magentawave

I need to create and edit videos for my sites to be used for opt-in pages, free content, paid-for instructional content, Youtube, etc.

Some of the videos will be made using still photographs, screen captures from my computer, etc., and others will be using video I'll shoot.

I'm using Vista 64 bit.

Here are my questions please...

1) In your opinion, what is the best and easiest to use movie maker software? I have access to Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Roxio 9, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Muvee, and Windows Movie Maker.

2) If I can use one of the programs above (Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Sony Vegas, Muvee, WMM) then what use would I have for a program like Camtasia or Windows Media Encoder 9?

3) Which is better (as in; does the job and is easy to use): Camtasia or Windows Media Encoder 9?

4) Finally, if I am NOT doing live slide presentations, would I have any use for PowerPoint?

Thanks very much and I look forward to getting your feedback!

Steve

UPDATE TO THIS ORIGINAL POST:

After several painful days dealing with my almost new Windows computer, I have since dumped windows for a Mac.

TLCarroll

Windows Movie Maker is very easy to use for beginners and there is a forum with lots of tips and tutorials. Windows Media Encoder integrates well with Movie Maker and if I'm not mistaken, it's free.

Camtasia is very useful if you plan on doing onscreen type lessons where the veiwer will watch and follow along.

I've used all of the programs you've mentioned at one time or another. They're all good programs, each with a following that prefers one over the other for thier own reasons. Just depends on which you find easier to grasp.

magentawave

I made a video with Windows Movie Maker and tried to edit it later and it wouldn't chop the video into clips. I did tons of online research and apparently that is a problem with the Vista 64 bit version. I also used Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and made a really nice video (while watching tutorials because its not very intuitive) and it seems like an awesome program with features way way beyond what I will ever need. My girlfriend did a great video using Muvee and it looks very cool and is super easy to use. Not sure if you can edit sound with Muvee though. I have yet to play with Roxio 9 or Sony Vegas. Got any opinions about those as far as which might be easiest to use and does the typical stuff we IM'rs need?

Yes, Windows Media Encoder 9 is a free download. Is it a replacement for Camtasia? Is it better or easier to use than Camtasia?

Thanks
Steve

Chuck Evans

Steve,

For video that is beyond the basics of Windows Movie Maker but not as in depth as Avid, Sony Vegas Pro, or Adobe Premier - Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 rocks! A while back I posted a thread on getting it for only $39.00 through Dell...it's normally around 80 bucks.

chuck

Chris_Willow

Yeah, Vegas is pretty straighforward. I'm using it for audio, but it also does a good job at chopping video. And it's cheaper than premiere.

Chris

Allanon24

Cyberlink Powerdirector might be a good choice for You, because it is easy to use, but at the same time, has many features.
It makes easier to render HD content since the newest version uses your GPU (video card, or graphics card) to make the necessary calculations.

Premiere Pro CS4 is not necessary for you. At least for now, however if You would like to tap into professional video editing, then it might be the best choice in the future!

Hope this helps!

Chris_Willow

Premiere Elements is more user friendly, if you'd like to go the Adobe way.

magentawave

Hey guys, I really appreciate ALL your opinions!

I am fortunate to already have Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 on my computer and the install discs for Sony Vegas and Roxio 9 sitting right in front of me...so buying the software is NOT an issue. However, before downloading Roxio 9 and Sony Vegas, I would like to know out of the three which one will...

a) do everything I need for my internet marketing stuff...and is...
b) the easiest and most intuitive to use.

Thanks again.
Steve

Josh Anderson

Hey Steve,

Since you have them I suggest installing them and testing them.

You will find a quick answer to your own question ;-)

I vote for Sony Vegas though.

magentawave

To save time, I was hoping for some big huge mass consensus to see if one of the three was the clear front-runner as far as being powerful and super easy to use. I guess I will just go ahead and install Roxio 9 and Sony Vegas and play with them and use Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 as the control since I have already used it.

Josh, have you used any of the other movie maker programs besides Sony Vegas?

Thanks
Steve

Josh Anderson

Here is what I have or have used/tested:

Every version of Sony Vegas
Adobe Premiere (hated it)
Pinnacle Studio (multiple versions)
Windows Movie Maker - Limited and compressed output formats make it a no go that should only be used by amateurs who have no other choice.

Not sure what you would need Roxio for unless you are going to burn DVDs. The only thing we use Roxio for is personal media. I would not use it for any video production or business related activities.

(I am skipping the Mac titles I have since you are on PC)

I suggest you install and test both Sony and Adobe Premiere since you have them and since your own preferences will be different from others.

I'd stick with Sony though.

Mubarak Waseem

Wow.... Industry standards sure aren't IMm standards...

