Easy to use video editing

[butcher]

Hi guys

My daughter wants to create her own youtube videos of crafting projects. I have no idea where to start. I have a decent digital SLR and a tripod but no idea about video editing. Can anyone recommend some easy to use, cheap editing software to get started?

Thanks

 

[Tao]

Windows Movie Maker (for PC) or iMovie (for MAC) should be good enough to get started with.

 

[Ryuzaki]

I just used iMovie recently for a project. I used to use Adobe Premiere and whatever the one they had where you could edit frame by frame for special effects in the 90's. It's been at least 15 years since I made a video.

iMovie was fast and intuitive but there were some small issues. You trade off having options for having an easy-to-use interface. Like, while you can stack several (I never tested the limit, I only ever had 3 at a time) audio tracks simultaneously, you can only add one picture or text overlay on the screen at any given time.

The only work around would have been exporting clips and re-importing to add more text or pictures, or you have to set up your pics and text in photoshop and export transparent background images, etc. But for simple stuff, it was the bomb. I exported 1080p and it was perfection.

 

[Jarred]

For $19.99 a month you can get all of Adobe's software on a student discount, including their video editing software Premier. It's not the easiest to use at first, but I think Adobe has done a great job of building tutorials and instructional videos right in the interface of their software, and there are no shortage of tutorials on youtube. A solid grasp on the Adobe stack is just a good set of skills to have too.

There's a free trial so you can give a shot and see how she takes to it.

 

[contract]

Windows movie maker is hands down the easiest editing program ever...

Downsides: No 4K, 1080p saving only. Rendering uses 1-4 CPUs or something low, unlike Adobe's software which can take advantage of a 12 core and max it out.

 

[butcher]

Thanks for all the replies. Win movie maker doesn't appear to exist any more for windows 10 unfortunately which is a shame as it looks like it would be ideal. iMovie is a no go as I don't own a mac. I will check out adobe.