Video Editor & Maker - Recommendatoins?

[PandDLong]

Hi,

I have a couple requirements for video and as it purely amateur hobbyist needs - I am thinking they are fairly simple.

1. Edit home movies.  Nothing too complex, these are older home movies that have been digitized and I am looking to:
       a. Extract clips to make short videos
       b. Cut-out sections to remove low-value content
       c. Add a narration track
       d. Add some text either in a title section and/or imposed onto the image


2. Create videos from photos.   Similar to the slide show of iMatch but exported into a MP4 format with text and some transitions added.


I am really hoping for something that is XMP metadata smart like the iMatch slide show to automate the addition of text.


Suggestions?  

Thanks in advance,


Michael

[jch2103]

Like you, I have very limited/simple needs for short video making. There are a number of free video editors available, but I found the ones I tried had drawbacks of various kinds. So I decided to use the free version Davinci Resolve https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve. There's definitely a significant learning curve, but the basics aren't that hard to master if you add them one at a time, and you won't find yourself in a dead end. Other folks may have better suggestions. 

[PandDLong]

I certainly agree on the significant learning curve - quite the master console when you first open the program. Obviously a lot of capability.

I tried to figure out the basics within the program but just too many options and I am not familiar with all of the video editing jargon.


Do you remember a specific set of online tutorials or other help to get you started?


Michael

[jch2103]

Video editing jargon is indeed its own thing, definitely different from what stills photographers use! I'd used some other video editors briefly before using Resolve so I'd been exposed to the jargon (although not mastering it), which helped a bit. 

Davinci has a bunch of training materials at https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/training. There's a link there to a PDF Beginner's Guide (which I haven't read yet but will put on my to-do list). The first section seems to cover most of the starting basics. There's also a lot of independent stuff online, some of which is OK but others not so good. Online searches for specific features (e.g., different modes for cutting and editing clips) helps to find these. 

Good luck!

[Mario]

Maybe look at OpenShot