In fact, it’s very expensive. If you’re already out of pocket from purchasing a rather expensive Mac then you’ll likely want some financial relief in the form of free software. While nothing is going to match the premium might of Adobe and Apple’s in-house software, there are a few free video editing applications to sink your teeth into.

iMovie

If you’ve just bought your first Mac then you might not have realised that it already comes with a basic video editor called iMovie. This is Apple’s own software and comes as part of the iLife suite. While you won’t necessarily be cutting up the next Hollywood blockbuster using iMovie, it’s a capable video editor for small projects.

For personal use, iMovie offers an easy introduction to video editing with support for face recognition, themes, easy to use effects, a simplistic timeline view and built in sounds and animations. It will leave you hungry for more if you’re after a powerful video editing solution, but then again you’ll be hard pressed to find an easier way to bring your moving images together into one professional looking production.

Blender

At the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of user friendliness and raw power is Blender, an application usually associated with 3D modelling and compositing that’s been used in some pretty high profile productions.

We’ve written about Blender before at MakeUseOf, though with a focus on the 3D modelling aspect with only a brief mention of Blender’s potential as a non-linear video editor. The open source powerhouse might take some getting used to but with a few tutorials and some practice you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve. Here is an excellent site with a heap of tutorials for those getting started with Blender.

Kdenlive

Better known for its compatibility with Linux (of which it’s one of the better video editors), Kdenlive plays nicely on OS X thanks to the help of MacPorts. The project is very much alive, with a March 2012 donation drive exceeding expectations allowing the developer to work on the project for two solid months.

The community managed to raise over $7,000 and that’s bound to help Kdenlive reach version 1.0 in the near future (as of writing the most recent release is 0.9.2 released in May 2012). While there are a lack of features found in the big commercial suites, Kdenlive is a straightforward and functional non-linear editor with plenty of friendly folks on the forum to help you out if you get stuck.

Jahshaka (CineFX)

Jahshaka was previously known as CineFX and is aimed at being an editor, effects and compositing engine that runs cross-platform over Mac, Linux and Windows. It is probably best compared to Adobe After Effects in its aspirations, though there has been a long time between version 2.0 and the long-awaited version 3.0 leading some to question the project’s future.

There is clearly still a lot of work to be done but it’s nice to see a truly open source cross-platform stab at a market dominated by Adobe. There seem to be quite a few users hungry for a new version judging by the comments left on news items, which hopefully will spur developers to deliver the update sometime this year.

VideoLan Movie Creator (VLC Project Page)

Still in the early stages of development, VideoLan Movie Creator (VLMC) is a non-linear editor based on the daddy of all media players, VLC. I’m not entirely sure whether the project is still actually alive, though according to the minus project page the last unstable release was nearly a year ago and the latest version is nearly 2 years late according to the roadmap.

Not to worry, because it’s free and potentially very promising indeed. If you’re scratching your head at the mention of VLC then you might want to familiarise yourself with the world’s best media player.

Avidemux

Finally another oft-listed Linux variant is Avidemux, though it’s basic in nature and not that up to date it works well for simple editing tasks and supports a wide variety of input and output formats. The interface could do with an update, but as a simple editing tool Avidemux does the job.

Personally I’d rather use iMovie, though I’m not going to even consider comparing the two as they’re entirely different beasts right down to the licensing.

One To Watch: Lightworks

Lightworks is a professional video editing suite that went open source in 2010, offering a free version alongside a paid Pro version for those who need a little bit more. So far only a Windows version of Lightworks has surfaced, though the software has a rich heritage spanning more than 20 years.

With the Windows version of Lightworks moving along at a steady pace, Linux support won’t be far off. Once this is done the developers will begin working on the Mac version, though don’t expect too much in terms of stability for a while yet. Lightworks isn’t Mac compatible just yet though you might want to check out the website to see what’s in store for the future.

Conclusion

Judging by this list, the reputation that Apple’s desktop and laptop computers have earned as all-in-one video editing stations has a lot to do with the extra commercial software required to achieve results. With all the money, time and development resources the respective companies have to throw at their video products, it’s no wonder.

