Evaluations+of+Video+Editing+Software

I have selected Windows Movie Maker and Wax as my two free video editing software packages to analyze. According to the author of “Top 5 Free Video Editing Software Programs,” “Movie Maker has drag and drop features to make creating and editing your movie easier.” This software allows the user to produce DVDs, save a movie to your computer, to a CD, send over the web, or through email. Upgrades and add-ons are available through the Microsoft website. Movie Maker produces most file extensions except for any MAC system files such as .mov files. The most appealing aspect of Movie Maker is its ease of use. Wax video editing software is okay for beginners, but allows for growth if the novice turns into a professional editor. According to the author of “Top 5 Free Video Editing Software Programs,” “It can be used as a stand-alone application, or as a plug-in to other video editors.” The high performance software includes unlimited video and audio tracks and hundreds of presets. Input formats include: AVI, WAV, and all popular image formats, with output formats: AVI, MPEG, WAV, Flash, and all popular image formats. When I watched the tutorials to learn how to use this software, I discovered that the video did not include audio purposefully. This was not helpful to me and therefore not a productive learning tutorial. I did not choose to edit a practice video in this software because it was not as user-friendly. Wax’s flexibility and high performance capabilities make it a very attractive free video editing software package for more serious editors. After reviewing the tutorials on both of these video editing software programs, I prefer Windows Movie Maker over Wax. As with using any new software, it is important to rely on prior knowledge and to gain confidence when learning the new layouts and features of the program. The old adage, “learning by doing” definitely applies here. Using the Photo Story 3 software (using past learning) was an excellent learning experience by which to begin to build my ability to use Movie Maker software. As I played around with the Movie Maker program features (new learning) with my practice video, I saw familiar features and capabilities that I had learned from using Photo Story 3. Features such as adding transitions, music, and title pages were similar to Photo Story 3, but really even easier. Because Movie Maker was easy to use and allows for future growth as I become more adept at video editing (future learning), this is my preferred choice in video editing software.

Desktop-Video-Guide. (n.d.). Top 5 video editing software programs. Retrieved on April 12, 2009, from http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/top-5-free-video-editing-software-review-html.