Anybody have recommendations for video editing software for Windows? My son is doing this youtube thing and wants to slice together videos, add intros, add soundtracks, cut out the boring parts, add some voice-overs/comments, etc. He started with a free trial of "camtasia" but then he came asking me for $250 to buy it and I was like... urgh let me see what Massassi thinks. Seems like video editing software came free on the last mac I owned.

I don't mind paying for the software, $250 just seemed a little steep.

Probably a bargain if it's good. I have a Creative Cloud subscription that gives me Premiere but I've never used it (Premiere). My boy wants to do the same thing. I regret not thinking about looking you up when we were out there a few years ago. Our kids are about the same age I think. Does your boy already have a channel? Creative Cloud has a good student discount and it is deeply discounted for the first year.

Yeah he has a bunch of rocket league and now fortnite videos up. Maybe some old wakeboarding videos. I told him I might help him with the cost if he does some chores and also edits some videos for me. For example I might start recording some paintball games and throwing them up somewhere for fun. As long as I don't have to do any editing... argh it's so boring. I wonder if it's worth picking up a macbook or something just for that (if the software even comes with it anymore... iVideo or iMovie or something).

If you're lacking morals, you can acquire a copy of Sony Vegas Pro for cheap. In my experience no free software compares.

I'm pretty sure it's the software all "professional YouTubers" use, basically the best software below industry software in my view.

If you don't want to post his channel on the board, PM it to me. I'd like to let my boy see it.

I'd say give the adobe student license a go. If you keep it past a year, it's not much different than having another Netflix or something. Lynda, which is now LinkedIn Learning has a lot of training material available but of course there's tons on YouTube. A lot of libraries and other resources have Lynda free.

I was thinking this morning that I had seen a video a few months ago about free video editing software. Here's a few relevant videos:

brooo warez are against massassi rules, u gonna get bannd if your not careful

I do not condone any illegal activity. But if you bought a used copy on eBay, technically you'd be violating the EULA, so.

I didn't watch the video, but Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS, is the standard. Free and loaded with function.

That was his number one.

you don't condone any illegal activity??

I don't condone any part of your face.

[/Classic 2000s (#)Massassi Response]

So long as they're legal



I condone playing TODOA

Imagine if Ford wrote in their "customer agreement" that you weren't allowed to sell your F-150 when you were done with it. It's so insane.

After looking through a bunch of options it's sort of crazy that at $250 that's one of the cheapest! There is "pinnacle" that is only around a hundred bucks but I'd hate to buy one that sucks. I'll get him to try it out first before we make a decision. I know there used to be one included with windows or linked somehow and it was easy to get but it looks like it was discontinued (Windows Movie Maker). Not only that, there are a bunch of seemingly sleazy copycats on the Windows Store or Microsoft Store or whatever using the exact same name or something very similar.

I'll get his channel and send it to you, Wookie. We were gone paintballing all day so we haven't been on the computer (thank goodness). Actually he's on again playing fortnite. Grr.

So, to be clear, what feature do you need? Looking briefly at Camtasia it's said to be a screen recorder and video editor. I played around briefly with OBS today and it was really easy to start recording video. I haven't tried any editing but Shotcut looks like a promising solution.

Kdenlive seems to be what the Linux guys use the most. Depending on his needs that might be enough. I edited a small clip with it the other day and it seemed straight forward enough. There's also a Windows version available.

Camtasia's crap.

OBS is the ideal for screen capture/streaming.

Kdenlive is an option for free editors, it also runs on Windows now. There's a bunch of free editors out there, try them before you spend a dime on something else, he may not even be into it.

Here's something I edited on Premiere Pro

He doesn't need the software to capture the screen. He wants something to create/edit/add the intro, add voiceovers, stitch in somehow his webcam footage (I don't know how this works and I don't think he knows yet either, it may be part of the capture process), cut out the boring parts, add clips from multiple captures into one video file, add some text or arrows or circles or whatever to call out certain things, etc. The kind of stuff that you see on youtube videos.

I plan on learning this stuff in Premiere but I haven't gotten to it yet. I think you should try Shotcut. The problem with this sort of software is it's pretty intimidating at first. Camtasia might have had a friendly user interface that alleviates that (I don't know, just guessing). YouTube tutorials and/or Lynda can get you going pretty fast if he's interested in learning the software that way.

CM, what don't you like about Camtasia?

