So as the title says, what's the best, cheapest/free, video editing software out there?
I have a tonne of videos from my GoPro (about 14 hours before deleting any) as I've been skiing for 12 weeks, and would like to make some home movies for when I get back...
Any recommendations?
Cheers
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Are you PC or Mac?
If PC, Windows Moviemaker is pretty good for free editing software - download from the Microsoft Essentials website...
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I've been using magix movie edit pro - was £35 at pcworkd. £40 at magixx direct atm. Free 30day trial to try it out. The free stuff i downloaded was all pants
All the major nle software is in most cases available to try for 30 days free. Sony Vegas, video studio. There are upsides and downsides to them all depending on your platform and how you work. Gopro cineform (the latest version) is reasonable, free and obviously designed by gopro.
Adobe Premier Pro will do you a 30 day trial. I use it along with Final Cut Pro on mac for my pro video editing. If you have reasonable knowledge of editing video it can be picked up quickly and gives you all the toys
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I'm PC, and wozzad, I've used the gopro editor a couple of times but it's annoying that it has to convert all the files before editing, takes forever with the amount I have!
I used AVS Video Editor for my Vallee Blanche editing but didn't realise it would have an AVS 'stamp' in the centre of the video throughout! Came on here to ask about any others before committing to purchasing the full version.
Will look at Moviemaker and Adobe Premier Pro. I may get away with just using a free trial and get all my editing done quickly.
After all it is free
After all it is free
gopro....For free....I did 32gb of files, and just left it over night. I had a mix of 720p 25fps, 50 fps, 1080 25fps and 1080 30fps. Woke up to them all converted and ready to go.
massive mistake using 25fps 720p for sking. you can see the issue in my video, 50fps would have looked much better !!!!!
NEXT TIME !
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
I have 240GB of files at 1080p 48fps!
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Watch and catalogue them. You probably don't have 240Gb of video worth bringing into an editor.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
meh, +1
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Anyone else have issues with jumpy playback? I recorded at 720/50.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
What you playing them with?
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
My playback is so jumpy (on gopro editor) that the vids are pretty much unwatchable. But I may be doing something wrong. Also, apparently updating the software from the gopro site is "not possible in your country" (which happens to be UK...)
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
meh wrote:
Watch and catalogue them. You probably don't have 240Gb of video worth bringing into an editor.
Already deleted a load, there are obviously parts of videos that I don't want to use but I can't get rid of those parts unless I bring into the editor...
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
You can mark the trim points and cut out the crap before import and conversion in just about all of the software packages.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
True forgot about that since I did it last time. Looks like I'll have to leave it over 2 nights and a day for the conversion though
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Jumpy playback is probably caused by your computer being rubbish. Video from the GoPro is compressed straight into a format called H264. This is really good for small file sizes but pretty processor intensive to decompress on the fly. Particularly at higher frame rates. For editing most people transcode the video into a less processor intensive format which results in larger files. There are two approaches, the first to straight convert the original files. This is fine for short clips without too many source files because disk space requirements are low. Bigger clips or having lots of source files probably means you want to create proxy media. That is lower resolution versions of the original files you can use to cut the video together. The final render then uses the original media.
IIRC the GoPro software should let you transcode into Cineform on import. Not sure it does proxy stuff though.
First you need to cut all the boring crap footage of the tips of your skis and stuff that will bore the tits off anyone on YouTube or make them violently ill, for GoPro helmet cam footage the following command will remove all the crap leaving you with just the good stuff that you can then work on editing:-
del /f /s /q GoProFolder/\*
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
i have a contour roam 2 camera does anyone have any experiance editing vids produced by this camera?
i have a contour roam 2 camera does anyone have any experiance editing vids produced by this camera?
I've got a Roam 2. I've used Windows Movie maker for now and it's perfectly adequate to start with as it's FREE. One thing I've found with it though is if I make a longer movie with clips from various separate files if I go back to it, it becomes corrupt. To counter this I'd recommend putting the finished article into another format and saving. There could of course be a work around or it's something I'm doing or not doing wrong.
There's plenty of free audio editing software out there if you want to trim music, add sound clips etc. It takes stills fine too.
We have a video editing dept at work and I needed some work done recently and they use Adobe Premier Pro. It's obviously a much more powerful tool has more features etc. I can get a free license off them so I'm going to install it and have a play when I have the time.
I think one of the free ones will do unless you really get into it.
What do you think of the Contour? I was really impressed, other than buying a 64 gb card without checking it was supported and having the lens on the wrong angle one day!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
meh, Which format would you suggest to convert to for editing ?
After all it is free
After all it is free
brock wrote:
i have a contour roam 2 camera does anyone have any experiance editing vids produced by this camera?
I use the video editor built into Adobe Photoshop CS6.
If you know Photoshop it's a breeze.
Works on layers so you can add text, fades, music etc.
You can also add adjustment layers to alter exposure, colour, brightness etc
Able to render in many different formats, both PAL and NTSC.
I use the YouTube HD 1080p 29.97 preset which saves in H.264 format at a frame rate of 29.97 and a size of 1920 x 1080.
As an example,
This 3 minute vid has 10 clips, text, and music and the Photoshop file is 30.6 MB and the .mp4 file is 181 MB
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Bene, still really learning with it but up to now we have been really impressed with the quality
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Mike Pow, your editing is very impressive will have to try myself
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
AndAnotherThing.. wrote:
meh, Which format would you suggest to convert to for editing ?
