Cheap but functional software?

topic posted Tue, March 25, 2008 - 2:51 PM by 
Hello all,

I have only recently reacquired a filming device, now I need a way to edit things I film. Software I hear is the way to go, given I have a digital camera, but the question is, what is a good thing for me to start out with, and what's affordable?

Ideal progarm is:
>Easy to learn
>Affordable
>Enough function to get by with.

One of my interests is animation, so some capabilities with that would be good. Just looking to add a few tweaks then post it somewhere, really. Nothing extravagant to start.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.
  • Re: Cheap but functional software?

    Tue, March 25, 2008 - 3:42 PM
    Free is a good price.

    If you have a Mac, you probably have iMovie, which is perfectly fine to learn with.

    If you have a Windows box, you probably have Windows MovieMaker, which is also perfectly functional.

    If you have a Linux box, I've heard good things about Kino, but I don't know much about Linux apps.

    They can do about 90% of what you'll need to learn the basics. And they're all free
    • Re: Cheap but functional software?

      Tue, March 25, 2008 - 6:27 PM
      Windows Movie Maker is surprisingly more than capable of doing decent work. In terms of buying software that is inexpensive- you've got a choice of Adobe Premiere Elements 4 or Sony Vegas Movie. Premiere Elements 4 is very easy and similar to Windows Movie Maker, but with some more features, yet I find Movie Maker better for titling. Now Vegas Movie really can give you pro results on a budget! Great video and audio features, but not so easy.