Best video editing program

[busterjuggler]

I am on a windows computer and am looking for an editing program to produce video. I would like a few effects inparticular.

I would like a number of scrolling videos going accross the screen as in dan bennetts videos and also a few other people, steven patient also.

Or alternatively a program which allows 4 videos to be playing on the same screen, eg a number of different show clips?

Any recomendations? is adobe premiere the best or is there an easier one?

Thanks
James

[scot]

bus;
the effect you're talking about is pretty basic. You could get that from a lot of different video editors. You don't need the best editor, and the best editor will probably take longer to learn. Here's a head to head with some leading brands that are much less expensive.link

[Rachel Peters]

yeah, "Best" and "easy" are two different questions. I use Premiere and it does me fine. The scrolling thing, I believe is one of transition effects that'll be easy to find in the list of. ...the four boxes... I don't know where I'd find that in Premiere. there may be an option somewhere, but if it were me, I'd probably end up using After Effects, wehre you can eaaaasily size the four video clips to fit into the four corners of the screen, lickedy split. ....but AE takes some getting used to. Not quite as stupid-friendly as Premiere. It's more of an animation compositor and special effects kind of program. Anyway, I'm going to star rambling some time real soon. Gotta go. alsdkfjlsdkjf...

[Flyin' Bob]

here's another one to consider

Sony Vegas


I found it really helpful to checkout user forums for the particular program you're considering. You can read the comments and concerns of people actually using the software on a daily basis rather than OEM hype or professional reviews.

Many companies will let you download a trial version of their programs (Vegas) also.

[busterjuggler]

Thanks Guys!

What ones do you use?

James

[scot]

I use final cut pro and I'd use after effects for the effect you mentioned, but I wanted to learn a whole bunch. You should probably buy one of the $100 products and do it really simply.

[Stephon]

I've had pretty good luck with Pinnacle Studio DV--it's fairly intuative, has a short learning curve, has a choice of a couple easy-to-use interfaces, and should be able to do the effects you want. My only real complaint about it is that it will not output video in a QT format; however, I've used other software to convert, when needed.

[Rachel Peters]

Originally posted by scot
I use final cut pro and I'd use after effects for the effect you mentioned, but I wanted to learn a whole bunch. You should probably buy one of the $100 products and do it really simply.

Yeah. Final Cut is a given for doing anything you'd ever need done, but like Scot said expect to have to learn a bunch. ...I found it the hardest to catch on to.
I also find that in editing you often don't end up needing a whole lot of shiny bells and whistles that some programs offer. The best things I've seen usually have simple fade-in, fade-outs and maybe the split screen thing you're talking about. No star-swipes, no swirly-twirly transitions. Less is more.
(Split screen can be super-cool though.)

[Hunter]

The Landscape

Avid is what most people would call the 'industry standard.' It's used in over 85% of feature films and it's step-child Avid Xpress can run on a personal PC. It takes a lot of learning to even get started, but it does have a very interesting order of operations system based on nesting instead of traditional layers. $395- mac or pc

Final Cut Pro is a bit more intuitive that Avid, but it still takes a while to get going. A growing number of people claim this software is 'the next industry standard.' It can do about anything you could want; especially if you're willing to throw down for the plug-ins. It comes bundled with graphic, audio, and DVD authoring software. Final Cut Express is almost as good, and you don't have to buy the entire studio to get it. If anyone's interested I can send out a basic beginners tips I wrote for an edit lab I work at; it can help elimminate hugely frustrating rookie mistakes. express $299; Studio $1300 - mac

Adobe Premier Pro runs a fairly good line from beginner to advanced. It's interface is fairly straight foreward. I know some freelance cutters out in LA that use it for it's built in color correction. Also, it integrates with After Effects, which allows for high end 2.5-D graphic work without any quality loss from re-compression. Probably a great setup for promo-videos. $850 - mac or pc

They also offer Adobe elements for $100, but I'd lump that in this next group.

Canopus, Matrox, Pinnacle, and Vegas are also out there; I know considerably less about these programs except that Vegas gets the best street cred and a lot of people doing corporate video tend to gravitate towards these.

Finally, there's the 'dummy' software that comes with your computer or camcorder. iMovie and a whole slew of other software for the PC fit in here. This is fine for simple work, but shy away from low end graphics; you'd be better off with no / creative graphics of your own (clowns holding up funny signs with reviews written in blood). You'll stand out more and not give off that low-end late 90's feel.

Hope this helps.