There are quite a few, the determining factor is what you have available. For example ProRes is AFAIK only (legally) available with Apple software like FCPX. But codecs like:
- Cineform
- ProRes
- DV
- DNxHD
You can get the Cineform codec by downloading the GoPro software, no need to actually have one.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Bene,
Quote:
One thing I've found with it though is if I make a longer movie with clips from various separate files if I go back to it, it becomes corrupt. To counter this I'd recommend putting the finished article into another format and saving
I had the same problem, but if you download the latest version from the Microsoft Essentials site these probs have been fixed.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
a.j. wrote:
I've been using magix movie edit pro - was £35 at pcworkd. £40 at magixx direct atm. Free 30day trial to try it out. The free stuff i downloaded was all pants
+1 also. For budget software, I found it really easy to use. Even attempted some audio dubbing (where my recorded voice was inaudible due to wind etc.) on my mates computer during the holiday. Presently surprised with the results.
meh wrote:
Video from the GoPro is compressed straight into a format called H264. This is really good for small file sizes but pretty processor intensive to decompress on the fly. For editing most people transcode the video into a less processor intensive format which results in larger files.
As meh stated, H.246 is a playback codec which isn't suitable for editing. By re-encoding the video using another codec, you can more easily edit the video (for instance re-rendering isn't needed for applying some filters, speed change etc.). Personally I achieve this using the free tool MPEG Stream Clip and convert to ProRes for use within FCP, however plenty of other formats are available. Best thing is that you can preview the video and ONLY select the part of teh video you want to be re-encoded and edit. Massive time and space (hard-drive wise) saver.[/url]
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
johnnymire wrote:
... H.246 is a playback codec which isn't suitable for editing.
I would replace "isn't suitable" with "requires machine resources". My 5 year old laptop edits H.264 in Premiere Pro without breaking stride. Back in the CS4 days some people claimed to have issues, but even then reasonable machines didn't have a problem.
Premiere pro does lots of clever caching so you can play most things back in real time most of the time, even when the video has to be rendered. Stuff like H.246 can't be just played frame by frame, some rendering is always necessary, but that is generally transparent to the user. When you first import a clip, the machine renders "previews" for it. That's why you need to put your preview cache on a reasonably quick disk. You don't have to use proxies or transcode, at least on modern machines.
If you shoot ProTune then at least the last time I did that (over a year ago) the GoPro Cineform app was the easiest way to transcode it. I would not advise that if you're asking questions here.
For editing programs, I'd avoid the "all singing all dancing" stuff (like Premiere Pro) and stick with the free/ easy things until you know why people bother with more.
For editing.. google should help there. Some ideas:
(a) Don't shoot stuff which looks rubbish or which you already have, as that costs you lots of time later.
(b) Shoot short single-theme sequences because they're easier to edit.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I've tried a few free editors in linux. Currently using Kdenlive under Ubuntu. I believe it can be run on Macs too. Its more powerful than most would ever need. It is by far the best free editing package I've used so far and there seems to be plenty of tutorials out there. Shame there is no windows version. However, its not hard to setup a dual boot with windows and something like ubuntu.
I'm still getting to grips with editing but here is one of my attempts.
A'Bhuidheanach Bheag and Meal Nan Tarmachan from H MacEwen
If your editing on Windows, the best options are probably Windows Movie Maker. All still pictures, video clips, sounds, music and narration can all be added to a project.
Personally, I use AppGeeker video editor (http://www.appgeeker.com), it do a pretty good editing task. It's been around a long time and I've used it with no issues.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
scottishskier wrote:
... Currently using Kdenlive under Ubuntu. ...
I'm still getting to grips with editing but here is one of my attempts....
That looks good, although it reminds me why I snowboard
One minor side point though, in HD there's something slightly odd going on with the video I think. It maybe just me, but the ski poles for example look a bit jaggly to me. Did change the frame rate or otherwise re-render it in some way, or is it particularly low bit rate?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
With Windows Movie Maker do you have to reformat the GoPro videos before using it? I put all my videos into WMM and all the files were there on the right, but there was no picture on the viewing screen on the left. The sound was playing but no picture. Any idea/advice?
The H264 codec for the gopro's is specific and it may be that WMM doesn't have the right one by default. Personally I mostly run the gopro native stuff through cineform and export into another format for NLE based editing. The exception being quick trims or cuts which I do native in Video Studio Pro. for lots of stuff I just run it through mpeg stream clip in batch to uncompress and the play with the editing side after that step.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Quote:
That looks good, although it reminds me why I snowboard wink
One minor side point though, in HD there's something slightly odd going on with the video I think. It maybe just me, but the ski poles for example look a bit jaggly to me. Did change the frame rate or otherwise re-render it in some way, or is it particularly low bit rate?
No change of frame rate or re-render. Don't notice it myself but maybe its the effect of the superview mode on the GoPro where it shoots in 4:3 and squishes to 16:9? I did try some image stabilisation on the handheld stuff that was shot on a compact but not on the GoPro stuff. I've given up on that since as it didn't achieve much and have taken to using a ski pole as a monopod (with a tripod thread screwed into the grip). Works well with the GoPro too especially if your not using a wide FOV for non POV shots. Now I just need a better compact to compliment the GoPro footage!
brock, i've got the roam2. works fine with magix, i couldn't get wmm working with the formats it uses for some reason. Clearly just me if bene is using it though! Love the camera - trying to convert all my friends before they go bust again
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Here lately I have been using a Video Editor program with pretty good results. It's fairly easy to understand, works well and has quite a few "bells and whistles" for adding text and effects. Plus it's reasonably priced.
After all it is free
After all it is free
I use Movie Maker for all my stuff, not that it's very complicated (what was that about ski tips...)
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
forgot about that since I did it last time. Looks like I'll have to leave it over 2 nights and a day for the conversion though 
