Since there are plenty of us here on the forum giving video editing a spin, whether it be just as a hobby or a more serious endeavour, I've created this thread to discuss NLE software. Below I've listed popular NLEs ranging from industry standard to express and free versions and described them in some detail. Anyone looking to decide which NLE is best for them could find this helpful, whether you might be using Windows, Mac or Linux, have some sort of budget or no budget at all.
Full price versions:
-Final Cut Studio $US1500 (Mac only)
-Avid Media Composer $US2500 (note: a year ago, this was $US5000)
-Adobe Premiere Pro (also as part of Adobe packages) $US800
-Sony Vegas Pro (Windows only) $US600
Academic versions:
-Final Cut Studio $US700
-Avid Media Composer $US300
Cut-down versions:
-Final Cut Express (Mac only) $US200
-Premiere Elements (Windows only) $US100
(can be bundled with Photoshop Elements for US$150)
-Avid Xpress Pro Studio HD $1700
Free versions:
-iMovie (Mac)
-Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
-Cinelerra (Linux)
For Windows users:
Windows Movie Maker is the obvious choice if you simply want to throw in a few clips, maybe include a dissolve or a fade here and there and add some music. If that’s all you need it for, then you don’t have to spend a cent. Windows Movie Maker is bundled with Windows Vista, and an earlier version bundled with XP (and updated with Service Pack 2). The new Windows Live Movie Maker is available for free with Windows 7.
If you want a bit more functionality (colour correction, effects, HD video, export to any format you want etc.), then I’d recommend Adobe Premiere Elements. It is the number one selling consumer video editing software for a reason. It can handle unlimited audio and video tracks with multiple keyframed effects on each clip. It even has chromakey capabilities and supports many plugins. If you’re using Windows and don’t want to break the bank, this is the definitive choice. And if you’d like Photoshop Elements on top of that, then an extra $50 is great value. If you want to fork out an extra $600 for Premiere Pro, make sure you check the product features to see if it’s worth your while. It probably isn’t and I would suggest sticking with Elements.
If you want to get serious on Windows and you are prepared to spend a bit, then Avid Media Composer is your choice, especially since Final Cut Pro is not available on Windows.
For students and teachers (Mac or Win):
If you’re eligible for an academic version, then this changes the ball-game completely. Avid Media Composer’s academic version is very aggressively priced, at $US300. If you can get your hands on an academic version, then Avid – for sure. Final Cut Studio is more than twice the price at $US700.
For Mac users:
If iMovie just isn’t powerful enough for you, then Final Cut Express is a snap at only $US200.
If you’re happy to cash in on some serious software, then it basically comes down to Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Studio, both of which were originally designed for Macs. Avid is rock-solid stable on the Mac, and Final Cut Studio is gradually ironing out its kinks and quirks. If it comes down to price between these two flagship models, Final Cut Studio is the clear winner. If it doesn’t come down to price for you, then I’d suggest downloading a trial version of both Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer – check out the video tutorials for each and test them out thoroughly. Then make your own decision. (Please bear in mind it might take a few months of using Final Cut to really become proficient in using it, and an extra few months for Avid.)
As mentioned earlier, if you are eligible for academic versions, Avid Media Composer is the one to go with at only $300. But if you prefer Final Cut Studio, their academic price is $US700. Don’t forget you’re getting a whole studio there, with Color, Soundtrack Pro, Motion etc. Sure, they aren’t too well integrated but they still offer distinct advantages over Avid Media Composer. Avid does however include Boris Continuum Complete (a powerful 200 or so effects normally priced at $995) and Avid FX (kinda like Apple’s Motion) at no extra cost.
Autodesk Smoke:
Not exactly a serious consideration for an individual, due to the expensive price tag. But if money is absolutely no issue for you then you might be interested in what is widely considered the flagship editing/finishing tool. Smoke is a strange hybrid of a non-linear editor and compositor and until recently was very costly and only available on Windows or Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Workstation Edition or, if you’re clever, the free CentOS, which is based off the same Linux kernel). I have to say, after using Smoke it's VERY hard to go back to using Avid or Final Cut.
