Making my mind up about editing software

[African wildlife]

Hi everyone! This is my first post.

I've recently got a P4P+, waiting until now regarding drones for the technology to get good enough for acquiring quality aerial footage at an affordable price.

One of my first questions was "Which editing software do I use?" I read and re-read reviews and looked through this forum. I'm not a film professional, but do work to reasonably high standards. I've never done digital editing before, although I made four 30 minutes films many years ago in the days of tape (not that I remember any "how to" stuff). And I'm a PC/Windows user.

I considered PowerDirector and Premiere Elements, and especially Adobe Premiere Pro (of course). But I eventually decided on DaVinci Resolve 14 - the free version. And the fact it is offered free is simply mind-boggling, as it's clearly a professional-level product.

I'm just beginning to learn how to use it, but it's amazing.

There are YouTube tutorials, especially for DaVinci Resolve 12.5 which are still usually helpful. Yes, there's a learning curve as there is for anything - but it's not too difficult and you can quickly start editing.

I hope my experience is useful for anyone else who is deliberating "What editing software should I use?"

 

[LarBear360]

Hi everyone! This is my first post.

I've recently got a P4P+, waiting until now regarding drones for the technology to get good enough for acquiring quality aerial footage at an affordable price.

One of my first questions was "Which editing software do I use?" I read and re-read reviews and looked through this forum. I'm not a film professional, but do work to reasonably high standards. I've never done digital editing before, although I made four 30 minutes films many years ago in the days of tape (not that I remember any "how to" stuff). And I'm a PC/Windows user.

I considered PowerDirector and Premiere Elements, and especially Adobe Premiere Pro (of course). But I eventually decided on DaVinci Resolve 14 - the free version. And the fact it is offered free is simply mind-boggling, as it's clearly a professional-level product.

I'm just beginning to learn how to use it, but it's amazing.

There are YouTube tutorials, especially for DaVinci Resolve 12.5 which are still usually helpful. Yes, there's a learning curve as there is for anything - but it's not too difficult and you can quickly start editing.

I hope my experience is useful for anyone else who is deliberating "What editing software should I use?"

I'm a Vegas Platinum 14 guy myself, though occasionally I also use Power Director and Adobe Elements. I avoid Adobe Premiere Pro simply due to the fact I can't own it rather I must "rent" it. I don't think any of these cost me more than $100.

I also had Resolve but for whatever reason just didn't care for it. But once you learn how to use Resolve, any of those others will be easy to adapt to. They all offer some some sort of trial version to help you decide.

 

[BigAl07]

Welcome to the forum @African wildlife

 

[Jayfdee]

Agree Resolve is good, especially as it can process 4K and is free, whether you have a computer powerful enough for 4K processing is another matter.Can you use LUTs in Resolve?
Personally I use Premiere pro, I have invested too much time in the steep learning curve with this software so I am staying with it.
I also use After effects and Photoshop and lightroom so it makes sense for me to stay with Adobe.

 

[LarBear360]

Agree Resolve is good, especially as it can process 4K and is free, whether you have a computer powerful enough for 4K processing is another matter.Can you use LUTs in Resolve?
Personally I use Premiere pro, I have invested too much time in the steep learning curve with this software so I am staying with it.
I also use After effects and Photoshop and lightroom so it makes sense for me to stay with Adobe.

I don't know for a fact, but I would guess you could use LUT's using Resolve. Probably require some kind of third-party plug-in, but considering their intended audience, I can't see them building the software and not be able to use them.

 

[African wildlife]

There's no doubt that a number of worthy editing software options exist. After all, it's 2017. And there's probably very little between the best ones. As someone posted on this forum - a comment that helped me - people tend to imprint on what they see first. (I especially like the "live" version of Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, rather than the studio version, for example - simply because I heard it first.)

As an "oldie" who is belatedly catching up with the digital age editing world, I wanted something that could deliver to my standards. I'm especially concerned about being able to produce clean, professional-looking titles - and DaVinci Resolve 14 certainly hasn't disappointed. I've been able to do exactly what I imagined.

The top people behind Blackmagic Design are experienced in their industry and their mission is wanting to make things better and better. The fact they have taken DaVinci Resolve from a professional colour correction tool to a full NLE suite speaks volumes.

I was encouraged to discover that some editing professionals were switching from, say, Premiere Pro - despite being fully familiar with that product - simply because of Blackmagic's attitude of continual improvement.

I've found the support team are quick to respond to any question and brilliantly helpful - again, for no cost.

I'm still amazed that it's free. I nearly went for Premiere Pro at £20 per month. In five or six years' time, I'll have saved enough money to buy a new drone for "free" with the money that isn't being spent on editing software rental.

 

[African wildlife]

LarBear360: Yes, I've noticed there are options for luts.

First, it's time to get the all-important footage. Now in place, getting up at 4.45am each day ready for golden hour. You can't beat good light.