If you need the BEST, go for Final Cut Pro for editing, After Effects for effects, soundbooth (actually I prefer the older and more stable audition software, before the name and system architecture was changed) for sound, and flash CS3/4 for flash. But learn Action Script for great web sites!

Another great tool is flash video enocder, also by adobe. It takes any video file and turns it to .flv

Just my 2 cents

peter gibson

Hands down the best is Final Cut Pro but unless I'm mistaken you'll need a Mac for that. I have tested most of the heavy hitters for Windows and found Vegas to be the best with the easiest learning curve. Maybe I just have a thing against Adobe but I hated it. Thought it was unnecessarily complex and overpriced.

themlmauthority

+1

Completely agree. I love Sony Vegas Pro. This program is different than Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

Mubarak Waseem

yes, I agree, premiere is NOT the best. But final cut ROCKS

Jill Carpenter

I have found it to be a benefit to have some knowledge of several different applications.

I have final cut pro, which can do a lot but sometimes is more than I need. I'll go with screenflow on some fun easy stuff, use final cut for video I shoot with an external camera, and have used keynote (comparable to powerpoint) to mix in some simple slides. Also, have soundbooth but also like playing in the garage band.

If I was forced to pick just one? That would be hard. But I'd suggest you start out with a simple project and work your way up. Many of these applications have the same types of functions that are just put in different menus or called something different.

The more expensive complicated programs can have so many bells and whistles to look at it can be almost more distracting.

Tyrus Antas

Don't forget that community support and great documentation/tutorials are a must when choosing software like that. I've made this mistake too many times: choose something barely anybody uses then end unable to ask anybody for help and without access to documentation. Sometimes choosing the most popular option is the best option, even when the software is not the best.

Tyrus

magentawave

It is Sony Vegas Movie Studio for Vista (I don't see the number 9 anywhere) that I have. Is Sony Vegas Pro the same thing as Sony Vegas Movie Studio but with a lot more bells and whistles?

Dan C. Rinnert

I'd vote for Adobe Premiere, but I haven't used Sony Vegas.

I've always found Adobe Premiere to be the easiest to use of anything I've tried. Then again, I may be biased, as I've been using it since version 3 or 4.

Quentin

I also vote Sony Vegas.

What ever you start with is what you stick with. I only use Sony Vegas because when I did a television course the producers etc all had to use Avid however when everyone went home they snuk out to our room and used Vegas. That was enough for me as they had everything to choose from and were the professionals.

Q

magentawave

I agree completely Quentin about what you said that what you start with is pretty much what you will continue using - which is why I posted this to kind of see if there was a consensus.

For a PC (which is what I have), it looks like its a toss up between the 2 programs I already have (Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 & Sony Vegas Movie Studio), but has anyone tried BOTH of those and come up with the clear front-runner for power, ease of use, intuitive, etc.?

Steve

Craig Fenton

Hi Steve:

Hope all is well.

Good luck with your project.

There should be a separation when video software is mentioned because depending on the segment of the niche the company wants it may:
Let you record video content
Let you view video content
View video content and take pictures of the video as it plays
Only View Video Content
Let you edit video with effects and text
Record desktop activity*

The last one means that you can record what is happening on any website, photo, or text for playback.

As for some of the product mentions. Windows Movie Maker is a very good starter program. The fact it is free makes people very comfortable because they don't feel the frustration that often comes with a new product that you pay for (learning curve). It also let's you save the final version as an MPEG. People have gotten away from common file extensions and then don't understand why others can't view or upload a video. MPEG is very accessible.

Camtasia (the full 100 percent top of the line version) let's you record desktop activity with the best quality. There are competitors out there that will enable you to record but you will lose between 1 and 1.5 on a grading system. For instance if your original source is A the result with a lessor screen capture destop activity software will be B or B-.

Hope this helps. Enjoy the weekend.

Maria Gudelis

For just starting - Windows Movie Maker is a good intro to get used to - i started with that...

I have Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 but never fully used it / learned it...much more complicated to learn,,..

...right now I'm loving a s/w I don't think mentioned yet -

it is called Corel Video Studio (only $80) and the former name of it is 'ULead' - I love it as it brings in .mts files from my canon HF10 - super high quality...

Final cut pro - also use it a bit - was used to produce the video in my sig - the super secrets one -

I use CAmtasia for screen capture - love that alot as well as super easy to use!

Hope that helps..cheers, m

Spiros

You're comparing the full pro version of Premiere to the consumer version of Vegas. That's not a fair comparison.

I use Vegas Pro personally. It does everything I need, and it's probably the most intuitive of all the major editing apps.

IMnwxlh2

Final Cut Pro if you are on a Mac.

