Macs and video editing have long been up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Professionals were editing in Avid back in the late 1980s, and iMovie debuted in 1999 alongside the FireWire-enabled iMac DV. Today’s Macs are much more powerful than their ancestors, and that means even free apps are capable of doing some amazing things with video. It’s surprising how much you can do without spending any money: in some cases the only difference between free apps and their extremely expensive siblings is a handful of features only pro editors will need. That’s a smart business strategy; the tinkerers of today could be the pros of tomorrow.
There’s one video editor we’re disappointed not to include: (VLMC). It's based on the VLC video editor – one of our must-have apps – but it’s still in alpha, which means it’s not reliable enough or finished enough for prime time just yet. Check out the: free and paid 1. Free editors don’t get better than this.
Lightworks puts professional video editing tools within the reach of all Mac owners, regardless of budget might look a bit frightening if you’re not used to high-end editors. And that’s about the only negative thing we can say about it, because Lightworks is one of the most powerful free video editors you can download. The same technology that’s been used in proper films like Pulp Fiction and 28 Days Later is completely free for home use. Lightworks can be as light or as complex as you want: it’s as happy trimming a single clip to size as it is adding real-time effects, correcting colours or adding voiceovers. It’ll happily output in a format and resolution suitable for YouTube and Vimeo, but the highest quality options – 4K, 3D, Blu-Ray – and massive list of supported file formats are only for paying customers. TechRadar readers can get 40% off a monthly license using the voucher code TECHRADARLWPROMONTH2017.
Apple’s own movie app is easy to master and ideal for simple video editing Apple's own video editor used to be free with new Macs and chargeable for everybody else, but these days it’s completely free for anyone who wants it (provided they have OS X 10.11.2 or later). It’s fairly simple to learn and packs a lot of useful features including audio editing and colour correction, and since last year it’s supported 4K video too. Don’t expect blisteringly fast 4K performance on a low-end Mac though, as it’s very demanding. IMovie isn't Final Cut Pro and it doesn’t pretend to be: it’s designed for home and small business users who want to make or edit videos and who don’t need complex, expensive apps, and it’s great for beginners.
Download for Free Mac OS X 10.7. Create unforgettable videos with stylish filters like Pop-art and Old Movie. Need easy-to-use Mac video editing software.
Another professional video editor that's free to install on your Mac Here’s another app you’ll find in professional toolkits. Is a US$299 (£299, AU$499) app designed for post-production and packed with tools for adjusting, editing and correcting both audio and video. The free version, is almost identical, with some limits you probably won’t notice. Its 4K tops out at UHD 3,840 x 2,160, whereas the paid product goes up to 4,096 x 2,160. Filters for film grain, lens flare and lens blur aren’t available to free users without watermarking; you don’t get the extensive collaboration and workflow tools of the Studio version, and the really complex audio and video filtering is greyed out. That sounds like a lot of omissions, but it really isn’t.
DaVinci Resolve delivers a serious set of pro tools for free. Perform quick edits and take total control over video and audio encoding is a handy app for simple editing tasks, so if you’re looking for something you can use to make quick edits and cuts this may well be the free video editor for you. Unlike most video editors for Macs, there’s no timeline with multiple tracks to cut between and you don’t get any flashy wipes or transitions.
What you do get is an exceptionally quick way to trim footage and rearrange sections. Avidemux also includes practical filters for removing noise and other irritants. Its most useful feature is its superb exporter, which gives you total control over the video and audio encoding rather than just asking you to pick a file format. The audio options are particularly good. Surprisingly powerful without being a pain to learn is an interesting alternative to better known video editing apps, and while it takes a bit of setting up (for example, to use animated titles you’ll need to install the free app too) it’s surprisingly powerful. OpenShot offers transitions with real-time previews, timeline-based editing, 3D titles and special effects, audio mixing and editing, and a range of visual effects including color correction and chroma key compositing.
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As is often the case with open source software, the interface isn't as slick as commercial alternatives, but don’t let that put you off. OpenShot is an excellent free video editor for macOS, and it’s really easy to get to grips with. Brilliant for beginners, but also powerful enough for more advanced users Some video apps put every single feature on screen at once, which is enough to make even experienced users feel a bit lost.
