Video editing

[odanny]

Anyone here do any video editing? I have been teaching myself how to on iMovie and it has not been intuitive, I have struggled, but I watched an online course through Udemy which helps but in no way answers all your questions, however, you watch YouTube tutorials (most of which are 4 years old for iMovie, not many new videos) and you keep playing around with it and if you get past the frustration at the beginning you start making progress and this starts to subside.

What video editor do you use? I've probably heard of DaVinci Resolve the most in online discussions, has anyone used this, or any others? It's really cool once you get the hang of it, and I have just figured out adding music and titles (that part is easy).

 

[buttercup]

I make videos. I was using Final Cut Pro, for years... which I liked. But long story short, I no longer have FCP on my laptop, so I've been using iMovie.

I agree that it can be frustrating... for the reason you stated, but also because of its limitations, when you're used to an editing program that you can do so much more with. But with iMovie there are some workarounds. The more you use it, the more you learn. So it's just a matter of trial and error. And yeah, occasionally doing a search for a specific question or problem.

That probably wasn't much help, lol. But I haven't tried other video editing programs in recent years, so maybe others will have some suggestions. For now I'm just happy to have something to edit with, instead of nothing.... but eventually I might get FCP again.

 

[odanny]

I make videos. I was using Final Cut Pro, for years... which I liked. But long story short, I no longer have FCP on my laptop, so I've been using iMovie.

I agree that it can be frustrating... for the reason you stated, but also because of its limitations, when you're used to an editing program that you can do so much more with. But with iMovie there are some workarounds. The more you use it, the more you learn. So it's just a matter of trial and error. And yeah, occasionally doing a search for a specific question or problem.

That probably wasn't much help, lol. But I haven't tried other video editing programs in recent years, so maybe others will have some suggestions. For now I'm just happy to have something to edit with, instead of nothing.... but eventually I might get FCP again.

iMovie is pretty good, I am starting to really like it now, but damn, there are so many functions that you would not know exist if someone wasn't there to tell you about them or you didn't do some serious digging to find. My only option was the latter.

I paid $50 for the Udemy course and I found the instruction average, at best, and there is nothing on YouTube really that is even current, seems most I found was from 2020, guess the pandemic made it a good year for tutorial videos.

The most frustrating aspect is having to export everything in order to join the clips after editing, it quickly filled my HD, but the 1TB external HD I just bought at least solved that issue.

 

[buttercup]

iMovie is pretty good, I am starting to really like it now, but damn, there are so many functions that you would not know exist if someone wasn't there to tell you about them or you didn't do some serious digging to find. My only option was the latter.

I paid $50 for the Udemy course and I found the instruction average, at best, and there is nothing on YouTube really that is even current, seems most I found was from 2020, guess the pandemic made it a good year for tutorial videos.

The most frustrating aspect is having to export everything in order to join the clips after editing, it quickly filled my HD, but the 1TB external HD I just bought at least solved that issue.

Glad to hear you're liking it now. And yeah, I too noticed that there are a lot of hidden functions you would never know about unless you do serious digging or someone tells you about it.

I recently heard about a workaround for making vertical videos (in iMovie there's no way to select a different aspect ratio when you start a new project.) Instead of clicking on "Create New"..... go to the top bar and click File > New App Preview, click OK, then just make sure that the first clip you drop into the timeline is a vertical clip. That will set the 9:16 aspect ratio for the project.

Anyway.... happy editing! (I absolutely love video editing!)

 

[JGalt]

Anyone here do any video editing? I have been teaching myself how to on iMovie and it has not been intuitive, I have struggled, but I watched an online course through Udemy which helps but in no way answers all your questions, however, you watch YouTube tutorials (most of which are 4 years old for iMovie, not many new videos) and you keep playing around with it and if you get past the frustration at the beginning you start making progress and this starts to subside.

What video editor do you use? I've probably heard of DaVinci Resolve the most in online discussions, has anyone used this, or any others? It's really cool once you get the hang of it, and I have just figured out adding music and titles (that part is easy).

I just use the MS Clipchamp that came with Windows 11.

 

[odanny]

Glad to hear you're liking it now. And yeah, I too noticed that there are a lot of hidden functions you would never know about unless you do serious digging or someone tells you about it.

I recently heard about a workaround for making vertical videos (in iMovie there's no way to select a different aspect ratio when you start a new project.) Instead of clicking on "Create New"..... go to the top bar and click File > New App Preview, click OK, then just make sure that the first clip you drop into the timeline is a vertical clip. That will set the 9:16 aspect ratio for the project.

Anyway.... happy editing! (I absolutely love video editing!)

That's good info., thanks for sharing. When you have so many possibilities these days in editing it makes it a challenge at first to even know where to start, plus my first video is editing down about 50 minutes of footage to around 15 minutes. Changing the speed of much of it allows this to happen without sacrificing all my footage, as I had my GoPro 13 mounted on the handlebars of my bike and am putting together a video of the last 70 degree day in 2024 where I live, October 30th.

I am interested in other editing platforms, but am content to keep using iMovie for now, as it is pretty slick.

 

[odanny]

I think this video has some great tips, I think his first one might helpful to you buttercup

 

[buttercup]

I think this video has some great tips, I think his first one might helpful to you buttercup

Oh wow… excellent video! That really is very helpful. Thanks!

I had no idea that the resolution and aspect ratio is always set by the first clip. I thought that only happens when you do the “New App Preview” thing I mentioned. So that’s very good to know.

And a lot of the other tips were also new to me since I only recently started using iMovie again. (I used it a few times many years ago, then I had FCP for a long time.)

I’m going to subscribe to that guy’s channel. He's good at explaining things in a clear way. Thanks again!

 

[odanny]

I have to agree, after seaching YouTube, this guy has the best speaking style, best on screen graphics with his explanations, and also some of the most recent content. People lost interest in making new tutorials.

You can also check out macmost, but he not specific to iMovie, he is more into general usage and how to use all the
Apple apps, also good to know. He's been around a while.

 

[buttercup]

I didn't know where else to put this, but I just had to say....I'm excited because I just got a brand new high quality microphone and mic stand, for doing video narrations. I haven't even unboxed it yet.

I had a mid-level one a few years ago but I didn't like it and I needed one with a USB-C connection.

So, I guess this means more narrated videos will be forthcoming.

 

[Carl in Michigan]

Anyone here do any video editing? I have been teaching myself how to on iMovie and it has not been intuitive, I have struggled, but I watched an online course through Udemy which helps but in no way answers all your questions, however, you watch YouTube tutorials (most of which are 4 years old for iMovie, not many new videos) and you keep playing around with it and if you get past the frustration at the beginning you start making progress and this starts to subside.

What video editor do you use? I've probably heard of DaVinci Resolve the most in online discussions, has anyone used this, or any others? It's really cool once you get the hang of it, and I have just figured out adding music and titles (that part is easy).

Capcut is the easiest and best for beginners, and it's free(ish). Very intuitive