For PC based, Adobe Premiere Pro CS4: (I'm an event videographer (specializing in wedding, sports, documentaries, commercials, and concerts)and have been using various versions of Adobe Premiere since 2001)

main reasons (there are probably others):

1) Large support on the Adobe forum
2) Tight Integration with Adobe's other products (ie: Photoshop, After Effects). This is a major selling point for me as I use them and can easily switch back and forth between the apps without breaking up my workflow (ex: I can do a complex effect is AE and the clip would be updated in Adobe Premiere without exporting and re-importing)

DanielFonda

If you have no advanced knowledge in movie making you should go with windows movie maker. A bit more expensive solution is Sony Vegas, but it requires a fair amount of knowledge (I do recommend it just because I'm using it and I'm loving it).

Camtasia is a program for recording your screen (screen clicks, etc.)

I think Camtasia is much better. And no I don't think PowerPoint will be of any use to you.

DanielFonda

Yap. Vegas is an A+ product.

TLCarroll

See what I mean?

Everyone has a favourite for different reasons. You can't go wrong by testing each one you have access to, then making a decision.

You might find you like one for one use and another for another use.

It's all good.

sparky.ebiz

I just went with Camtasia myself but haven't played with it yet. Camtasia does come with a Pointpoint plugin which is important if you are doing instructional/tutorial slide-show type videos and want to make the recording easier but still look professional. I've noticed that quite a few IM Guru's seem to use Camtasia so there's gotta be a reason for this!? I also have Pinnacle and Premiere and I have found Pinnacle much easier to work with than Premiere.

Kevin AKA Hubcap

Magentawave

Everybody is going to have their own opinion about which piece of software is best for them.

Most companies will let you try out a full fledged version of their product for thirty days.

This will allow you to figure out which editor will work best with the way you like to work.

Programs that are in a similar price point, for the most part, have similar capabilities. The deciding factor is whether the interface is one that you can be efficient with.

You should also check out Dv Info

which is a great forum for video.

Kevin

tomah

Agreed. Hands down, Vegas.

It's the easiest to use. It's less resource intensive. So it's faster in every way.

To be honest, I wish Sony did a Mac version. I can't get my head around Final Cut at all.

Spiros

Amen to that.

I have a Bootcamp partition set up on my Mac exclusively for Vegas.

'Twould be nice to not need to do that...

magentawave

I am very appreciative of everyones input here, but after ALL THAT, my windows computer got totally cluster F-ed for the second time in the last year and caused me major grief and too much unproductive time so I said screw it to Windows (sort of) and am now back to using Macs for the first time in 8 years (Macbook Pro 17 w/ external monitor). Its nice to be "home" again.

I say "sort of" because I'm going to set up VMWare Fusion with XP on my Mac for some of my Windows only programs (Xsitepro2, etc.). However, I understand that even with lots of RAM, video editing programs work awfully slow on a virtual machine.

All I want to do with my video is this:
1) Download my video footage into whatever program with zero hassles.
2) Easily add transitions.
3) Easily add titles.
4) Easily add audio fade ins and fade outs from at least two audio clips visible to me as wave forms.
5) Quickly render to MP4 for Youtube etc.
6) Render so I can put the video on paid-for instructional DVDs.

So now that I'm back using a Mac (and it came with Adobe Master Collection CS4 for Mac!), I'm wondering what you guys think about Final Cut Express - and will Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8.0 run as fast with Bootcamp as it will on a Windows machine?

Steve

Mubarak Waseem

Final Cut is hand-down the best there is. Period. Nothing compares to it. I have the full suite, and it works like a charm on my mac...

backdoor23

I've been making awesome videos for my sites using Sony Vegas Pro. Just take your time and learn the time line. The key to nice looking videos is not only editing out the parts of the video you don't like, but putting in nice scene transitions.

nellement

For basics just use Movie maker for advanced stuff use Vegas and for cutting montaging video use Premiere its much less cluttered than Vegas.But I suggest you buy After effects far more better than any of these.AE plus Premiere super combo.Let me know if you need more help.

magentawave

Well I'm on a Mac now since I first posted this...

1) Does Final Cut Express allow you to see the audio clips on a video as wave forms (unlike iMovie)?

2) Can you add and edit multiple audio clips with fade ins and fade outs?

3) How many audio clips can you add and edit as wave forms?

4) I think iMovie only offers about 6 transitions. Does Final Cut Express offer a lot more transitions?

5) Besides the price, what is the biggest difference between Final Cut Express and the full version of Final Cut?

6) If cost is not an issue, and I'm not doing super intense video work, which would be better for me? Final Cut Express - or the full version of Final Cut? And if you suggest the full version of Final Cut, is it overwhelming to use for the beginner?

Thanks
Steve