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Video Editing Software: What’s the Best?
I’m going to try to keep this blog as short and simple as possible. So what is the best video editing software out there? For those of you looking for that answer, you won’t find it here. It’s a trick question.
The truth of the matter is that most professional level NLEs, or non linear editors, do the exact same thing. Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Avid and Sony Vegas will all splice video, add dissolves, titles, and composite several layers of video and audio just fine. So the question is not so much “what’s the best NLE?”, but rather “what’s the best NLE for you?”
The easiest way to determine what NLE works best for you is to simply try them out. Almost all of the NLEs offer a trial version that you can download and test out before buying. I’d recommend doing this and getting a feel for how each of them function, how their graphical user interface works, how they manage the media, how simple tasks are accomplished, etc. Sooner or later you’ll find one that seems to fit your style.
For me, Sony Vegas suits me well. It has a fairly intuitive user interface and isn’t as keyboard based as say Final Cut Pro or Avid, since I’m more of a mouse guy. It also works really well with my Shuttle Express, a job/shuttle controller I use in conjunction with my mouse. I also like Vegas for its powerful set of audio tools. It’s extremely easy to edit audio in Vegas and for me, that’s a necessity when it comes to any NLE.
Now that’s just my personal preference. As I said before, every professional NLE will do the same thing and each carries its own perks. Final Cut Pro and Avid are commonly used in the film industry and considered by many to be the standard. Both NLEs revolve around keyboard shortcuts – in fact, special keyboards containing colored keys are available for serious editors.
Aside from those two, Adobe Premiere is another very solid NLE. Probably one of its greatest strengths, like all other Adobe products, is the ability to easily integrate with other Adobe software titles. For example, you can do some advanced compositing with After Effects, and then export your project and bring it into Premiere without having to render your project out. The ability to work between multiple software tools without the need to render is a tremendous asset to have. This type of integration is typical with all Adobe products and can really save a lot of time and headaches.
Now there are a ga-zillion other NLEs out there, especially for PC. Don’t let anyone tell you that one NLE is the best or better than another. It all comes down to the editor, not the software. Heck, you could make an award winning movie using iMovie. The point here is, download all of the trial versions, try them out and get a feel for which one fits you.
Here’s a few links to get you started:
Once you find it, you’ve got yourself the best NLE. It’s that simple. Good luck and happy editing!
