Video editing software suggestions?

I've taken some videos of some launches and have figured out how to use the Microsoft movie editor to cut the scenes, trim out the stuff I don't want, slow down the launch, etc. So it works okay provided the video looks okay.

What I'd like to have is software that can zoom in on the rocket in flight and hopefully be able to show the ejection. Does anyone know of some software that has this capability?

Hi Mushtang,

Check into Arcsoft Showbiz5. It's not free, but I believe it has extensive capabilities. I used a trial a while back and it seemed pretty solid. Since they offer a trial, you can check out the functionality for yourself to see if it has exactly what you need.

A note about the MS movie editor: the version of it I used wanted to re-encode everything to microsoft standard codecs, which in some cases didn't look good. Some cameras I have produce "Quicktime" style files (.MOV, typically), which also play fine in Windows now without re-encoding. I found a free utility called Avidemux which works nicely for trimming most movies and it accepts a wide variety of input files. It generally allows you to do a straight copy of the video/audio tracks without re-encoding which tends to preserve quality. It's at Version 2.5.6 but I've poked around the pre-alpha for 2.6 which adds more features. I forget if it has a zoom in function but it may be worth a look... it's free!

I used to do a lot of editing with Adobe Premiere Pro. It is rich in capabilities but has a learning curve to it.

When you talk about zooming, etc., realize that the frames you have recorded are what they are. You can zoom but you are doing so digitally and sacrificing clarity.

FWIW, I still use Premiere Pro 1.5. It has been significantly upgraded since then but I am not conversant with the features.

Both of the above are really good suggestions. I've used Adobe Premier and it was fairly straightforward. And Showbiz is always talked about favorably. In the last few years, there have been many open source free packages that have emerged. While they were "born" on linux, but eventually emerge on Mac and Win.

https://www.wikihow.com/Edit-Video-With-Avidemux

Based on the above I went in and played with Avidemux a bit. I didn't find a one-step zoom but I was able to crop in, save, then resize to the original size format, with the net effect of zooming.

Excellent! Thanks for the suggestions. Next time I film a launch I'm going to try the free suggestions and see how they work and move on up if I'm not satisfied.

Thanks again!

Adobe Premeire is my favorite video editor. The much less expensive "Elements" version does most of what the Pro version can do and wraps things in an easier-to-use interface.

-- Roger

JAL3 said:

When you talk about zooming, etc., realize that the frames you have recorded are what they are. You can zoom but you are doing so digitally and sacrificing clarity.

Click to expand...

That's true, and in some cases what you're talking about will result in just a crappy visual. What I'm hoping is to take a video that just shows clouds, like this:


And then zoom into the actual rocket flight and ejection, like this:


The second picture is a close up of the first. You can't see anything useful in the first but in the second, even though the quality is fairly low, you can still see the rocket.

I want to be able to do this with video and watch the ejection.

Mushtang said:

That's true, and in some cases what you're talking about will result in just a crappy visual. What I'm hoping is to take a video that just shows clouds, like this:
View attachment 95300

And then zoom into the actual rocket flight and ejection, like this:
View attachment 95301

The second picture is a close up of the first. You can't see anything useful in the first but in the second, even though the quality is fairly low, you can still see the rocket.

I want to be able to do this with video and watch the ejection.

Click to expand...

It looks like you understand the limitations. Premier will do what you want.

If you are running Windows, then I recommend VideoPad Editor, available free from here.
It does all the transitions and effects that you would expect, including zoom. It also converts most file types to avi for easy viewing almost anywhere, or mp4 format for iPhones, etc.

I actually found a forum on here that was called "Video tips" or something like that, but it was void of any actual video tips like this, and it wouldn't let me post a new thread there.

I'm hoping that this thread may result in a lot of people showing much improved videos of their launches with all the links to these free downloads. If they work as advertised I know mine will be more fun to watch in the future.

Thanks everyone!

The video tips category got fixed today for posting after I brought the trouble to the attention of the admins based in a post of my own I wanted to make there. You can now start threads there.

Mushtang, what camera do you have? Im thinking to dip my toe in a step beyond pocket point and shoot. See my thread in the video tips. :grin:

I will also loom onto video pad. Looks interesting.

I spent the money to buy Adobe Premiere Elements. It's easy to use, and still powerful - you can do variable-length fades, key frames for controling music and sound, color correction and a lot more. And, the program makes it pretty easy.

An example of a video I built in a day, that uses most of the powerful features:

Video on You Tube, kinda compressed
[YOUTUBE]2VHhgYeKNI0[/YOUTUBE]


Video on Vimeo, excellent quality
[VIMEO]21307712[/VIMEO]



Premiere is kind of a memory hog, but most modern computers seem to handle it.