My problem with Premiere (and all Adobe software) is the monthly subscription fee. 1) he's not 13 yet so can't legally get the "student" edition, so we're talking ~$32.00 a month for a year until he turns 13, and then after that it's like $20/month essentially forever? That's like 1500 to Adobe until he graduates high school just so he can edit youtube videos? That's just insane. And since it's a subscription I'm guessing he'd have to be online all the time so it can check-in, which is a PITA for me since I have him internet-time-limited at the router level otherwise he'd spend his entire waking life playing that game. Also they're just a terrible company and I'd hate to give them any money.

I'll have him try kdenlive and shotcut. And also the two different Corel ones (which are significantly cheaper than camtasia). All of them seem to have pretty similar interfaces (based on screenshots only).

It's just never been a very good piece of software. Do they still cram the stupid watermark on videos these days?

Anyway, video editing has a sharp early learning curve, but once he gets the basics down (clips, the timeline, mixing, cutting, rendering) it's pretty easy to put together a basic video.

I've used Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas a lot--more Premiere now since I have an Adobe subscription via work, but I find Vegas to be a lot easier to use.

Yeah, the watermark is still there until you pay. He's already got the basics down at least. He did an intro, cut a bunch of clips together with transitions, added a soundtrack, etc. He tried a bunch of the free ones and the ones with free trials and he said they're all pretty much the same, either with more or less options, and some of them crash a lot more than others. Not sure yet on which one he'll settle on.

Steam seems to have multiple versions of Vegas available for ~$200. The "Edit" version seems to lack some DVD features, not relevant for Youtube, and a couple fancy lighting effects that don't seem critical. Might be worth considering.

Definitely a solid piece of software and much cheaper long term than Adobe, though Adobe's product might be more feature intensive.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll have him look them over and try them out.

If you've got a mac, you can get an old copy of final cut pro 7 (that was the best one) for like $100.
It's not exactly easy to use (I was able to figure it out with no help other than youtube), but it can do everything.

I got hooked on Creative Cloud in school. I still have six months on my subscription. I'll decide then if I'm going to keep it. I think if you are into Photoshop and Illustrator the whole package is a decent deal but it really makes much more sense if you're using the software to make money. I like what I saw about Shotcut. Sometimes it is really amazing the quality software that is out there for free.

I no longer own any macs. I would have kept buying them (begrudgingly) except for the stupid touch bar and lack of escape key. I spend half my life in vim and I have muscle memory going back at least as far as 1995 and losing that key for some stupid gimmick is just argh. I am forced to use one for work but it doesn't have the touch bar (I'm sure they'll force me to "upgrade" at some point).

I briefly entertained the idea of buying a macbook for my son just for video editing but quickly decided that would just be silly. (I believe iMovie is still included.) He is pretty happy with Windows None of the annoyances that drive me crazy bother him at all. He accepts most stuff as "that's how it is, get over it" whereas I rage against it and find something better (or at least different).

Kdenlive is a p good OS free starter that can do everything he wants and still have him learning a real NLE. Camtasia might actually be good or whatever I guess I have no reason to try it.

I would go with Premiere though, especially if you can find a way to get the student subscription, since that much money is a years worth of the full adobe suite of programs + other ****. But, he may turn in to a graphic designer or want to do video for a living if he uses all these fancy tools, and if that happens you are going to be supporting him well into your retirement.

You're killing me, Spook.

LOL, I can tell you that I legitimately registered twice for the student discount and was not questioned in any manor. They didn't even require a .edu email address which I don't even have. The school I was in most recently doesn't give you one unless you request it. Anyway, I would still say go with the free one for now.

Besides OBS and Avidmeux (don't get that one), I've also messed around with VSDC. Free, but no support unless you pay. Been a little while since I've actually done anything with my captures, but that's the one I'll probably go back to first.

No, that will be when your son is doing another project for free for exposure

lolololmao

Lcpl Spook, twenty monkey****ers now!

There is currently a humble bundle for Vegas Pro, and some other editing programs where you can get everything when you cap out at $25(currently.)
https://www.humblebundle.com/software/vegas-pro-even-more-software?hmb_source=navbar&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=tile_index_2

Thanks, man.

I'm partial to DaVinci Resolve. It's free. It's mainly aimed for coloring but it's got a pretty solid editing suite in it and with the coloring you can learn to do a bit more than just simple cutting. For coloring it's basically industry leading.

It's UI is a little more original so it could take a second to really adjust, but it's my go-to for free editing tools.

For a discussion of Linux nerds about the merits of free vs paid video editing see:



I guess that would settle kdenlive in the "good enough" corner.

Whoa, nice!