Video editing/effects packages

[AntonyF]

Can anyone recommend and PC software for video editing which allows for easy adding of effects?

In particular I want to put up text titles in a cool and modern way.

Thanks

[Magnatude]

Magix Movie Edit 17, I just picked it up (and so did another friend of mine) we are FLOORed over the the amount of features and control you have with it. My buddy used Adobe premier and he prefers now to use Magix because its a lot more easier to use... getting the same results in less steps. He says it like using an older version of premier (which he liked, he hates the new version).

Personally I've never used premier, so I can't compare. I like the software so far and it will do all the editing I really need for my future projects.
There are a lot of youtube videos out there on the older versions of this software so you can see a lot of effects people have created (and see how they did it too).
I'd say check it out and try the demo.

[Jimi King]

I've tried Magix, Corel Videostudio and Sony Vegas. The Sony wins it for me. I'm currently on Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10. Here's a video that was edited recently using it. The Graphics at the beginning were created in Xara Designer Pro (JPG with a PNG overlayed) and the rest of the text was created and overlayed in Movie Studio:

[Scotty]

Hi,
I have corelVideoStudio x3 and Cyberlink PowerDirector 8 Ultra (the ultra accommodates blu-ray). CorelVideoStudio x3 does blu-ray also is cheaper, Cyberlink Powerdirector has bigger learning curve but more options. Depends how much you plan to do.
corel video studio has a forum which isn't very active, whereas the Cyberlink Forum is VERY helpfull.
JmM

[AntonyF]

Thanks guys for the leads. Will check them out.

[AntonyF]

I just thought I'd feed back on how I found the programmes.

First of all tried Magix's. I didn't get far. I was trying to edit a title, and it just kept saying "Please use the quick entry box in the title menu" - yet I didn't know what the hell it was on about. Pressing the help button at that point was also of no use and not at all context-related. (Also I was't convinced its effects would offer suitable things for a business video.)

So then tried Sony Vegas. I really liked this. Intuitive, and I liked the help system which really got me up to speed quickly. But wasn't quite sure about the transitions, and went on to try Cyberlink PowerDirector (out of curiousity too, rather than Sony Vegas doing something wrong).

PowerDirector is the one that I ended up using. It's a bit annoying at times, and has crashed on me a few times too, but overall it done what I wanted: pretty quick to use, good transitions which aren't too cheesy (although there's plenty of cheese if you want it!) and it's the one I'll be purchasing.

Thanks again for the tips.

[Magnatude]

Yeah, I agree with your follies with Magix, tho it is quite good software I own movie Edit 17 and Music Maker 16, there is simply not enough help... especially on this side of the waters (N&SAmerica) The help seems secluded to the German/French-aphones population of Europe where the software is most popular.
I had to make some serious searches and did find a lot of help on youtube, but hard to find as most people seem to neglect tagging their video's properly, most of the video items are linked in the Magix.info help base.

But its cool that you found what you needed Any chance we can see your project?

[Scotty]

Hi,
when working in Powerdirector the best solution for preventing crashes is to work with smaller projects. Don't bring in all your video clips into one project. Bring related video clips in do you mods and transistion then 'Produce' the project usiinng appropriate names and file formats (mpg, mts, avi etc). Then when you have them saved start new project and go to 'Create disc' module and import the individual clips, these show as chapters on the DVD.
JimM

[oltonalex]

Corel videostudio, Magix, are easy to use, the pro stuff is best once you get the hang of it.... Sony Vegas Pro, Adobe Premiere, Avid (hard for me atleast) and if you are on apple might want to consider Final Cut pro, or for basic stuff the iMovie thing.