If they wanted to drive, they learned to clutch and shift.
 
Yep - I agree with Rich. I have used Premier since it was released - version 5 I think I started with, and I have looked in the past at alternates, including Resolve - which everyone says is great - but I don't like it, despite it's integration with all my video gear. It just doesn't warrant the effort I'd have to make to use it! Same with Cubase I use. It's not the best, because something else might be - but Reaper and Logic just are like Resolve. Probably great, maybe even better - but not for me.
 
+2
I have Resolve also and have used it on a project. It didn't seem to be any better than Vegas Pro that I have been using since version 4 or 5. It's probably comes down to what you have been using and are used to. Before I jump into a new anything, I have to be convinced it's going to work better, or do something that what I'm using now doesn't.
 
The snag with 'easy to use' software is that in most cases, that also means feature lacking. So when people say all they need to do is trim the beginning and end off two shots and stick them together, they often then want to put in a fade in and out, or maybe a caption, or smooth the audio track transition, or perhaps just crop it a bit, or normalise the audio, or add a simple wipe between the two shots or ............. Nobody will build an ultra simple piece of software, unless they have a parallel clever version to upgrade to. Look at DAWs - often three different versions, and the simple version is NEVER simple - it needs at least some sophistication. The word free thankfully is less common now - people are so used to paying something, free usually equates to bad, poor, undeveloped, buggy - some kind of negative.
 
I’ve tried DaVinci Resolve, but honestly, it felt way too complicated for me as a beginner. I wanted something that would let me jump into trimming clips and adding simple effects without getting lost in menus. A friend suggested movavi instead, and it’s been a lot more user-friendly for straightforward projects. The free version does enough if you don’t mind the basic export limitations, so that could be worth a look if you just want to focus on the basics and don’t want a big learning curve.
 
Not being funny, but resolve does actually do that - bring in a clip and you can trim it and add an effect - you just have to spend a bit of time at it. All the editing packages are so similar on this editing facility. As I said earlier - few people want anything simpler. If you do, why not import it into your phone - most phones can do what you want natively.

PS - I did DM you earlier, but haven't had a response yet.
 
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