That said, iMovie is free (though proprietary), Blender is open source, powerful (though complex) and the rest provide some free and open source alternatives that will never quite match the might of Adobe or Apple. Hopefully once Lightworks for Mac drops there will be a free solution that’s accessible, powerful, and fairly cheap for those wanting extra professional features.

Image Credit: Blender, Jahshaka, Lightworks

The post The Top 6 Free Video Editors For Mac OS X appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Unfortunately, this isn’t possible on the original iPad – you’ll need an iPad 2 or the newest generation one; an iPhone 4 or later can also be used, but I’ll demonstrate with an iPad as it’s easier to work with the larger screen.

Getting Started – Movie clips

There are two ways to get the source video to be used in your project. The first is to just use clips already stored on your device, or to use the basic camera (or any other video app) to shoot before editing. You needn’t have the iMovie app open to shoot video of course, but when it’s time to choose your clips, all videos currently on your device will be available to you.

The second method is to take the videos directly from within iMovie; the advantage being that you have directions right there as to what type of clip is needed, and can tailor your footage around that – assuming you have willing subjects.

Create your trailer

Use the + button on the main screen, and then choose the type/theme of trailer to create. The selection is limited to 9, but you can choose from:

• Scary
• Superhero
• Swashbuckler
• Romantic
• Retro
• Narrative
• Fairytale
• Expedition
• Bollywood

Editing

The first screen will allow you to edit who the movie is made by and such. Click storyboard if you just want to just get on with making the trailer.

Blue areas are text that can be edited. Click to replace the default text.

They grey storyboard items are those for which you need video. You’re told the length of clip needed, as well as the type of shot that would do best in that instance, though these should only be considered directions. Click on a storyboard item to choose a video clip. Videos already stored on your devices will be shown in the bottom left – note that clips which aren’t long enough will be greyed out, but still shown. Choose one thats at least the length you require.

Dragging your finger along the clip will preview the video in the top right. When you reach the bit that you want to use, click the blue arrow next to your highlighted section. It’ll fly over to the storyboard.

If you find your device is lagging a little making choosing difficult, just throw the clip you think you want onto the storyboard, then click it again to open up the fine detail editor.

Notice that as you add more clips to the storyboard, sections you’ve already used will be indicated with a luminous orange line.

Alternatively, use the camera button to open up an embedded recording feature. When using the built-in record function, you’re given a 3 second lead-in before the actual clip is shot. Although you can move that around in fine editing, I find it’s easier to just take longer clips with the regular camera app and then be able to pick and choose which sections you want to use.

Preview

To preview how the movie looks so far with effects etc. applied, there are two play buttons. The left most one – a small play triangle enclosed in a grey rectangle means preview the whole movie full screen, from the start. The right-most play button is more useful, allowing you to view starting from just the clip you’ve selected quickly in the preview area.

Save and Share

To export your masterpiece, save it to the camera roll, and head back to the main project screen. Select the share icon to be presented with these choices:

Save to Camera Roll is probably all you’ll need – it’ll just flatten out the project and save the compiled movie file. You get a choice of resolutions, all the up to full 1080p (at least I do on my iPad 3 – your device may differ depending on the hardware). Although there is an option to export directly to YouTube, I received a generic “cannot connect to YouTube” error, but this could be a bug in iOS6 beta. If you do have problems, you can always share directly from the Camera Roll, or sync and upload from your desktop.

Send Project to iTunes allows you to export the file as a special iMovieTrailer format; if you choose to export this way, you’ll be able to find it under iTunes - (your device) – Apps – Filesharing (at the bottom of the screen) – iMovie. Note that the file can’t actually be opened with the desktop version of iMovie, but you can import onto another user’s iOS device if you want them to be able to edit the trailer too. In that case, after using their Filesharing tab to put the file into their device, click the “download” icon on the main screen to scan for files to import.

Without further ado, here’s my finished product. Be sure to watch right to the end!

What do you think? If you enjoyed making a trailer too, check out these other 3 creative projects you can do on a Mac. Do you have any more great ideas for creative projects, or have you made a masterpiece with your iPad? Feel free to share some ideas and links in the comments!

The post Making A Legendary Movie Trailer With iMovie On The iPad appeared first on MakeUseOf.

The HD quality of the iPhone 4 and 4S video camera app is just as good as many consumer video cameras. While it may be a stretch to shoot hour-long video productions with an iPhone, it’s a perfect in your pocket at all times device for shooting and editing family, event, and documentary style presentations.

