Video editing software

[innerearth]

I am looking into getting some video editing software. I want to get something
that is some what a professional program. I was thinking Pinnacle Studios
"Studio Plus". If any one has any thoughts on this program I would like to here them, or if any one has any other suggestions as far as what program to get.

[opn4bzns]

If you're on a pc I think Sony Vegas or Adobe Premiere are pretty much the norm.
Final Cut Pro is supposedly better than Vegas and Premiere if you're on a Mac though.

[Pingu]

I've used Adobe Premiere at our school and it's really good. Although I've heard its rather expensive too.

[Kenneh]

I use Sony Vegas and its pretty much an awesome program, its much better than WMM in many aspects including the fact where the options of layering tracks are much more controlled. Fading and transitions are also very easy to do and you could control pretty much when you want your effects to happen and when to end, including what happens in between. (can't really explain)

[Crabstick]

Final Cut Pro is supposedly better than Vegas and Premiere if you're on a Mac though.

We use FCP at uni, it's a great program and once you've got the basics down it's simple to use. It's what I'd recommend.

What kind of video are you making, just for the record?

[Assassin]

At school we use Adobe Premiere, it's pretty good

[Spastic]

I'm gonna reiterate Sony Vegas, I love it. It has special effects, (explosions and such) easy to use interface, and is one of the best video editors I have come across.

[CharlieH]

How much did these programs cost you?

Or did you you use them somewhere else?

[innerearth]

I am going to be editing a lot of comedy shorts that have a lot of music involved. Other than that it’s what ever happens to come my way.

After seeing all the posts about Sony Vegas I looked into it. I looked at Vegas movie studio platinum edition. Looks great, but kind of intimidating from the screen shots I saw. How intense is this program, and how user friendly is it?

I am decent with programs like ProTools, Photo Shop, and Illustrator. I am just afraid I am going to get something that is going to end up over my head.

[Spastic]

It has a little learning curve Innerearth, but you shouldn't feel clueless when using it. It's all pretty straightforward, you just need to get used to the interface.

[jewishjosh]

If you have experience with Adobe, Premiere would naturally be an easy one to learn. I've used Premiere on a PC and it was pretty solid, hell of an upgrade from iMovie. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to try out/get Final Cut Pro on a/my Mac, so I can't compare Premiere to another elite program, but from everything I've heard Premiere and FCP are the standard. They're definitely both at least "somewhat professional" and you probably can't go wrong with either one, but look into the one that has the most features you'll use, and if that doesn't tip it one way or the other, just go for the cheaper one.

[Jiggz]

I am decent with programs like ProTools, Photo Shop, and Illustrator. I am just afraid I am going to get something that is going to end up over my head.

Give Avid Free a try. Just google it. It's a free 'lite' version of Avid - which is the industry standard as far as editing software goes. And obviously, as suggested previously, try Final Cut, but only if you have a Mac though.

Adobe Premiere is also a good starting point if you're already familiar with Adobe software.

Avid and FCP are industry standards, so I'd say try sticking to those. Of course, all editing software is more or less the same, it's just the interface that's different. But even so, as an FCP editor it took me a while to come to terms with Avid. So decide on something and stick to it.

[TheHighwaySong]

As mentioned before, if you're experienced with Illustrator and Photoshop, stepping into Premiere should be no hassle at all. It's also what we use at school in my Media Tech class, but my teacher said if he could afford to get Mac's with Final Cut Pro, he'd look into it too. But Premiere is a simple program where you can get the basics down, and if you want something more detailed you can make it do that too.

[Inconceivable]

We use Avid at school. It does the job but doesn't really give you anything extra.
Final Cut is definitely the way to go on a Mac.
Like it says above me, Premiere is great for windows.

[Jiggz]

I just came across this (http://www.zs4.net/download). Apparently it's quite good. I'm busy downloading it, I'll let you know what I think.

[Daoko]

Ive used Pinnacle Studio and done some nice stuff with it.

But ive heard much good about Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas.

[notafan]

I own Adobe Premier Pro and it is so easy to use and I use it all the time. It's perfect, it can do anything you want it to and things you don't need it to do. It's quite expensive though, so that's a downside. But I'd definitely recommend that over other softwares.

[poematik14]

I am looking into getting some video editing software. I want to get something
that is some what a professional program. I was thinking Pinnacle Studios
"Studio Plus". If any one has any thoughts on this program I would like to here them, or if any one has any other suggestions as far as what program to get.

You need a multicore processor, a shitload of RAM, and one hell of a graphics card. Are you sure you can do this?

[Chaplin]

As people are saying, I think Final Cut is the way to go on Macs. What's your price range? And your computer specs would be helpful.