Can't afford Final cut whats the best editing program for pc
- Thread starter jcayole
- Start date
The "best" is pretty non specific.
However, Premiere is popular along with Vegas, Edius, etc.
However, Premiere is popular along with Vegas, Edius, etc.
Paul Hudson
Vacuum Tube Member
Adobe Premiere.
David W. Jones
Veteran
Download and try the demo versions of everything you are interested in, then purchase the one that best fits your edit needs.
They all can do that (depending on what you mean by "motion effects").
It's purely a matter of preference. Download the demos.
andressaez
Member
Edius
David Shapton
Well-known member
I have to declare an interest which is that I work for Editshare, the owners of Lightworks.
If you're on a budget, Lightworks for Windows is being released on 28th May. It's free, and it's identical to the software used to make Pulp Fiction, The King's Speech and Hugo (in stereoscopic 3D), except that the new version is more powerful. For $60 per year, the Pro version will work with most camcorder formats and external recorders.
250,000 people have dowloaded the beta version from www.lightworksbeta.com. Linux and Mac versions will follow.
roxics
Veteran
I'm sure it's ok for some people but I tried the beta and watched a few tutorials on Lightworks and it confuses me to no end. It's so foreign compared to Vegas, Premiere Pro of FCP that it seem archaic by comparison. The best thing going for it is that it's free. But even then it's limited by the codecs you can use. Understandability since codecs cost money. But I just felt like it was really difficult to use and really slow and confusing.
I just wish it would start with a standardized setup like the other three I mentioned. Use the same terminology, have way more drag and drop functionality and use standard explorer windows when importing media rather than everything skinned to look like a cartoon. I can't even right click on a clip and delete it from a bin. Everything is so convoluted and buried in menus. It needs a serious UI update to bring it into the 21st century.
I think that if you guys just built an open source version of Premiere Pro/Vegas Pro/FCP with an integrated store for buying codecs/effects/pre-composed projects and made it cross platform you would rule the editing world. But as it stands right now it's so foreign and slow and has such a huge learning curve that I would not recommend it to anyone.
David Shapton
Well-known member
Well you're entitled to your opinion - and UI is very much a matter of opinion. Most people who take the time and trouble to learn it find that it is not slow but actually the fastest UI of all the NLEs. You don't have to ask me about that - just check out the Lightworks forum.
It is NOTABLY different from Vegas - as different as you can get; but it is no more different from Vegas than, say, Avid. Professional NLEs tend not to use OS-native file-explorers because production these days is far more complex than merely finding a file - you need a more robust and scalable file system than a low-cost operating system will give you and that's why they tend to have their own - more robust and certainly more appropriate - media management systems.
You are incorrect about drag-and-drop and in fact the version to be released on 28th of May has extensive and powerful drag and drop facilities. Don't forget that you've only tried a Beta version and saying that a Beta version has things missing is not really news.
Codecs do cost money but not much for Lightworks users - $60 per year (or $30 per year if you're in Education) gets you codecs that will work with virtually all current cameras as well as the most advanced multi-camera and stereoscopic timelines in the business. I do like Vegas but I have to say that if we are to make comparisons I would have to ask how many Hollywood blockbusters have been edited with it? You can't dismiss a free (or virtually free) editing system that's been used to make (recently with the King's Speech) Oscar-winning feature films as "Slow" or "archaic". The UI is the way it is for a reason. We're always happy to take suggestions as to how it can be changed but if you change it too much, you'll throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Why not try the full version when it's released later this month, but don't dismiss it until you've learned how to use it - and drop your preconceptions about how an editor should work.
Mark Williams
Veteran
Edius has to be one of the easiest and stable NLE to use.
Erik Naso
Veteran
12 years ago I edited on a Lightworks NLE system. Is this the same company that also made Heaveyworks?
Darren Levine
Veteran
Steenbeck st3511
David Shapton
Well-known member
Well, Lightworks has been through a chain of owners, including Fairlight and Tektronix, Gee Broadcast and now Editshare, who acquired Gee Broadcast in 2009. So, yes, there's Heavyworks in the genes, but it's no longer the same company. Editshare's main business is shared storage and end-to-end workflow solutions, but Lightworks is becoming an increasingly important part of the plan. It's been worked on continuously since Editshare took it over, attracting developers from Quantel and Avid, as well as the original ones.
It's now thoroughly modern, with a multi-core media engine, very wide codec support, and will soon be available in 64 bit form across Windows, Linux and OS X.
Over 250,000 people have downloaded the Beta version - with 500 new downloads every day.