Your Suggestions For Freeware Video Editing Software Avid Like

Guys,

Im looking to get a Freeware (or not too costly) Video Editing Software that is the closest thing to Avid Media Composer. This is just for me to learn a video product along side what the pros use.

Avid no longer offers their free edition of Media Composer.

What would be your recommendations?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Blender is great. Although not quite like Avid, you can do video editing/composing in it. Its totally free with no limitations or watermarks.

blender.org - Home of the Blender project - Free and Open 3D Creation Software

 

It looks to me like Avid Media Composer First is still available for free:
Media Composer | First - Free Video Editing Software - Avid

Was there a recent announcement that it was discontinued?

 

Yes, they canned the Free Ware version.
Avid Finally Drops Free Media Composer Software — Here's What to Expect

You can D/L it for free, but then its $19.95 a month. it is probably worth it, really, fpr what it does, but I wont use it often enough to justify $500 over 2 years.

 

Thank you Red, for your post. Blender, I think is more for 3D amimated creation, my goal, tho is to find an editor that is like Avid, so if I ever move up to Avid, my learning curve wont be as steep, because I've read that Avis has a REALLY steep learning curve.

 

You're welcome dude.

It is mainly used for 3D creation, but also has a brilliant video editing section. With Sequencing and adding effects and whatnot. I cant say much about it because I've only used it in a limited capacity to make some music videos but others have done amazing things with it. There's a bunch of youtube videos on it and info online on how to work with the video sequencer.

 

Thanks Red!

 

Avid is now $19.99 a month, so there's that.

Media Composer Subscription - Video Editing Software - Avid

Free, no. Cheap, yes.

Another choice would be Resolve 14.3, and there is a free version there... but the hardware requirements are very strict. We go crazy throwing more hardware at Resolve all the time. Great software, but it eats RAM for breakfast and consumes GPUs for dessert.

 

The article linked was announcing the "drop" (as in release) of Media Composer First last summer, not the discontinuation of a free version. Yes, if you download the regular version of Media Composer, it works free for 30 days before you have to subscribe, but Media Composer First is a separate download, and I was able to get it myself just now.

Obviously, the free version won't do everything that the subscription version would, but if you're looking to just get your feet wet, it might do the job. Here's a comparison of features:
Media Composer | Ultimate - Comparison - Avid

Edit: Avid also still noting the free version in their marketing related to the just-concluded NAB conference:
NAB 2018: Avid Media Composer 2018.4 Is Now More Accessible Than Ever Starting at Just $19.99 per Month

 

I've worked with Avid, and prefer Premiere, which I use to this day. Premiere Elements is the lean version of this great software, and goes for $99.99. It's on sale right now for $69.99 if you purchase before April 22.

Easy Video Editor & Movie Maker Software | Adobe Premiere Elements 2018

 

Thank you miner, for taking the time to post and for clearing that up. It does appear that MC First is still available!

 

Thank you Khaki. I actually had bought Premiere awhile back (an older version). I'm thinking I want to get into the Avid world now.

 

Lol.......more fun and games......I downloaded MC First, but its completely unresponsive. You cant click on anything, in fact you cant even X Out of it. I have to use task manager to close it. I'll have to go on the Avid user support forum and post.

Miner: is yours working?

 

I can launch the software, but I haven't properly configured it yet. I'm used to the Media Composer systems on Windows workstations at the company I work for, and I'm on an iMac at home.

Where is Media Composer First becoming unresponsive for you? Is it during launch or after you open a project and try to link or import media? The possible problems would be different depending on where you get stuck.

 

Hi Miner,:

I can launch the program. But thats it. Cant open anything or click on anything. Its completely locked .

Pretty frustrating.

 

So does it display the "Media Composer First" logo window with the copyright at the bottom but never proceed past there?
If this is the case, do you see any text changing across the bottom of that window? Several messages will appear there about the steps the software is taking to initialize itself. Where it gets stuck could be an indicator of where a problem might be.

If you're still willing to give it a try, I would recommend removing it from Programs and Features and re-installing. If the program is hanging something might not have gotten installed correctly or the supporting files are located somewhere the application does not have permission to read from. Did you customize the install at all up front?

Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble with the program. I don't think Avid's as on top of things as they were in the days they had Final Cut Pro nipping at their heels.

 

Don't let Avid's rep scare you away. I think a more apt description is that it's relatively easy to get basic functions down and a steep learning curve to get really consistently fancy. I spent a couple months with it and was happy with it. Back in the early 2000s I was into Final Cut Pro- now I avoid all Apple products like an expensive plague. They have zero incentive to keep their hard & software off the cuff (or even backwards compatible-I'm looking at you Final Cut X...) thanks to their focus on phones.

Most people I know are into Premiere and other freeware/cheapware, but I try to stick with Avid despite cost because trying to learn different versions of unfamiliar software leaves me at a stalemate with all of them.

Hopefully Avid remain industry standard so I don't feel like I've been barking up the wrong editing tree.

 

You should check out DaVinci Resolve from Blackmagic Design. It's free, and incredibly powerful. Available on Windows, Mac and Linux and has multicam editing, professional color correction and compositing tools, motion graphics, Fairlight's audio tools, and much more.

DaVinci Resolve 15 | Blackmagic Design

Their model is to move you to their "Studio" version, but that's only $299 outright - no monthly fees. They also make hardware control panels for when you're hooked and need that next level of productivity.

If I didn't have ten years of experience with the tool I currently use, Grass Valley's Edius, I'd be all over Resolve.

 

I didn't see that @Vidiot had already mentioned it. I guess I'm spoiled by Edius - I'm doing an eight camera 1080i edit on a 2011 i5 laptop.

 

Found a good guide on configuring hardware for Resolve:

DaVinci Resolve System Requirements - A Reality Check

 

Hi Miner.

Thank you for your post. No, it didnt display the logo. It was completely frozen. What I also found out was that it hosed my PC. I couldnt type anything into the Search box. I uninstalled all the Avid stuff and now the Search box works again.
I have to think about re-installing. This is twice that it didnt work. I'm kind of thinking they dont care too much about a Free version. But I thank you much for your posts.

 

If I was in your situation, I'd download Resolve and try it. No reason not to, as it's free. I'm going to just to get my hands on the Fairlight audio tools.

 

Bah. Edius is so "five years ago." I'd say Premiere pretty much owns the low-cost market, but Avid is still at the top for all major TV series and feature films. Resolve is sort of the newcomer that is knocking on the door, and there's also Lightworks for the propeller-head geeks who want to use something nobody else has. And then Sony Vegas (now owned by somebody else) for wedding photographers. Edius is more local TV news than anything else, but the NBC & CBS stations I know of were still using Avid as of a couple of years ago.

 

I think of it as a well-kept secret. The main reason to use it is their very efficient codecs. As I said, I'm rolling 8 1080i cameras off of a single SATA drive, on an old i5 laptop. I place a lot of value on being able to edit anything, anywhere at any time. And in my part of the market, software you own is worth a lot more than software you don't.