What editing software do you use?

PhantomFanatic · Feb 4, 2015

I hope to be able to order my FPV equipment soon. What is your suggestion of the top video editing software that you would recommend?

Also, without music, the greatest video is lacking. Where do you go for the best music to use? I have a large collection of music, but using popular songs doesn't seem like a good fit. Help me, please.

Prophecies · Feb 4, 2015

Compositing, or Editing software? Two different things.

I use Photoshop for Camera Raw (or Lightroom), After Effects, Premiere pro.

garrock · Feb 4, 2015

Power Director 13

p fandango · Feb 4, 2015

i use a combination of GoPro studio, Corel VideoStudio Pro X7 & Windows movie maker

SteveMann · Feb 4, 2015

PhantomFanatic said:
I hope to be able to order my FPV equipment soon. What is your suggestion of the top video editing software that you would recommend?

Also, without music, the greatest video is lacking. Where do you go for the best music to use? I have a large collection of music, but using popular songs doesn't seem like a good fit. Help me, please.

Asking for opinions about Editing Software is like asking about religion.

You edit with your brain - the NLE is just a tool.

I am absolutely certain that you will find few unbiased responses to the question: "Which editor should I learn and use"? You are discovering the "Baby Duck Syndrome" which denotes the tendency for editors to "imprint" on the first system they learn, then judge other systems by their similarity to that first system. The result is that users generally prefer systems similar to those they learned on and dislike unfamiliar systems.

My advice is simple. Most of the modern NLE programs offer free trials:

Sony Vegas:
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials

Avid:
http://www.avid.com/US/specialoffers/product-trials

Premiere:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=premiere_pro

Corel Video Studio:
http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4760101&cid=catalog20038&segid=6700256

Majix Movie Edit:
http://www.magix.com/us/movie-edit-pro/premium/

Lightworks:
http://www.lightworksbeta.com/

Grass Valley EDIUS Neo 3
http://www.grassvalley.com/login?r=/support/downloads/demos

There's dozens of others. All have some strengths and all have some limitations. It costs nothing but time to try all of them with a test project and select the one that best fits your needs.

Finally: Use what works for you and try them out. All the NLE programs are great... and they all suck! They are just tools and in today's world they all will get the job done. But as tools go, some are better than others for certain jobs. The right answer for me could be the wrong one for you.

Hope this helps.

Music- search for "Royalty Free" music. I buy mine from Smartsound, but it gets pricey ($100 for an album). Another much less expensive option is AudioJungle, http://audiojungle.net/community/market. You can find music for anywhere between $1 to $50 per song. They also offer a free download once a month.

PhantomFanatic · Feb 5, 2015

Thanks

ASabai · Feb 5, 2015

For photos I use Adobe Lightroom for most everything, and highly recommend it for its combination of editing and organizing abilities.
Video editing is a combination of GoPro Studio, and Sony Movie Studio. I'm still learning the ropes on the video editing, so I wont make a recommendation, but it seems to be working so far.