Question Video Software?

stevo

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What video software do you use? I usually just use Windows Movie Maker, though it's pretty "buggy" , it is pretty simple to use if i don't over stress it.

I always have trouble trying to get a decent quality picture when i make web videos vs file size. If i export a nice picture quality it's always huge in file size, though i'm getting the impression people don't worry about file size too much anymore as most people have a fast internet connection?
 

Mark

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WMV will make rather large files and you're right Windows Movie Maker tends to be pretty buggy and I don't think it's very intuitive to use at all. Having said that, it is free :)
I use Sony Movie Studio 12 which is the basic version of Vegas Pro and although Vegas Pro is the professional suit (and costs about $400 more) I find Movie Studio is easily all I need and I really rate it as excellent video software. I have found it to be extremely stable and easy to use. Movie Studio costs about $100. You can also buy plugins for special effects etc to add to the program.

It does take a little time to learn how to use Movie Studio effectively but once you tinker with it for awhile it doesn't look so alien anymore. After you have finished editing you can then "make movie" or render it to lots of different presets or make up your own. I usually save my movies in MP4 because I have found it to be reliable and a good file size for quality - plus it will play on most things.

I think file size is still an issue (perhaps less so these days) but keeping the file size down whilst preserving quality is good practice.
 

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I dont have much to add to this discussion as I rarely make videos.
When I was on Windows I would use Windows Movie Maker and found it a bit of a pain and unresponsive at times.
I've now turned to the dark side of a Mac and have iMovie installed as standard. Haven't used it yet and don't really know when I will!
Most Apple programs are pretty slick so I hold great hopes for that day i hit that icon.:)
 

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I dont have much to add to this discussion as I rarely make videos.
When I was on Windows I would use Windows Movie Maker and found it a bit of a pain and unresponsive at times.
I've now turned to the dark side of a Mac and have iMovie installed as standard. Haven't used it yet and don't really know when I will!
Most Apple programs are pretty slick so I hold great hopes for that day i hit that icon.:)
You sound like my brother @psirhoboy he's a Mac fanboy! And, has a double degree in Engineering and Info Technology. He's always on my back to change to the dark side and get an Apple - you both might have a good point as even windows 8 still hangs and is frustratingly non-intuitive to use sometimes.
 

Steve

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You sound like my brother @psirhoboy he's a Mac fanboy! And, has a double degree in Engineering and Info Technology. He's always on my back to change to the dark side and get an Apple - you both might have a good point as even windows 8 still hangs and is frustratingly non-intuitive to use sometimes.


Well it is bit of a jump or leap of faith and I was thinking about it for a long time. Then my wife made the decision for me by getting me a Mac Book Pro for my birthday and I was converted. I really do procrastinate sometimes being a Libra and have trouble taking that leap.
It just takes a while to get the hang of a new system. Most days I have my Mac laptop on one side of me and my work laptop (windows) on the other. It doesn't seem to bother me and can quite happily work on either.

They do cost a bit more but are certainly as flash as a rat with a gold tooth. :twothumbsup:
 

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bah, i made a video of me bottling the homebrew, but Movie Maker is tripping out and can't cope
You could try another program - I've used Freemake Video Converter before and it's pretty good. It's primarily a conversion program but it can cut and do basic editing. Completely free and good quality.
 

Mark

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Steve, my laptop is getting a bit old now so i think it needs upgrading :(

cheers Mark, i'll have a look at it.
Yep, video crunching needs power it does take a lot of CPU juice!

I've got an Intel 7 desktop 3.9 GHz with 16GB RAM - renders a full DVD in about 10 minutes :smug:
 

psirhoboy

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I dont have much to add to this discussion as I rarely make videos.
When I was on Windows I would use Windows Movie Maker and found it a bit of a pain and unresponsive at times.
I've now turned to the dark side of a Mac and have iMovie installed as standard. Haven't used it yet and don't really know when I will!
Most Apple programs are pretty slick so I hold great hopes for that day i hit that icon.:)

You should push that button, but beware - the first time you fire it up it can take ages building your video library... so I'd suggest do that before you want to use it. After that though you'd be correct in guessing that it's a slick, easy to use program. The scrubbing feature makes it really easy to cut and paste video bits around. I've made a few vids with it and found iMovie very good.
 

stevo

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back to this.... nearly three years later? :eek:

Mark, are you still using Sony Movie Studio?

I'm revisiting the video idea, just have to try do some stuff infront of the camera, which I'm not confident will go well :confused: ... I guess I can start by making videos without me in it :D
 

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I use Sony Vegas Pro now (I upgraded from Movie Studio) however I have to be honest and say that there's not much advantage to spend the extra on Pro when Movie Studio is completely capable for novices like us.

I did try Adobe but I hated it. The interface is complex and unintuitive - well it was for me anyway...

If you feel a bit rusty in front of the camera perhaps shoot a quick intro (really quick) with you in it and then work mostly from behind the lens - maybe a short outro at the end.

I've found whilst it's not always necessary to show yourself on camera with youtube it does help to connect with the audience if they've see you sometimes even on previous videos.
 

stevo

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cheers

I did a quick video today for the ukulele just to run through the process. I installed Sony Movie Studio... opened my quick demo video and exported, I didn't do any edits. I just wanted to see how it went to start with. Looks pretty good and didn't do anything weird.
 
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