Editing is for everyone

Editing, and post production in general, used to be an incredibly expensive and time consuming activity. Now, basically anyone has free access to a high quality, efficient video editor. An editing application even comes pre-installed on all Mac and PC computers (iMovie and Windows Movie Maker respectively.) It has become extremely cheap and efficient to produce high quality video for very little money. There are even apps for your phone where you can very simply piece together video clips.

Often, amateur filmmakers complain that their tools are the ones holding them back from creating great content. In reality, fancy editing applications just add more little features to an otherwise very simple program. When it boils down to it, all you need to do is basic cuts to footage. Once you know the tools you need to create, then it just comes down to what application you’re most comfortable in. Windows Movie Maker and iMovie, though free and somewhat limited in terms of the scope of editing programs, are extremely easy and quick to use. Premiere, Final Cut X, and Sony Vegas are a few of the “prosumer” editing applications. These offer far more control than the basic applications, but still lack a few key features that keeps professional editors from using them on a regular basis. At the top of the list in terms of complexity and flexibility is Avid Media Composer. With the most features and flexibility in terms of collaboration and working with multiple editors, Avid’s program is the industry standard editing application.