It seems as if everyone has a video camera (also known as a camcorder) these days. Life happens so fast, that recording spectacular moments is vital. Prices of camcorders have come down to the point where just about everyone can afford a camcorder.
Once you have shot a boatload of video, what next? More and more, people want to give their video escapades a professional look. This requires editing. As many of the video options are digital, one may upload their raw video to a computer, and use software to edit what has been recorded.
The question is; what is the best video editing software to suit your needs?
One of the names that pop up on a search engine is Pinnacle Studio. Actually, Pinnacle has three “flavors” of this program. They are: Studio HD for $49.99, Studio Ultimate for $99.99, and Studio Ultimate Collection for $129.99.
Studio HD is powerful, yet easy to use editing software. Studio HD gives you the ability to add emotion with music. You can also heighten suspense by using what they call Montage Themes to edit your raw video into a professional looking finished product. Montage Themes offers Hollywood style transitions from one scene to the next. The software allows you to create High Definition videos, and save them to DVD, YouTube, (you can even save your video in a widescreen format, which looks more professional)
Studio HD gives budding animators stop motion animation capacity. Shaky camera motions can be eliminated in a similar fashion to what the pros use.
Studio Ultimate gives you what you get with HD, and much more. You get more titling options, and can create DVD menus that look like they came from one of the big studios. You also get better image stabilization with Ultimate. You have the same formats to save to, with the addition of Blu-ray, and HD-DVD. In addition your videos will sound great with Dolby Digital sound.
Finally, Studio Ultimate Collection adds chroma-key, and green-screen technology to allow you to create expert looking special effect shots. You get everything else that you get with Studio HD, and Studio Ultimate with the additions mentioned above.
The system requirements for Pinnacle Studio are:
Windows 7, Vista, XP, 1.8GhZ or above processor, 1GB system memory, DirectX 9 or 10 compatible video card with at least 64MB of video memory. 3.2 GB of available hard drive space, a DVD ROM drive for installation, and a CD or DVD burner for copying.
One other video editing software worth mentioning is Adobe’s Premiere Elements 7. This software has many of the features offered by Pinnacle, and has the added bonus of being made by Adobe, one of the best know producers of graphic programs. Adobe sells this program for $99.99.
Adobe Premiere Element will analyze your video and tag the footage to make it easier to find the most interesting parts of what you have shot. This makes it just that much easier to edit your footage into an interesting movie.
Minimum System requirements are: 1.8 GHz processor (3 GHz for HDV or Blu-ray), Windows Vista, or XP. (No mention of Windows 7 compatibility),1GB memory (2GB for HDV and Blu-ray), 4.5GB hard drive space, 1,024×768 monitor resolution at 96dpi or less, DirectX 9 or 10 compatible sound and display driver, DVD-ROM drive.
These are just two of the best known video editing software options available. A search engine will yield many more. Both of these programs offer many of the same features you would want. What you get, and what you pay depend on whether you want the basics or all the bells and whistles.
