Choosing the Best Video Editing Software
Thursday, September 10th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Video editing software selection can look a little daunting when you start to see the range of products available. With some assistance in remaining focused on what is important you can make a good choice.
One of the key points to keep in mind is:
“What is it that I am I REALLY going to do with the video editing software that I choose?”
The answer to that question has to remain uppermost in your mind when selecting the best video editing software for you.
All of the major home video editing software companies offer camcorder to DVD video editing solutions that make them almost inseparable from each other. So concentrate on what you REALLY need.
Video editing software makers are engaged in an ongoing race to track with new technology as it evolves and still make the product appeal to the customer. The point being you most likely do not WANT to purchase video editing software. What you probably WANT is a finished video.
The software company’s problem is they know you NEED video editing software but it’s not what you WANT! They need to make you WANT it! And because of that we get “bells and whistles” features that make you WANT IT but most likely will never need.
Video File Formats
The first thing to establish is what is the format of the material you will be working with and what will be the formats that you will want to produce in the end. Input will be dictated by the camcorder or DVD recorder you use or what the origin of your files are. Find out the video file format your device use to record in and make sure it is covered first.
Then realistically work out how you would be most likely to distribute your final videos. DVD? Blu-Ray? Uploading to a video sharing site like YouTube or something similar? Be certain the video software you select can produce to the format you need.
The first thing you need to do in selecting the best video editing software for you is to identify what type of video files you will be using most and what type of video file you will be producing most. That represents the core of what you will be using the software for and should be your main focus.
Video Transitions
Transitions are the little inserts that go in between two clips to make the scene change. When you watch a movie you can see that when a scene changes it often cuts to the next scene with no transition, this is called cut or a straight cut. It fades to black then fades into the next scene from black called a cross fade through black. Or, finally, the two scenes merge into each other softly and this one is called a cross fade. That’s it, the whole range of transitions you usually see in a professional production!
All video editing software programs offer at least 50 transitions each. Newbies cram in all the transitions they can because the effect looks so cool when they first see them. The reality is NOBODY ever, ever wants to go back to their house again to look at their latest production because their heads are still spinning from the last one! Disregard transitions as a deciding point, every video editing software program has some and they all have more than you will need.
Video Overlay
An overlay track, simply put, is the ability to put one video in the background and have another visible on top of it. That is the “picture in picture” or “split screen” effect you see in movies or on TV. You can also put subtitles in an overlay track or still photos or a bunch of other things to really get creative. You need about five for good control but you would never use more than that otherwise, once again, no-one is going to want to watch the mess you have created!
Audio
There is no video editing software at the consumer level that offers truly excellent audio control and features. They are not audio editing programs they are video editing programs. Some have pretty good control, some don’t, if you are going to demand pro level audio then you need dedicated software for that.
A standard requirement would be the handling of Dolby Stereo as well as 5:1 Surround. The program should offer two audio tracks to play with in addition to the sound in the video track. That allows lots of space for additional effects, narration or music.
Smart Render
Rendering is the term used when the video editing software is making the final file of your newly created video. Up until rendering, in any consumer level video editing software, all the cuts, additions, changes and adjustments you have been making are “virtual.” The original footage is never touched. So rendering puts all that together and produces your final video file in the format you have chosen as the viewing format.
All the compressed video file formats like MPEG2 (for DVDs) or MPEG4 etc always lose quality to at least some degree when they are re-rendered. The degree of loss of quality varies but it is essential that any video editing software you choose has the ability to recognise those files it does not need to re-render and simply copy those sections resulting in the high quality possible being retained. It should also offer good control over the properties of the final video.
Well that’s the basics covered so remember to keep your attention on the important stuff and try not to get pulled into the “bells and whistles” stuff and you should be able to make a good choice!
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