Recently we discussed sites that help you go live and/or edit and share videos and photos taken from your mobile phone. Now, we take a close look at some free or very cheap video editing tools that will help your organization tell its story, most of which are available online or as a free download. No, you don't have to shell out $300 or more for FinalCut!
The Obvious:
Apple iMovie '11: The latest version of this iLife suite software is still straightforward and easy to use, but has added some fancy features like
face detection, audio adjustment, image stabilization, effects such as instant replay and slow motion, new themes and graphics, voiceover recording, overlays, trailer creation, and easy links to Facebook, YouTube, and CNN's iReport. Cons: Like many nonprofits, you don't have a Mac with a Snow Leopard OS, and you can't afford to upgrade.
Windows Live Movie Maker 2011:
PCMag sums it up by saying Movie Maker 2011 "
is pretty much it as far as free, easy-to-use Windows video editors go." You can add special effects, transitions, sound, and captions and share videos easily on YouTube, social media sites, or export files
optimized for your HDTV or portable devices (but not the iPhone or IPad).
New in 2011 are webcam capture, full-screen preview, and file support. The interface has been further simplified- you can drag-and-drop video files from Windows Explorer directly into the editor. If you have a PC, it's free (even upgrades). If you have a Mac, you're out of luck.
Other Contenders: Free Downloads:
avidemux: Available as a download and rated 5 stars by the editors of
CNET, avidemux is an open-source, simple video editor that "should appeal to users of all abilities who are looking for a quick way to edit down video files." Allowable video formats include FLV, MPEG, AVI, VCD, H.263/4, and others, while audio formats include MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, and one or two more. Some reviewers complain that they were not able to improve the videos or add effects, but according to the avidemux website at least a color equalizer is included.
Cinefx: Cinefx is a relatively new free video editing tool, a revised and reinvented version of the Jahshaka video editing software. The program is available for multiple platforms including Mac OS X, Linux and Microsoft Windows. According to
one reviewer from Open Source Living, Cinefx "allows you to edit video with flexibility and speed, create effects in real time, animate with unlimited features, paint and design on moving video, create music with all the tools the pros use, and it works in any format at any resolution." Wow.
VideoSpin: Is a drag-and-drop video editor
said to have "no learning curve". You can use your own video clips, audio, and photos, and edit them using 2D transitions and sound effects. It also has a title editor, which allows you to create scrolling titles. After the video has been created, VideoSpin allows you to upload directly to YouTube and other video sharing sites, or even export directly to an .FLV (flash video format).
ZS4 Video Editor: free video editing software that helps you combine multiple photo, video and audio files into one or more output files. Using it you can combine more than 2 media sources and arrange them so that they are displayed simultaneously (as on a 3 x 3 video wall), adjust rotation angles, audio volume, and chroma key sensitivity, and create custom effects and imaging. It is a complex tool that probably suits seasoned video editors over beginners.
Free Online Tools:
Jaycut: for people with limited storage, JayCut is a useful tool as it allows you to upload your video clips onto its servers, then provides you with a downloadable file when you're done editing. Files to be uploaded must be relatively short, and some patience is required. The interface is up-to-date and comparable to much pricier tools: you can adjust the playback speed and color settings, and also shoot video in front of a green screen for insertion into background. There are six text options, including subtitles, and you can also add audio files or do direct voice recordings via microphone. Note that videos are kept on a public profile unless you delete them. Photobucket: Perhaps you are already using this site to organize and share photos or videos. Photobucket's video editing service, which uses
Adobe's Remix, allows you to add captions, bubbles, frames, transitions, music, and other effects. The effects and transitions are quite limited, but it's ease of use make it a good place to start for beginners. However,
PCMag warns that " free accounts feature tons of ads and downsize images and videos."
Video Toolbox: Available online, Video Toolbox, according to
KillerStartUps.com, "brings into your hands the kind of options that people who had a computer during the ‘90s will always associate with professional studios" It converts your files between all of the popular video formats, and has an upload limit of 300 MB. You can merge many video and audio files into a single video track, download flash videos from more than 20 video-sharing sites, extract data such as music or subtitles using a feature called demux, make video thumbnails, and make a cropped image carry a watermark to protect copyrighted material- all online and all for free!
YouTube's Video Editor: It is very, very basic- good for trimming videos and adding a soundtrack, but no transitions or effects here. Worth keeping an eye on, however.
Freeish/ Cheap Online tools:
Pixorial: Billed as a Family Video Sharing Site, it allows you to upload video in just about any format, from many devices, and even provides a digitization service for a fee (to make old VHS videos available for editing, for example). For no charge, you can download up to 10GB of video, edit material adding simple titles and transitions such as dissolves and fades, and view your completed projects on a URL that can be shared on social media sites (such as, of course, Facebook). For an annual fee of roughly $25 for a Pro account, you can upload and store unlimited video files. To download a high resolution version of each video they charge $1.99. Good reviews of the service are available
here,
here, and
here.
StashSpace: An online video sharing site that primarily serves people looking to convert old tapes into digital files. StashSpace will digitize, transcode and put online video tapes for $5 each, then allow users to watch, share, and edit the newly digitized files using their online application, StashBox. Targeted for longer-form video creation, StashSpace lets users work with long movies in the browser, which
TechCrunch says is a smooth online editor that’s suitable for big files. You can add photos and captions and tag sections of video. They offer online video storage and high quality video sharing as well. The pricing structure resembles Pixorial's, in that the length and size of video storage is limited in free accounts, while
Premium accounts allow for unlimited storage, export to iPod, no advertisements, and high quality video sharing for roughly $40 a year.
Stupeflix Studio: This online tool lets you create web videos from pictures and videos, even from your own Flickr and/or Picasa accounts, using fancy effects and transitions. Dubbed by one
reviewer as "The Thinking Man's
Animoto," it lets you have complete control over the effects and transitions and music, whereas
Animoto does not. It also has an app that "lets your website users create and edit their own videos on your site with a private label solution." For free, you can produce 1 minute of standard definition video, but you must purchase the full length high quality version (640×360) for $3 and the high definition version (1280×720) for $5. Stupefix says that its Studio tool is due for an upgrade any day now. Another great review
here.
