Video editing software?

PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Official Overseer of Orneriness
Staff member
I've been doing audio recording and editing in some capacity for years (information on hold recordings, voice mail prompts, etc.)

But I've never really dabbled with video. Griff's new challenge series at BGU Labs has sparked my interest in putting audio and video together. At the moment, my video recording software will only allow me to use audio from the mic that's built into my webcam. In a word... crap. I have Cubase (and a few other DAW software programs), so I can get decent quality audio recordings.

Can anyone recommend some software that will let me marry the audio to my existing video. I've fooled around with Windows Movie Maker, but it's pretty clunky and I'm not ready to plunk down the cash for something like Adobe Premiere CC. I'm looking for something on the low end for PC. I don't need a lot of fancy effects, just the ability to trim beginning and endings of video clips and sync a stereo audio track.

Suggestions?
 
Norfolk Bill

Norfolk Bill

norfolk uk, just knoodling along
mayve just a good mic to use with a phone? video quality is ok with smart phones ,,just let down by the mic,,,its something ive thought about myself but,,,i dont do or have need to do videos really :)
 
HotLks

HotLks

Blues - it's in me and it's got to come out.
Does Video Surgeon allow adding an audio track to a separate video? I don't know yet. I just started using it.

See you down the road! :thumbup:
 
artyman

artyman

Fareham UK
I use Serif Movieplus X6, not sure if they still do it, there was a freeby (previous X5 version) available some time ago, can't seem to find it now.
 
OG_Blues

OG_Blues

Guitar Geezer
papa,
I've been thinking about doing the same thing, but have not had the time to do any meaningful experimenting yet.
You might try doing a search for what video software youtube posters are using - you will get lots of material to try to sift through to find the answer that works for you.
One option that I started looking at was Filmora. It's reportedly better / more powerful than MovieMaker, but not nearly as expensive as the higher end video software packages (in the $50 range IIRC). What I am not sure of, is if it can easily sync an external audio track. There is a free trial you can download and play with, so you may be able to find out that way.
If you find something good, be sure to let us know.
I have also been considering the little Zoom Q2N for an all in one video / audio capture, and then just use some simple video editor. That way there are no audio sync issues to deal with. Video may not be exceptional, but probably ok for what I want to do. And I could use it for other things too.
It would be good to get an update from LLL and Mike to see how they are getting along with theirs.
Tom
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Official Overseer of Orneriness
Staff member
OG_Blues said:
I have also been considering the little Zoom Q2N for an all in one video / audio capture, and then just use some simple video editor.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at the Q4n and the Q8. I'm definitely going to get one or the other. I'm leaning towards the Q8 because of the ability to use the X/Y mic module and also record 2 channels from an external source at the same time.

I asked my son what he uses for live shots on his Youtube channel, but that's completely out of my price range. Hell, his microphones cost more than my entire budget and he still uses separate recorders for audio and video and then syncs them on the editing machine. He's using Adobe Premiere CC (again way outside my budget). When he started he used Sony Vegas Pro (still overkill for me).
 
OG_Blues

OG_Blues

Guitar Geezer
I checked around a bit on yt - it seems that now that the Q2N has been around for a little while, there are a lot more user reviews available.
Bottom line, it looks like there are some issues, but all in all, it's a good value. To me, both its video and audio look and sound a bit flat.
That Q8 looks like the real deal. I think I'd spend the extra $ for one of those if I were going to invest in anything at all. Very flexible all in one, multi-use solution. Having 2 or 3 of them would be ideal. :D
Ya, those higher end video editors are too many $ for what I would want them for. I played with Filmora a little bit to put together a bunch of different videos of my grandson that were taken with a variety of different cell phones and cameras. It was quite simple and intuitive to do simple things with, but I never got much beyond that before I was distracted on to some other projects. I need to take a closer look at it to see if it's worth buying.
Tom
 
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LLL

LLL

Workin' the Blues
Can't say that I've used the Q2N a lot since I've purchased it but have done a couple of things with it. I purchased it mainly to use to capture stage performance when I get the JC tribute up and running. Audio is great. Video I would rate above average - not super great but definitely not bad. In my opinion it's one that you will want to just set up on the tripod and let it run. Unless you have one of the new small "Steady Cam" type things for today's small cameras, it does best stationary.

I spoke with Paparaptor the other day and we talked about the options. I looked into the Q4 and Q8 but I wanted a different form factor and the Q2N looked to be the right choice for me.
 
