Editing Recommendations

travischance · March 4, 2013

While I'm not a complete noob to video, I'm very much an infant & am seeking advice/direction on editing software. I recently purchased a GoPro to make short 3-5 minute videos of the kids, vacations, holidays, birthdays, etc.

I've downloaded trial versions of Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 & Sony Vegas Studio Platinum 5 (and yes I'm very much overwhelmed). Ideally, I'd like to be able to make really nice, yet simple short films. What are your recommendations on software? Thanks!

ziggy53 · March 5, 2013

Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 (VSP) is an excellent all-rounder for traditional long-format and for short format video (like TV commercials and short "indie-style" video), and in resolutions from SD (DV format) and through Full-HD including 1080P60. VSP-X6 (current version) claims 4K resolution support, but I haven't tested that.

It's not very efficient for multi-camera stuff, but I did a couple of multi-camera shoots in 2012 and it can get the job done.

VSP has a few features which I love:

Auto Music Maker (SmartSound): This is an excellent software for creating custom-length audio intros, transitions and stingers. Basically, this capability alone can justify the cost of VSP. (In other words, a small music library, customized to your production needs, is included in VSP.)

Multi-Trim Edit: You set In and Out points, and when you close the tool it automatically extracts the selected edits, discarding un-selected material. Includes mouse-scrubbing and a virtual, variable-speed, jog-wheel, so if you don't have a hardware controller you can use keyboard and mouse very efficiently. Fast and easy it just plain works.

Auto-Transition Length: Not the only software to have this, but rather rare at this price-point, you can set the default transition type and default transition duration. When you drop clips onto the timeline, the transition is automatic (according to your settings). If you're working with a single-camera video that needs a lot of trimming and you want to smooth the cut, you can add a 1/2 sec cross-fade or white-flash automatically.

Lots more, but the above really speeds a normal production editing session.

You mention getting a GoPro, but that doesn't tell us much. Current models are the "Hero3" line, in White, Silver and Black versions (specifically the "White Edition", etc.). Resolutions and frame-rates vary by model and version. Make sure to test all resolution and frame-rate combinations in a free trial of any software you might consider.

ziggy53 · March 5, 2013

I forgot to mention that for a very simple project Corel VSP can show either a Storyboard View or a Timeline View. A Storyboard View is very simple to work with for a beginner, plus you can use Instant Project Templates, which simplifies project construction.

These two things can ease your entry into advanced video editing and make VSP more like an entry-level video editor.

travischance · March 5, 2013

ziggy53 wrote: »

I forgot to mention that for a very simple project Corel VSP can show either a Storyboard View or a Timeline View. A Storyboard View is very simple to work with for a beginner, plus you can use Instant Project Templates, which simplifies project construction.

These two things can ease your entry into advanced video editing and make VSP more like an entry-level video editor.

Thank You for your very detailed response Ziggy! Would you consider Sony Vegas to be more of a mid-range editing platform? I found it easier to navigate & use over Corel.

My apologies; I purchased a GoPro Hero 3 Black & am loving it's simplicity & its sharpness corner to corner. Initially, it froze a lot but I haven't had that issue lately. Thanks again!

ziggy53 · March 5, 2013

travischance wrote: »

Thank You for your very detailed response Ziggy! Would you consider Sony Vegas to be more of a mid-range editing platform? I found it easier to navigate & use over Corel.

My apologies; I purchased a GoPro Hero 3 Black & am loving it's simplicity & its sharpness corner to corner. Initially, it froze a lot but I haven't had that issue lately. Thanks again!

The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition is a very competent video acquisition device in good light.

There's nothing wrong with Sony Vegas and I've used versions since the beginning, but in many ways Vegas lagged VSP:

VSP was first with 3D video.
VSP was first with 5.1 audio plus a usable real-time virtual controller.
VSP was first with GPU accelerated rendering of complex transitions.
VSP was first with competent and capable native h.264-1080 @ both 30p and 60i.

Of these, the last two have been extremely helpful and my system has been very stable even processing 2 - Full-HD video streams.

I do like the way that Vegas envelopes work for both video and audio, and I like the filter set and add-ins for the full-version of Vegas Pro (but not necessarily available to Vegas Movie Studio, which is the closest competing product to Corel VSP). I like the extra user interface configurations for Vegas too.

Still, for a very competent basic video editor, with features that allow you to work on a fairly basic PC*, Corel VideoStudio Pro is what I use and what I recommend. It also has the closest interface to Adobe Premiere's Timeline View, meaning that "some" of the same workflow techniques will apply (with some translation to the keyboard and UI interfaces) to both Premiere and VSP.

Neither Vegas nor VSP has what I consider to be a very good color grading system (color control and color correction). For that I'm currently playing with Lightworks (which is mostly working) and DaVinci Lite (which is mostly not working for me). Both require transcoding and resulting massive file sizes.

*(My video editing platform is an older 4-core i5 processor, with 4GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT and 2 - speedy internal drives, plus three large, external USB connected drives for finished storage. I will be upgrading the total RAM to 16GB RAM within a couple of months.)

Dan7312 · March 9, 2013

If you already have Photoshop CS6, it does video editing. Not as complete as full-fledged video editor, but does the usual trimming clips, pasting them together, transitions. Because it doesn't do as much as a full fledged video editor it's easier to get your head around.

Dan

travischance wrote: »

While I'm not a complete noob to video, I'm very much an infant & am seeking advice/direction on editing software. I recently purchased a GoPro to make short 3-5 minute videos of the kids, vacations, holidays, birthdays, etc.

I've downloaded trial versions of Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 & Sony Vegas Studio Platinum 5 (and yes I'm very much overwhelmed). Ideally, I'd like to be able to make really nice, yet simple short films. What are your recommendations on software? Thanks!

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