Comments on: Thoughts about video editing software

By: Andrea Lorenz

Andrea Lorenz — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:10:59 +0000

I would argue the easier to use, the better. I learned iMovie in j-school, and it put me ahead of the curve when I got to a daily newspaper that used it as a primary tool for reporters to edit videos on deadline. It also eased me in to multimedia, allowing me to concentrate on other aspects such as shooting, interviewing and putting the story together. And the basic principles of dragging clips and working with audio made learning Final Cut and Audacity less intimidating.

As I transition into becoming a journalism educator, I lean toward sticking with the easier programs to concentrate on teaching storytelling, while introducing students to the more complicated tprograms that they can learn on their own time if they are interested.

By: C. Spencer Beggs

C. Spencer Beggs — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:51:16 +0000

I second the what Steve says about lynda.com. If you are unsure about picking a program, watch its beginner tutorial on lynda.com. It’s great way to window shop for video production software.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:30:05 +0000

I teach Final Cut, because that is the software installed in our lab (originally designed for film students). I do teach a semester-long media course, so we have more time with the software. I am intrigued by the idea of trying a shorter, more intense model.

For FCP, I love the tutorials from the Knight Center: http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/ These are designed for journalism folks and focused on what my students need to know. Their other materials are fabulous too.

By: Video vs. Audio-Slideshow: Das Ende vom Anfang | lab

Video vs. Audio-Slideshow: Das Ende vom Anfang | lab — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:05:00 +0000

[...] Mindy McAdams macht sich Gedanken über die richtige Video-Software [...]

By: Jernej

Jernej — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:53:04 +0000

Looking only at the screenshots it looks similar (in features) to VirtualDub. Perhaps slightly more user friendly but definitely not at the same level as WMM or iMovie.

I guess a GNU Audacity for video equivalent is Cinelerra http://cinelerra.org/

By: Dan Mason

Dan Mason — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 07:46:12 +0000

Tari commentd above:

As for an ‘Audacity for video’, there’s the multi-platform open source Avidemux – http://avidemux.berlios.de/ – “for Linux, BSD, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows under the GNU GPL license”

I’ve never come across this before. Any experience, anyone?

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:19:29 +0000

@Mark Smith – Avid is of course well respected — but quite expensive. I think one of the things we confront now as journalism educators is that our students need to know how to take up a new tool and run with it. So what we do when we teach video editing (to non-TV-news students) is concentrate on principles, especially good storytelling.

By: Mark Smith

Mark Smith — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:58:24 +0000

Ok. I guess Avid gets mentioned once on this site!

By: Mark Smith

Mark Smith — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:57:05 +0000

Is Avid really that far out of the picture (so to speak) that it doesn’t even rate a mention? We have TV stations in MO that use it for editing news pkgs

By: Steve Sweitzer

Steve Sweitzer — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:41:28 +0000

IUPUI in Indianapolis worked a deal with Adobe and students get their CS4 editing and still suites for free (almost pays for the price of enrollment). With this deal in place I have switched from Final Cut Pro to Premier. I still prefer FCP but Premier is hard to beat when it’s free.
The school also worked a deal with lynda.com for free access to all their online tutorials. They have an amazing variety of programs. I’m slowly working my way through tutorials on many programs I’ve used but never knew the correct way to set them up or how to get the most out of them.