Silicon Valley Tom

Silicon Valley Tom

It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
As you know, your needs and budget are the two factors dictating your choices.

I have used Roxio Easy Creator 10 with Windows Vista, Win 7, 8 and 10, with results suitable for my needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Roxio-Media-Creator-Suite-VERSION/dp/B000UJUJ7U

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/



Roxio Creator NXT 5 seems to be the latest offering from this creator:

https://www.amazon.com/Roxio-RCRNXT5MLMBAM-Creator-NXT-5/dp/B01LWOGFP7/ref=dp_ob_title_sw


http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/digital-photo-software/roxio-creator-nxt-pro-review-3453306/




Tom





 
dvs

dvs

Green Mountain Blues
For trimming, adding/syncing audio and maybe a title or two, MS Movie Maker is the best free/cheap software I've found. Clunky, as you say, but it gets the simple jobs done - after a suitable period of hair-pulling to figure it out.

You probably won't have this problem, but a hurdle for me was that Movie Maker does not handle the sound in .MOV files (Apple Quicktime, I think), which is the Zoom Q2N's native or default video format. Handbrake (open source) is able to convert the .MOV files to MP4's that are compatible with Movie Maker. Oddly, using VLC for the conversion didn't work - result was again video with no sound.
 
C

Cam_Thompson

Blues Newbie
I's throw my hat in for Filmora... Its the best budget PC software that will get you pretty close to that Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premier... its sort of in that iMovie (but on cratine).... Its going to let you do everything you need. While there are some elegant solutions to multi cam editing and aligning a primary audio source, I started by importing all of my video sources, I made sure they all had audio of what I was filming, and I made sure I could be seen in all the cameras then I did 3 really loud claps and/or other obvious things so I could align the audio peaks from each camera... The peak was also recorded on the primary audio source (in my case - the sound board or the mics I was using to record the performance/show).... Once they are all aligned, I would lower the volume on all of the camera's and only leave the audio from the primary source "on" (often I would have edited it, made sure it was sweet sounding etc).... Then its a simple matter of watching and cutting each video clip into the timeline....

A good tip if you have a 4k or 1080p 60fps camera, think about taking a slightly wider shot, (especially if its a static camera), and then in the software use a "Ken Burns" insert to create movement (think like your photo's where they are static, but you have them on the TV and the program sort of has movement with the photos....thats a Ken Burns effect). That adds a little interest in the video and makes it look a little more polished.

If you use Filmora, there are some great tutorials on YouTube on how to use the software.

https://filmora.wondershare.com

Let me know if you need any help.
Campbell
 
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C

Cam_Thompson

Blues Newbie
Oh... if you have an iPhone 6 or higher or you have a Samsung Galaxy S5 or higher, or basically a newer Android device... and you want really great 1080p video... download the app Filmic Pro... You can do amazing high quality video's using your phone...

http://www.filmicpro.com
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Official Overseer of Orneriness
Staff member
Thanks Cam. I just picked up a Zoom Q8 camera, so for the moment my need for syncing audio and video has been met with hardware. I haven't had time to test it out yet, but it looks like I can feed the output from my Eleven Rack directly to the camera. I'm still waiting for some accessories to arrive so I can easily do "selfie" videos.

Sounds like Filmora may be just the ticket. Thanks!
 
dvs

dvs

Green Mountain Blues
With thanks to @OG_Blues and @Cam_Thompson, I'm going to change my answer. I'd not heard of Filmora (or maybe it once had a different name), but Movie Maker has gotten a lot harder to control with the more recent updates and I'm beyond fed up with it not being able to handle .MOV files.

Filmora (in the "manual" mode) is more like Movie Maker as I remember it, and my .MOV files cause it nary a hiccup. It's cheap, not free (~$60), but worth the expense in my opinion.
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Official Overseer of Orneriness
Staff member
Thanks for the follow-up, Doug. I picked up a Zoom Q8, which seems to temporarily solve my audio sync issues, as it has a pair of XLR/TRS inputs that can be set at Mic or Line levels and records direct to the cam in stereo at up to 96khz. The odd thing, though, its files are in MOV format and on my March Challenge video, I used Windows Movie Maker with it to trim the beginning and end of the video and had no problems loading it. Still, I find WMM to be very frustrating. I'm not a fan of Microsoft's idea of hiding everything on a ribbon, whether its on Movie Maker or the Office Suite. As I get a little more video under my belt, I'l certainly take a look at Filmora. :thumbup:
 
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