Hi guys,
I'm a noob when it comes to video, but I'm after a decent bit of software that can do the following:
It kind of depends on your goals. I just today, purchased Camtasia for the purpose of creating video tutorials and the creation of eLearning media in general. You can do that sort of thing with almost any video editor, but the right tools targeted at your specific needs, can make a huge difference. I selected TechSmith's Camtasia ($199/USD) primarily because it did the things you have asked for.
Dynamic word graphics - there's a word for it, but it escapes me for now.
The annotation capabilities are very strong, both animated and stationary. It's more than captioning, it is the ability to stack effects on top of each other.
Embedding pictures and video within the frame of the main video.
Yes, I was particularly impressed with the ability to embed a camera image within a pre recorded video and embed one pre recorded image within another.
None of the tools I personally tested had the level of color management that is found in still photography editors, but Camtasia handles basic color adjustments fairly well.
I tried out black magic's da vinci resolve, but I didn't like it as it couldn't handle .mts files coming out of my Sony without additional steps.
Unfortunately, it can't handle mts files. See the web page that describes the supported files
HERE. If you can't find a suitable Editor that handles mts natively, I can recommend ACDSee's Video Converter pro. It's pretty easy to use and even handles simple trimming tasks.
I haven't ever used a camera that creates an mts file, but the help claims that mts is a supported input file.
I feel windows movie maker is too basic. I don't want to buy something cheap only for it to be no better than windows movie maker, but at the same time, I don't want to drop big money paying for features I won't be using.
I know how you feel, I tested some inexpensive editors as well. For the most part, they were fine editors, and most were pretty easy to use. I was particularly impressed with ACDSee's Video Studio 2, which surprised me since Video Studio 1, wasn't very good. I could recommend it without reservation who wants a simple editor with some basic captioning capabilities.
I also looked at Corel's VideoStudio X10 Ultimate, which was roughly between Video Studio 2 and Camtasia in features, but the free trial was crippled enough that I could not post a video to YouTube to see how the entire flow of work suited me.
In the end, I decided to go with the most expensive option. The reasons being
- It was almost as easy to use as those editors aimed at the casual user, but offered a wealth of additional features.
- Over the weekend, I had a technical issue that required (I thought) required tech support even though I was using the free trial. A tech support guy contacted me that next Monday, and I felt the support was timely and appropriate.
- However in the meantime I posted my question on the TechSmith user's forum and the other users had steered me to the point where I felt I was very close to resolving my issue. The sense of community was strong and much appreciated by this newbie.
- There was quite a bit of extras available for downloading on the website, including Royalty free music, graphics and actions.
- Both the formal reviews, and the informal 'chatter' on third party forums seemed pretty positive. Lot's of people think of it as an expensive option, but almost no one spent much time trash talking over it!
In the end, I felt the option with the most 'bang for the buck' was the most expensive choice. I've already got my first video tutorial almost completed with production values much higher than I dreamed possible a month ago.
My advice is, if you've got the choices narrowed down to 2 or 3 candidates, select the option with the best cost/benefit ratio. Don't just get the cheapest, look at the intangibles as well.
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