On a Mac its fairly easy with IMovie. I use both Mac and PC and go to Mac for that.
I’m sure though that someone will now bash me as a Mac fanboy. If they only knew.
Windows Movie Maker is already installed on all windows machines if you’re looking for something really basic
Freedomlover is a Mac fanboy. There you go!
I use Adobe Premiere and After Effects for my more serious projects or I dump things into Windows Movie maker for simple titles and wipes and such.
I’ve also used ProShow and it is pretty powerful even though it bills itself as a “slideshow” creator it can do all video as well.
I have a Sony HDR CX560 and MacBook Pro, newer version, flash storage and Retina display.
With iMovie, I edited clips of interviews with people from the camera and found it very easy to use.
I have also edited YouTube downloads with iMovie and had nice results with minimal difficulties.
I have never used Final Cut Pro and it think it contains features I would not use.
Video editing is pretty resource intensive so take that into consideration.
Probably didn't help you much but don't worry. The geeks will stop by.
I use Corel Video Studio for a lot of video work.
But for presentations, I use Camtasia.
A few years ago I downloaded a “Starter” version of Serif for free.
There were limitations in this version and while I was considering paying for it or trying something else I called them directly.
They are A UK based firm that actually answered the phone and my questions.
My Questions included things like;
If I pay for the upgrade ($80), will I own this software or will I need to pay you again to keep using it?
Yes, I own it and they have never asked me for more money or have I lost any functionality.
Will this Upgrade allow me to layer multiple video and audio files with different formats?
Yes.
Allow me to save my work and convert it to multiple formats?
Yes.
Is it cloud based?
No.
In the end, I am very happy with Serif.
http://www.serif.com/movieplus/
For clipping and joining and converting to various formats, I use Freemake Video Converter.
It is very basic, but does have some transitions effects.
http://www.freemake.com/free_video_converter/
NEVER use MS moviemaker, it can only handle 20 clips or so and if u make a vid over 3 minutes forget it..!
It will start crashing again and again —I don’t care if it’s free, it’s the MOST EXPENSIVE.
You should consider Sony Vegas —it used to be free and it’s very stable with rich functionality.
Another one is that one from Adobe, it’s the industry standard.
Pinnacle
I use Screencast-O-Matic. You can try their free download version to get a feel for it. With the $15/year premium upgrade, you get a lot of basic editing capability without a huge learning curve.
I have used Pinnacle for about 10 years and am very pleased with the product. It allows me to copy my old VHS tapes and render them in about any format I want including Blu-Ray DVD.
I have not gotten the latest version, but the additions they make are usually well worth the upgrade about every third version.
There’s a bit of a learning curve (like all software) but for the most part it is very intuitive.
Another vote for Sony Vegas. My son has been very happy with it and has turned out some pretty complex stuff.
Has anyone on this thread used “Wondershare Filmora”?
MAGIX PRO VIDEO EDITOR, here cheap, is excellent, but you may have to pay a smidge more to get it to MPEG out.
Here is a simple video I did with two cameras and this editor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFrCAcpBryA
For later