video editor recommendation

[chillyair]

Hi I am new to video editing but want to learn and get fairly good at it. What I am looking for is recommendations on good video editor software that is relatively easy to learn so I can master the basics and some of the finer points of editing. However I would also like the program to be set up in such a way that once I have mastered it I can move over to a professional editor such as avid without being completely swamped. A cheaper program would be preferable but I am willing to spend a little more if I have to. Any suggestions?
Thanks

[Baldrick]

I would start with Windows Movie Maker.

[PuzZLeR]

Adobe's editors are in line with professional-ware if you want to go there, but very expensive, so maybe I'd wait.

I have some recommendations, but I do work with alot of MPEG-2 so they may be biased towards that format:

Ulead VideoStudio:
Fabulous functionality and inexpensive. Easy to use. Does lots of stuff with special effects and can work with different video formats. Solid and reliable and even with batching. However, it's pretty much a "jack of all trades and master of none". As well, the "Smart Render" with MPEG-2 is a bit buggy. Only re-encoding guarantees solid output (at the cost of some processing time and quality) but otherwise this tool does everything. Apparently it's excellent for other formats like DV, but I can't report from experience, only from what I see in their forums.

Womble MPEG Video Wizard:
Inexpensive, solid dedicated MPEG editor (meaning lossless) with lots of basic functions: transitions, cuts, shifts, etc. and can do batch work. Easy to use and loads fast. Only re-encodes a few frames around where you made edits and does excellent work editing with MPEG video, but anything else it re-encodes, so it's limited to just being great for MPEG (as is its title). Depends what you want. If you only work with MPEG-2/AC3 then this is your number one choice IMO.

TMPGEnc MPEG Editor:
Simple and inexpensive. The Premium edition does transitions. Basically an editor one uses to do simple stuff like quick cuts and joins losslessly.

VideoReDo TVSuite:
Solid cutter and joiner. Very limited on special effects but is highly efficient for removing commercials, trims, joins, stream repairs and batching. Very reliable as well and will not re-encode where it's not necessary (but has an encoder if you need one).

I'm sure someone may recommend Sony Vegas, which has good reviews. But I haven't tried it yet.

[PuzZLeR]

Hey Baldrick, just saw your post.

WMM is excellent for beginners, but I warn that it's pretty much a toy when needing to advance. However it is a good start to learn about timelines and such and is free with the correct O/S.

[stiltman]

If you are planning to go to Avid, then I wouldn't try learning anything else.
Avid has a steep learning curve even if you have experience with other programs.

If you are going the Avid route, I would go with AvidFree DV
You can't download it off of Avid's site anymore (morons) but you can still find it on the web.

[chillyair]

Basically what I am looking for is something that is easy to learn for beginners but does not differ incredibly in function and form from the top proffesional brands. I am pretty good when it comes to dealing with computer software and in my experience when dealing with different programs that perform the same functions, its just a matter of learning where the different buttons are when jumping from one to another. So as long as I have an initial program that I can learn on easily, moving to a different one shouldn't be terribly difficult provided that the layout and functionality aren't entirely different. I just dont want to start on avid since its supposed to be hard and expensive. From what Ive been reading on other forums though adobe premire elements seems to be pretty good. Any thoughts on this? Is it relatively easy to learn.

[guns1inger]

Vegas Movie Studio is another alternative that then leads to Vegas Professional as your skill progresses. Never been a big fan of Premiere myself. Always found it buggy and unstable. Haven't used Premiere Pro through, which is meant to be better.

[PuzZLeR]

Adobe is very expensive and complicated for a beginner IMO.

Similar to Guns1inger's Vegas examples (which are respected video editors) where you want a good learning/advancing curve from beginner to professional I also recommend as another respected alternative:

Ulead VideoStudio Plus -> Ulead MediaStudio Pro

I think at the time of this post there's some intro special going on in the Ulead site if you want to give them a trial...

I guess my best advice to any beginner (versed in software or not) is this. Don't look for best features in an editor as much as fun-to-use. Seriously, if you have some major projects ahead of you understand that it will be a bit time consuming, so make sure you're enjoying yourself first and foremost otherwise nothing will get done.

[edDV]

If you are familiar with software, video editing workflow is similar to software programming. If you start with Visual Basic or Python and master one of those, you can move up to C++ with a head start.

For editing, the job you want often focuses the software decision. AVID has niches in Film offline*, TV series or local TV news cutting. Post House freelancers tend to Final Cut Pro. Corp Media Departments are all over the Adobe Suite. The typical Vegas Pro user is a small independent producer (one man band). Edius brings to mind infomercials and late night used car ads.


* don't think you are going to start a job on the AVID editing films. Typical resume is film school then working up through the union trades. You show talent for editing as an assistant then get discovered. If you want to cut news on an AVID at a local TV station, volunteer as an intern and show them what you can do.

[stiltman]

* don't think you are going to start a job on the AVID editing films. Typical resume is film school then working up through the union trades. You show talent for editing as an assistant then get discovered. If you want to cut news on an AVID at a local TV station, volunteer as an intern and show them what you can do.

I agree 100%
TV News will get you going very FAST, as you learn new things you'll start incorperating them into your pakages.
Then you might get asked to do special projects and 30 minute specials. If you're good you'll start getting local awards... then you'll start getting noticed.

However, BitCentral is really making inroads with TV stations with their full editing setup. They use Edius for their editing software.

Also one very big disadvantage to Avid is that they use OMF or MXF or MOV for file formats. Just try importing a MPEG into Avid....NOT. So if you go Avid, make sure you have a good program like ProCoder to handle file format conversions.

[PuzZLeR]

Hi again,

I honestly don't know what your objectives are. Being this, the Newbie forum, I naturally assumed end-user enthusiasm at the consumer level with some big personal projects ahead.

Is it career motives you have? That changes things. Then I would almost certainly recommend the investment in the more expensive Adobe, which would be actually an inexpensive start into the world of professional-ware. And it's a good tool to begin learning as you advance.

All the professionals I know locally here in the "film ghettos" and studios are versed in Adobe products.

About Final Cut Pro. The Mac used to be the "standard" for the longest time, but that's actually changing. Nevertheless, if you can learn Adobe products, then this would be a breeze. It's also even more expensive, and I'm not sure if you have a Mac.

[Josh Mickens]

Why not try Pinnacle 12? It just came out! Only downside is I think there won't be any subtitle features. =(

[zoobie]

I don't think pinnacle has a demo unlike sony, adobe, and ulead that have a month free