A couple of days ago, Autodesk made Smoke available for Mac without any additional required hardware for only $15,000, less than a quarter of its original price for Win/Linux. Like I said, if money is no issue! Autodesk’s support (offered for $1,000 per year as a subscription) is second to none, and their support staff are fast and possibly magical. If you can afford this, you will also need a mid-range Quadro graphics card and a graphics tablet. Most of your work in Smoke will be done using the graphics tablet or a touchscreen.
The Avid Media Composer vs Final Cut Pro debate:
Hollywood is still an Avid town. Few major feature films and prime time TV shows are edited on anything else. Because those shows are at the pinnacle of esteem in Hollywood, Avid has earned much respect and admiration over the years. Many editors, well-known and otherwise, insist on Avid, viewing it as a step down on the esteem ladder to use Final Cut. This is only because Avid’s reputation precedes it, having been refined over many years by the combined feedback of the most experienced editors in the industry. Since the early 1990s, Avid has been the dominant non-linear editing system in the film and television industry on first Mac and then also on Windows. Catering to the high end of the market, Avid is still used in almost all major film productions.
Final Cut Pro has since the early 2000s become the NLE of choice for independent filmmakers and is also used to some degree in film and television. Final Cut Pro is easily the most widely used editing software today. Avid and Final Cut are both great editors and they both have some pros and cons. I’ve worked on both for a few years and I like them both. Personally, I choose Avid because Avid has some very smart and efficient ways of doing things. Final Cut has a more aesthetically appealing interface, but on the downside there are some tasks that take 6-7 clicks/keys to achieve that Avid does in 1, and some things Final Cut doesn’t do at all, such as trim mode, or any sort of “mode” for that matter. This doesn’t mean Avid is better, it just means they have a different way of doing things.
I haven't discussed Sony Vegas or some of the others because I haven't had much experience with them, so I'm hoping other editors on the forum know more about them and can post here! :)
Full price versions:
-Final Cut Studio $US1500 (Mac only)
-Avid Media Composer $US2500 (note: a year ago, this was $US5000)
-Adobe Premiere Pro (also as part of Adobe packages) $US800
-Sony Vegas Pro (Windows only) $US600
Academic versions:
-Final Cut Studio $US700
-Avid Media Composer $US300
Cut-down versions:
-Final Cut Express (Mac only) $US200
-Premiere Elements (Windows only) $US100
(can be bundled with Photoshop Elements for US$150)
-Avid Xpress Pro Studio HD $1700
Free versions:
-iMovie (Mac)
-Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
-Cinelerra (Linux)
For Windows users:
Windows Movie Maker is the obvious choice if you simply want to throw in a few clips, maybe include a dissolve or a fade here and there and add some music. If that’s all you need it for, then you don’t have to spend a cent. Windows Movie Maker is bundled with Windows Vista, and an earlier version bundled with XP (and updated with Service Pack 2). The new Windows Live Movie Maker is available for free with Windows 7.
If you want a bit more functionality (colour correction, effects, HD video, export to any format you want etc.), then I’d recommend Adobe Premiere Elements. It is the number one selling consumer video editing software for a reason. It can handle unlimited audio and video tracks with multiple keyframed effects on each clip. It even has chromakey capabilities and supports many plugins. If you’re using Windows and don’t want to break the bank, this is the definitive choice. And if you’d like Photoshop Elements on top of that, then an extra $50 is great value. If you want to fork out an extra $600 for Premiere Pro, make sure you check the product features to see if it’s worth your while. It probably isn’t and I would suggest sticking with Elements.
If you want to get serious on Windows and you are prepared to spend a bit, then Avid Media Composer is your choice, especially since Final Cut Pro is not available on Windows.