Not – its interface stays out of the way, bringing up what you need when you need it without filling the screen with things you don’t want. Shotcut covers all the essentials, but our favourite feature is its filtering. There are stacks of audio and video filters that you can layer to create interesting effects. There’s no preview before you apply your filter, but it’s non-destructive editing so you can easily roll back if it doesn’t do what you hoped. There are lots of export options, and while there aren’t presets for specific devices (something that’s handy if you’re making movies for mobile) it’s easy to fine tune settings and codecs. Much more than just rendering – Blender is also a capable free video editor We know what you’re thinking:?
Isn’t that a 3D rendering app? Yes, it is, but it’s also a really good free video editor too. It cuts, splices and masks, mixes audio and has up to 32 slots for adding items, masks and effects. There’s a good selection of file formats, with AVI, MPEG and QuickTime as well as the various 3D file formats. The interface can be as simple or as complex as you like, and because the app is in constant development it’s constantly getting better and better. Blender might be overkill for basic home movies, but if you’re keen to learn new things it’s a fantastic tool for doing so.
Not an expert? Don’t know how to edit videos, or have a bona fide video specialist to shoot and cut your features? That’s alright! The goal of today’s blog is to show you that with the right video editing software, you too can churn out sleek, professional video content—regardless of experience—and keep your content strategy ahead of the curve. Let’s dive in! Here are our recs for the top 10 best pieces of video editing software or video editing apps for beginners—from cheapest (i.e. Free!) to most expensive.
Apple iMovie. Ok—so to those of you working with PCs, this one won’t really apply; but we’d remiss to leave it off the list. If you’re looking for simplicity and elegance, it doesn’t get much better than. IMovie’s ten high-fidelity filters are some of the classiest in the video editing game; and if you’re shooting on your iPhone, or have been editing a project on your iPad, you can use AirDrop to wirelessly and seamlessly transfer your project over to your Mac.
One of iMovie’s most coveted features is its green-screen, or “chroma-key” tool, which allows you to place your characters in exotic locations—Hawaii, say—at a moment’s notice. Want to overlay the scene with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”?
![Best Movie Editing Software For Mac Like Imovie But Free Best Movie Editing Software For Mac Like Imovie But Free](http://www.macvideostudio.com/moviemator-free-mac-video-editor-blog/image/imovie.jpg)
IMovie ties directly in with iTunes and GarageBand, so you can easily implement custom tracks and sounds. When your movie’s finally ready to ship, release it into the wild using iMessage, Facebook, YouTube, or any other of iMovie’s succinctly connected platforms. Standout Features: Seamless Apple product integration; green-screen; audio and social platform integration Pricing: Free with the purchase of a Mac. Lumen5 markets itself as a tool that turns blog posts into social promos.
While the process isn’t perfect, and you’ll likely have to do some tinkering to get your blog content looking just the way you want it, the rest of the video creation process is a cinch. Merely refine some copy that teases your blog post; drag and drop some gifs, screengrabs, or video clips; add some music; and your engaging social video will be ripe for Facebook and Twitter. Standout Features: Blog-to-social-promo creation; drag-and-drop interface Pricing: Create as many 480p videos as you want with the free version; or, for $50 per month, upgrade to 1080p HD. One of the cheaper options around ($49.99), Nero Video holds its own on this list—it comes well-stocked with a lot of the tricks and effects you’ll find among other products vying for video editing supremacy, and as far as software for beginners, you can certainly do worse.
If you’re going to spend money learning how to edit videos, however, you might want to steer clear. Nero just doesn’t have the speed and functionality of some of the other products listed here, and if it’s is its price, $50 is still not all that cheap. Standout Features: Low pricing Pricing: One-time payment of $49.99 4. Corel VideoStudio. Has all the characteristics of the other top-of-the-line products on this list, including 360-degree VR and 4k support, but it also has the distinction of being the first piece of consumer video editing software to offer motion tracking—which, if you’re not already familiar, is a feature that allows you to track specific objects throughout your cut (if you wanted, say, to point an arrow at one of your characters, blur out his face, or bestow him with a funny hat). Most of the products on this list come equipped with motion tracking, but VideoStudio still boasts one of the best motion tracking systems around. One of the knocks on VideoStudio is its speed, which lags notably behind some of the faster systems on this list, like CyberLink PowerDirector and Pinnacle Studio.
Still: for a one-time payment of $51.99? You can do much worse. Standout Features: Motion tracking Pricing: One-time payment of $51.99 5. Filmora from Wondershare. 4k and gif support are boilerplate features for most video editing products today, but one thing Filmora does particularly well is titles. Title tools are trending in video software, and while Filmora’s doesn’t have the functionality of say, an Apple Final Cut Pro X, which can superimpose 3D titles over your videos and rotate them on three axes, it nonetheless has some snazzy titling features for the money you’re spending.