All the best, James

Salvage-1 said:

If you are running Windows, then I recommend VideoPad Editor, available free from here.
It does all the transitions and effects that you would expect, including zoom. It also converts most file types to avi for easy viewing almost anywhere, or mp4 format for iPhones, etc.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link to Videopad. Not sure how I missed it previously. The free home version has decent features for a free program and I kind of like it. It seems a bit tough to configure it to NOT re-encode video when all I want is a simple time clip with the streams copied, though. I'm sure when I play with it some more I'll figure it out.

Marc

Hmm, how did I miss this post?

I've found a couple good editing programs, I like the AVS4YOU downloads, I am also trying out the Wondershare program from here, which is pretty good, too. I really like the 'millisecond' timer, you can use that to check the burn time and ejection charge delay...or, ok maybe it just looks cool on the video.

Thing is I can't find any freebee software that doesn't display a 'watermark' across the final edited movie...grr!

Are there any that don't do that, or am I have to break down and pay for it?

Gee, I wouldn't think much about spending 60 bucks on rocket stuff, but not a computer program! That's like 12 E18 reloads!

Any recommendations?


Another thing, my camera is MP4, and my 'Windows Movie Maker' does not work with that format. MP4 to MP3 Converters leave marks, too...



I'm going to have to spend money on something other than rockets, aren't I ? :dark:

For a Windows Freebie, check post 10. I use that software, its easy, its packed with features, and its free.

How funny, Salvage-1, I was just playing with that...although I can't find any 'timer' video effects (unless I haven't looked enough)

I found you can change the timeline format to read 0:00:00.000 , but not to display the time on the video.

I was checking out the plugins, but haven't found it there either.


You find timers?

I havent even thought of using a timer, but, check out options, and then open the plug in page. There are loads of 3rd party plug ins for this software too.

I use Imovie and adobe premiere.

A note on Videopad. I tried it out a few days ago and it kept crashing throughout working on the project for me. It also crashed in the rendering/encoding process every time and I was never able to finish the video, so I downloaded a trial of Adobe Premiere.

Videopad does offer a lot of good features and is easy to use, though, so maybe I'll give it a second try.

For file format conversion, try Format Factory. It's free and can convert nearly any file format to nearly any other, including HD and audio.

I use iMovie too, but I think it's only for Macs. (Which everyone knows are better. :neener: Kidding! Kidding! Please don't hurt me... :duck

btb103 said:

A note on Videopad. I tried it out a few days ago and it kept crashing throughout working on the project for me. It also crashed in the rendering/encoding process every time and I was never able to finish the video, so I downloaded a trial of Adobe Premiere.

Videopad does offer a lot of good features and is easy to use, though, so maybe I'll give it a second try.

Click to expand...

Funny! Videopad has been pretty stable for me, but I've had lots of crashes with avidemux instead. Both programs are likely a bit finicky about their environment.

Anyone else tried the AVS Video Editor?

I've downloaded and played with a few that were recommended here, but I think AVS has got the most features (as far as the freebees anyway)

Man, that thing has got tons of special effects! How about 300 of them?

If you don't feel like scrolling back up, I got it here https://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Editor.aspx

i use pinnacle studio 15... i use a go pro to film everything i do and it is a great editor

Tried using it for a while, but man it was SLOW to do anything. The system requirements state "Processor: Intel / AMD compatible at 2500 MHz or higher " and my main computer has an AMD 4 core 2500, but it still runs like a dog in wet cement.

McKailas Dad said:

Anyone else tried the AVS Video Editor?

I've downloaded and played with a few that were recommended here, but I think AVS has got the most features (as far as the freebees anyway)

Man, that thing has got tons of special effects! How about 300 of them?

If you don't feel like scrolling back up, I got it here https://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Editor.aspx

Click to expand...

Does anyone have a good editor that can rotate a video 90 degrees, from landscape to portrait, and preserve quality. I have tried a few, Blaze comes to mind, that would rotate but would either a) maintain the original aspect ratio (everything super squat and wide...Andromeda that looks like a Fat Boy)) or give terrible video quality. I might pay for one if it worked well, but I'd rather buy E-18's. Thanks.

Rocket86 said:

Does anyone have a good editor that can rotate a video 90 degrees, from landscape to portrait, and preserve quality. I have tried a few, Blaze comes to mind, that would rotate but would either a) maintain the original aspect ratio (everything super squat and wide...Andromeda that looks like a Fat Boy)) or give terrible video quality. I might pay for one if it worked well, but I'd rather buy E-18's. Thanks.

Click to expand...

If you're sharing your videos online through YouTube, you can use their Online Video Editor at: https://www.youtube.com/editor.

Windows Live Movie Maker (https://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/essentials-home) is free to Windows users and works well for basic editing including rotating videos.

-- Roger

I tried Movie Maker but apparently the version I have for 64-bit windows doesn't have that functionality.

I tried Movie Maker with my Leviathan clip and nearly pulled all my hair out. So many issues with that program