If you haven’t tried your hand on the iOS version of iMovie ($4.99), you probably are not taking full advantage of your iPhone or iPad 2. Let me walk you through the main features to get you started.

Preparation

Though it is quite easy to pull out your iPhone and shoot video on the fly, it is much better to have at least a mental shot list for what your production might look like. See my article here for tips on shooting video.

Also keep in mind how much memory storage you have on your iPhone. Video files on the device are about 80MB per minute, so you probably will want to keep many of your video clips under 5 minutes apiece.

Editing with iMovie

The iOS app is basically the same for the iPhone and iPad 2. With the iPad of course you have more screen real estate to work with, but in this how-to, I use the iPhone version.

You start a production by tapping the + button which will take you to the video clip timeline and other tools.

To get clips into the timeline, you tap the Media Library button in the menu bar. This will bring up all the clips in your Camera Roll.

You can add one or more clips (and photos) at a time by first tapping the Media Library and then double-tapping a clip . I find it easier to navigate and edit one clip at a time.

Most of what you will do in the editing of clips is take out nonessential footage. As with any movie production you will want to keep your project short and entertaining—removing parts that seem to drag or don’t add any significant value. In other words, a lot can be shown in five to ten seconds of a video clip.

Splicing Clips

To splice a clip, move the red timeline marker to where you want to slice a clip, and make sure the clip is selected. To make the cut, press your finger at the top of the marker and press downwards. (To undo the cut, shake your iPhone back and forth to bring up the undo button.)

A dissolve transition will be automatically placed where you make the edit. However, you can move the marker over some more and slice again to edit out chunks of a clip. Again, don’t be modest about taking out extraneous footage. If something seems boring to you, it will probably be boring to your viewers as well.

Notice also you can use the yellow trim handles to shorten or lengthen the timing of a clip. The same can be done for photos.

Project Themes

After you have inserted one or more of your clips, and you have an idea of what you want your production to look like, you might want to tap the gear button in the upper right of the top menu bar and choose one of the eight themes to work with.

Each theme has its own background music (which can be looped), title, and transition styles.

It’s also a good idea to turn on the fade in–and fade out to black buttons, which will make the beginning and ending of your video less jarring.

If a particular theme is not working for you, it is not a problem to replace it with another one.

Transitions and Titles

Transitions are useful for moving from one scene to the next in your video, even if the production is only 2 minutes. You can double-tap on any transition to change it to a cross dissolve or any other transition style for your selected theme. You can also shorten or lengthen the duration of the transition.

You can also double-tap on a clip and insert a title at the opening, middle, or ending of a clip. Unfortunately you don’t get other controls over the titling. You need to make sure your clip is long enough for a title, for you can’t adjust the duration for how how long the title stays on the screen, which can be as long as 20 seconds.

Audio & Music

Each theme inserts its own background music into your production. For the most part, I find the theme music suitable for quick family videos. However, if you don’t like the selected music, you can double-tap on the track and delete it.

You can also tap the Media library in the menu bar and select music from another theme, or add a track from your iTunes library. However, some tracks you purchase from the iTunes Music Store will not be available for use. You can also add sound effects.

To add more than one track of music to your production, make sure your first track is not set to loop before inserting another one after or before it.

If you’re going to use more than one music track, it might be best to first edit all your video clips and then insert additional tracks. You can select a music track and press down on the beginning or ending yellow handles to adjust the duration of the music track.

The same can be done for the audio in your video clips. Double-tap on a clip to adjust the sound level or mute it all together. For some family videos, I like to lower the audio of the video clips if what is being sad is not relevant to the production, and then increase the volume of the background music.

Sharing Your Videos

To share your production, tap the Home button and then tap the share (small arrow icon) to bring up the sharing options.

You can save productions to your Camera Roll or export it to Facebook, YouTube, the iTunes library on your computer, or to CNN iReport.

Your first production using iOS iMovie may seem a little challenging, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll like the ability to both shoot, edit, and share short videos all from one device.

Let us know what you think of iMovie on the iPhone and what tips and strategies you use to edit your video.

The post How To Edit Video On Your iPhone Using iMovie appeared first on MakeUseOf.