Another Filmora feature beginners to video editing will find attractive is “Easy Mode,” which allows you to create fun, polished edits by merely dragging and dropping clips, choosing a theme, and selecting music. Standout features: Title tool; mobile and screen editing; “Easy Mode” Pricing: Starts at $59.99 for a lifetime license; or, $39.99 for a year. CyberLink PowerDirector. Don’t be scared of CyberLink’s extra features; just be wary of your commitment level! In terms of rendering, PowerDirector is regarded as one of the fastest video editing systems around. It also operates consistently in the sphere of the innovative and cutting edge. PowerDirector led the charge in the switch to 4k, and today, it’s one of the first systems to support 360-degree virtual reality footage.
Price: you get what you pay for! $79.99 gets you unlimited access to one of the most capable pieces of video editing software around. Standout Features: Lightning-fast rendering; comprehensive suite of effects Pricing: One-time payment of $79.99 7.
Adobe Premiere Elements. We include on the list mostly because it’s been an industry leader in the video editing game for some time.
And $79.99 is not egregious, but we’re here to say that at that price, you’re mostly paying for the name. In the time since Premiere Elements’ inception, too many other products have surpassed it in speed and capability for us to place it among the cream of the crop. That’s to take nothing away from Premiere Elements’ usability, though—specifically for beginners. The Guided Edits feature makes Adobe Premiere a particularly attractive option for beginners, as it allows them to take on both quick edits and advanced projects with substantial assistance from the software. At the higher end of the Corel product line is —which, at $129.95 (the amount you’ll need to pay to edit 360-degree and 4k content with the “Ultimate” version), costs more than twice as much as VideoStudio. What do you get for the extra money? Well, not only does Pinnacle come readily equipped with all the features you’d expect from an upper-echelon product—motion tracking, 360-degree VR support, 4k support, multi-cam, etc.—but you’d be hard-pressed to find a faster product on the market in terms of rendering.
For all of its features, Pinnacle’s interface is still as user-friendly and intuitive as anything on this list. Thus, is you have the need for speed, and you don’t mind shelling out a few extra bucks for it, Pinnacle might be the product for you. Standout Features: Top-of-the-line rendering speeds; full range of features and support Pricing: One-time payment of $129.95 9. Adobe Premiere Pro. With a virtually unmatched suite of features, 360 VR and 4k support, and a newly implemented ability to store, organize, and share assets online with a team, is perhaps the most complete piece of video editing software around.
Here’s a recent video promo for our we cut using Premiere Pro. One of the more dazzling of Premiere Pro’s tools is the Lumetri Color tool, which offers color adjustment and manipulation on par with that of a Photoshop. The multi-cam feature is also a winner—whereas most systems allow you to work with a limited number of camera angles, Premiere Pro’s latest iteration allows for an unlimited amount. Throw in a wealth of titling options, readily connected ancillary apps (like Photoshop and After Effects), and a flexible, easy-to-use interface, and Premiere Pro is a no brainer.
Standout Features: Multi-cam and coloring options; title tool; easy integration with Adobe Products; straightforward interface Pricing: $19.99/month 10. Apple Final Cut Pro X. For the most advanced, least fiscally prudent of beginners, there’s. $299.99 might be a little steep for a product you may well have a difficult time understanding; but for those among you who enjoy a challenge, and who aspire to some level of professionalism in video editing, why not go for it? Apple has made the transition from iMovie to Final Cut Pro more painless than ever—so if you’re the kind of guy or gal who enjoys him/herself an Apple product, and has worked with iMovie to the point of mastery, it might be time to splurge on Final Cut Pro. The power is still daunting; the interface, significantly less so.
Standout Features: Magnetic Timeline; Touch Bar support Pricing: One-time payment of $299.99 Some Final Thoughts Are you a content or social media marketer looking to get in the video editing game for the sake of keeping up with the growing video trend? Don’t stress! Any of the above software apps would make a fine choice for a beginner. Think about your budget, your current level of expertise, and how much time you’re willing to devote to learning a new skill. Whether you're looking for the best video editing software for YouTube, or the responsibility has simply fallen on you to get your team’s up to snuff—don’t wait around deliberating! Get invested in one of these video editing products, and make it yours.