For students and teachers (Mac or Win):
If you’re eligible for an academic version, then this changes the ball-game completely. Avid Media Composer’s academic version is very aggressively priced, at $US300. If you can get your hands on an academic version, then Avid – for sure. Final Cut Studio is more than twice the price at $US700.
For Mac users:
If iMovie just isn’t powerful enough for you, then Final Cut Express is a snap at only $US200.
If you’re happy to cash in on some serious software, then it basically comes down to Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Studio, both of which were originally designed for Macs. Avid is rock-solid stable on the Mac, and Final Cut Studio is gradually ironing out its kinks and quirks. If it comes down to price between these two flagship models, Final Cut Studio is the clear winner. If it doesn’t come down to price for you, then I’d suggest downloading a trial version of both Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer – check out the video tutorials for each and test them out thoroughly. Then make your own decision. (Please bear in mind it might take a few months of using Final Cut to really become proficient in using it, and an extra few months for Avid.)
As mentioned earlier, if you are eligible for academic versions, Avid Media Composer is the one to go with at only $300. But if you prefer Final Cut Studio, their academic price is $US700. Don’t forget you’re getting a whole studio there, with Color, Soundtrack Pro, Motion etc. Sure, they aren’t too well integrated but they still offer distinct advantages over Avid Media Composer. Avid does however include Boris Continuum Complete (a powerful 200 or so effects normally priced at $995) and Avid FX (kinda like Apple’s Motion) at no extra cost.
Autodesk Smoke:
Not exactly a serious consideration for an individual, due to the expensive price tag. But if money is absolutely no issue for you then you might be interested in what is widely considered the flagship editing/finishing tool. Smoke is a strange hybrid of a non-linear editor and compositor and until recently was very costly and only available on Windows or Linux (Red Hat Enterprise Workstation Edition or, if you’re clever, the free CentOS, which is based off the same Linux kernel). I have to say, after using Smoke it's VERY hard to go back to using Avid or Final Cut.
A couple of days ago, Autodesk made Smoke available for Mac without any additional required hardware for only $15,000, less than a quarter of its original price for Win/Linux. Like I said, if money is no issue! Autodesk’s support (offered for $1,000 per year as a subscription) is second to none, and their support staff are fast and possibly magical. If you can afford this, you will also need a mid-range Quadro graphics card and a graphics tablet. Most of your work in Smoke will be done using the graphics tablet or a touchscreen.
The Avid Media Composer vs Final Cut Pro debate:
Hollywood is still an Avid town. Few major feature films and prime time TV shows are edited on anything else. Because those shows are at the pinnacle of esteem in Hollywood, Avid has earned much respect and admiration over the years. Many editors, well-known and otherwise, insist on Avid, viewing it as a step down on the esteem ladder to use Final Cut. This is only because Avid’s reputation precedes it, having been refined over many years by the combined feedback of the most experienced editors in the industry. Since the early 1990s, Avid has been the dominant non-linear editing system in the film and television industry on first Mac and then also on Windows. Catering to the high end of the market, Avid is still used in almost all major film productions.
Final Cut Pro has since the early 2000s become the NLE of choice for independent filmmakers and is also used to some degree in film and television. Final Cut Pro is easily the most widely used editing software today. Avid and Final Cut are both great editors and they both have some pros and cons. I’ve worked on both for a few years and I like them both. Personally, I choose Avid because Avid has some very smart and efficient ways of doing things. Final Cut has a more aesthetically appealing interface, but on the downside there are some tasks that take 6-7 clicks/keys to achieve that Avid does in 1, and some things Final Cut doesn’t do at all, such as trim mode, or any sort of “mode” for that matter. This doesn’t mean Avid is better, it just means they have a different way of doing things.
I haven't discussed Sony Vegas or some of the others because I haven't had much experience with them, so I'm hoping other editors on the forum know more about them and can post here! :)