 

[LarBear360]

LarBear360: Yes, I've noticed there are options for luts.

First, it's time to get the all-important footage. Now in place, getting up at 4.45am each day ready for golden hour. You can't beat good light.

Just a reminder that if you are going to apply any LUTs, be sure your original footage is as flat as possible.

 

[African wildlife]

LarBear360: I'm a bit wary, at least at this stage, of experimenting with luts - simply based on not wanting to hype up footage of nature. I may change my mind as the editing progresses.

My stills photography started off with Kodachrome 64 and then to Fujichrome Velvia, so it was always "get it right when you press the trigger" in those days of self-discipline.

 

[LarBear360]

LarBear360: I'm a bit wary, at least at this stage, of experimenting with luts - simply based on not wanting to hype up footage of nature. I may change my mind as the editing progresses.

My stills photography started off with Kodachrome 64 and then to Fujichrome Velvia, so it was always "get it right when you press the trigger" in those days of self-discipline.

Understood. No need to jump in too quickly. Spend some time on YouTube and watch a few videos about color grading (not the same as color correction). That way you will see the possibilities. You can also get some free LUTs and more videos at a groundcontrolcolor.com.

 

[African wildlife]

LarBear360: Many thanks.

I'm very open to suggestions from anyone familiar with DaVinci Resolve 14 - not least because I'll be starting to edit our first film very soon.

And the Phantom 4 Pro+ is a brilliant piece of kit!

 

[Fordie]

LarBear360: Many thanks.

I'm very open to suggestions from anyone familiar with DaVinci Resolve 14 - not least because I'll be starting to edit our first film very soon.

And the Phantom 4 Pro+ is a brilliant piece of kit!

I have been editing for over 15 years. I have moved from sony Vegas to Adobe CC and recently resolve. Resolve is very similar to Adobe premiere in how you edit but runs much faster with H265 or H264.in my experience. Colour grading is far better in Resolve once you get used to it. There are loads of YouTube videos on the subject.
One thing to bear in mind is that Resolve studio (paid version) handles H265 whereas the free version doesn't. Studio definitely runs faster then the free version.
The cost of the studio version isn't unreasonable and there is no monthly subscription. The only issue with resolve is that if you want to produce dvd, blu-ray etc then you need a separate media encoder. Like Tmpgenc mastering works which was always better quality than adobe media encoder anyway.

 

[bad karma]

I don't know for a fact, but I would guess you could use LUT's using Resolve. Probably require some kind of third-party plug-in, but considering their intended audience, I can't see them building the software and not be able to use them.

Yes, you can use LUT's in Resolve... They have them for most any camera you can think of. Also Kerry at Multicopter Warehouse has some good tutorials up on Youtube.

 

[LarBear360]

Yes, you can use LUT's in Resolve... They have them for most any camera you can think of. Also Kerry at Multicopter Warehouse has some good tutorials up on Youtube.

I have found the Heron Collection from Ground Control gives very good results. I have Resolve and should try it out again.

 

[African wildlife]

Fordie: Good to read your comments as you’re experienced with editing.

Unfortunately, we’ve had to abandon DaVinci Resolve. Probably due to a combination of a Windows 10 update, the Dell Inspiron laptop’s dual graphics cards, and Resolve itself, it developed a major problem.

The helpful BlackMagic Design technical support team in the UK tried hard to find a solution for a week or so, plus a Dell technician. At one point, it looked hopeful. But the problem persists.

So, with deep regret, I’ve had to switch to Vegas Pro 15. It’s similar and I’m managing fine to do almost everything we want to. But if anyone reading this is asking “What editing software should I use?”, my answer remains DaVinci Resolve 14 (free version). It’s a professional editing solution, with outstanding colour correction capability.

 

[Fordie]

Fordie: Good to read your comments as you’re experienced with editing.

Unfortunately, we’ve had to abandon DaVinci Resolve. Probably due to a combination of a Windows 10 update, the Dell Inspiron laptop’s dual graphics cards, and Resolve itself, it developed a major problem.

The helpful BlackMagic Design technical support team in the UK tried hard to find a solution for a week or so, plus a Dell technician. At one point, it looked hopeful. But the problem persists.

So, with deep regret, I’ve had to switch to Vegas Pro 15. It’s similar and I’m managing fine to do almost everything we want to. But if anyone reading this is asking “What editing software should I use?”, my answer remains DaVinci Resolve 14 (free version). It’s a professional editing solution, with outstanding colour correction capability.

Sony Vegas was excellent for years but then seemed to stagnate with lots of major issues with new releases.
I was forced to move to Adobe because of that. Vegas is now owned by a different company and hopefully they have sorted it out again because Vegas was always a fantastic NLE. Glad it's working for you.
For me Davinci 14 studio has been a revelation, so smooth on playback and doesn't seem to bloat my computer like Adobe software did. Hopefully I can now stay with Davinci studio for good.