Video Editing Software - Sony Movie Studio

[andyp79]

I got myself a wee GoPro Hero 3 a couple of months ago and have had a great time filming and editing stuff with it. I've been using Windows Live Movie Maker, which is ideal for quick editing but it's not all that slick looking.

I've been looking into getting an editing package but at the £30 mark rather than the proper professional stuff. The Sony packages seem to be the ones to go for and I narrowed it down to Movie Studio HD 11 or 12. These seem to strike the balance of features and usability, which is key. I want to be able to do more, but I'm not wanting to have to spend hours learning how to use it. Anybody use these packages?

Movie Studio 11 is on Amazon just now for £23ish and 12 is £35ish. Is 12 worth the extra £10 or does it not really make any difference? Somehow the £23 is "buy it without thinking" level but the £35 is a "more thought required" option...

I think too much don't I?

[lippetm]

I heard that Lightworks is very good, haven't tried it yet myself as the linux build hasn't been released yet, but if your on WIndows it'd be worth a go. Its free after all:

http://www.lwks.com/

[andyp79]

Ok cheers, I'll check that out.

Haven't even heard of Lightworks before, thanks for the pointer!

[checkmate91]

I've got Sony Vegas Movie Studio 11. For what I want it's quite a handy product with plenty of features that I'll probably never use however the add-ins are very useful for e.g. sharpening, brightness and contrast. Example of output here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjU-fhAoN5A canon h264 raw rendered as MP4 1280x720.

[andyp79]

Thanks for the info.

I tried out Lightworks for a couple of hours today and it's really not quite what I'm after. It's very powerful but too complicated and more geared towards people that know what their doing.

Spurred by that I went back and spent some time playing more extensively with Live Movie Maker now that I've used it more and got used to it, and it's nearly all I would need. I just want to be able to do a bit more in the way of transitions and adding text so it doesn't shout "I used Movie Maker for this" when I am finished editing.

I'll keep at it and maybe there's no need to be using anything other than Movie Maker... But I'm still tempted to give the Sony one a go.

[checkmate91]

I have to say that raw to finished product in either still or vid is a time-consuming activity. I'm not familiar with Lightworks but Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.0 took me days to get my head around it... I'm there now but have buried the mental scars!