'OpenShot video editor is very easy and simple to use software. The user can select different options like adding text, images and audio visuals to their videos to. OpenShot is a free, simple-to-use, feature-rich video editor for Linux, OS X, and Windows. It has the simplest user interface with drag & drop and video effects. If you are totally a newbie to videos editing you can go for this. NOTE: Two of these editors are now defunct, Windows Movie Maker and the Youtube Editor. A comparison of three different editors on three different platforms.
Shotcut Video Editor Tutorial for Beginners
Shotcut, OpenShot, VSDC, VideoProc and Windows 10 Photos app are five free and easy video editing software for beginners. Among those, in fact, Shotcut might be the most welcome video editor with nearly 90 thousand monthly searches. It is free and open source, compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux.
In this article, you would know where to safely download Shotcut and how to use Shotcut to fine tune your footage into a new personalized movie for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
For more information of pros and cons on Shotcut, read our Test and Full Review of Shotcut >>
Where to download a safe Shotcut installer?
The following Shotcut download links are from its official website, which are 100% safe and clean.
- - For Windows: Shotcut 64-bit | Shotcut 32-bit
- - For macOS: macOS .dmg file
- - For Linux: Shotcut 64-bit portable tar | Shotcut 64-bit AppImage
How to Use Shotcut to Edit Your Video
Free get Shotcut through the download links above, double click the installer file .exe or .dmg and follow the setup wizards to finish the installation. After that, open the software. Here we will show you a step-by-step guide on using Shotcut on Windows 10.
Step 1: Start a new project
Every time you run Shotcut, you are required to create a new project. Just set a project folder path > name it >select one of the video modes (SD, HD or UHD at different frame rate) > Start.
Here we name it as 'Test' and choose 'HD 1080p 30 fps'.
Step 2: Set Shotcut layout
There are four types of editing layouts inside Shotcut: Timeline Project, Clip-only Project, Playlist Project and Player. Each of them shows you different options in the interface. For video editing, choose Timeline Project.
• Timeline - preview window, Timeline, properties panel, audio and recent files.
• Clip-only - preview window, properties panel, and recent files.
• Playlist - preview window and recent files.
Step 3: Import media in Shotcut
Method 1. File > Open File > select one or several video clips > open.
Method 2. View >enable 'Show toolbar' > click 'Open File' in toolbar > select video files > open
Method 3. Click 'Playlist' in toolbar > drag and drop your video files there.
Method 2. View >enable 'Show toolbar' > click 'Open File' in toolbar > select video files > open
Method 3. Click 'Playlist' in toolbar > drag and drop your video files there.
Then drag the videos in the Playlist to Timeline area for editing. Better enable the 'Toggle snapping' option and zoom in or out the timeline based on your need.
Step 4: How to add text in Shotcut
- Click 'Filters' in the toolbar.
- Switch from 'Favorite' to 'Video' tab > scroll down to find 'Text' or search 'Text' directly.
- Choose 'Text: Simple' or 'Text: 3D'.
- Type in the Text box, choose a font, adjust the size and color.
More options: adjust outline color and thickness (30 maximally), choose background color, change the Text position, etc. Note that Shotcut doesn't allow you to make subtitles or upload subtitle file.
Step 5: How to crop video in Shotcut
- Click 'Filters' in the toolbar > Video > Crop (circle, rectangle or source).
- Adjust the value of Radius in circle mode.
- Change corner radius and padding color in Crop: rectanble.
- Or crop video from top, bottom, left or right in Crop: source.
Step 6: How to split video in Shotcut
- Move down to the Timeline area and slide the playhead to where you want to split.
- Click 'Split At Playhead' (right beside the 'Toggle snapping' button, or simply press S.
Step 7: How to speed up video in Shotcut
- Click 'Properties' in the toolbar to open video parameter panel.
- Find 'Speed' option under the comment box.
- To speed up video, change speed to any value higher than 1x (up to 50x).
- To make slow motion effect, set speed value lower than 1x, like 0.5x, 0.1x, etc.
Step 8: How to add transitions in Shotcut
- Drag two or more video clips into the same video track. There shouldn't be any gap between the clips.
- Get two videos overlaped and then the transition zone appears.
- Choose a transition type in 'Properties', like Dissolve, Cut, Iris box, Clock top, etc.
- Set softness and then done.
Step 9: Export videos for YouTube, Facebook, etc
- Go to 'File' and then 'Export video'.
- Choose YouTube for uploading online, H.264 Main Profile (most widely compatible codec) or HEVC (higher compression, smaller file size).
- Click into 'Advanced' if you need to change video resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio, and then press 'Export File'.
Check 'Use hardware encoder' if your computer has hardware accelerated CPU or GPU powered by Intel, Nvidia or AMD. That would speed up h.264/HEVC video encoding dramatically.
Disclaimer: This article is only providing tips on how to use Shotcut. It is not the official page of Shotcut. Digiarty Software Inc. is not owned by or affiliated with Shotcut.
When youtube and other similar platforms are proliferating then need of the best video editor software is at its zenith and if we get something in free and opensource to edit our videos than it would be ‘icing on the cake’.
Now, we are in 2020 and already the Open-source software has gained a good reputation in the IT sector. It is because of the source code which is available for everyone that is not the case with closed software thus also reduce the risk of having spies or other third party spy software.
Openshot Movie Maker Download
List of Top free & opensource video editing software in 2020
However, we don’t have free and open-source video editing software range like paid and free programs but still whatever is there is enough to handle quite extensive editing tasks for Windows, macOS, FreeBSD and Linux operating systems, here are some of the best open source video editing programs.
1. OpenShot Video Editor
With the free and open source program “OpenShot Video Editor” we can easily edit our videos for Youtube and other projects quickly on Windows and Linux systems.
The functionality of the video software includes 3D animations, curve-based camera movements, various transitions and the mixing of audio tracks. There are up to five video and audio tracks available for video editing, which can be linked together in numerous transitions and effects.
Since the software is based on the FFmpeg library, it supports the most common audio, video and image formats both for importing and for the final output of your video. Simply drag and drop the project data to be used into the program window or directly into the multi-track timeline, where you can then edit the clips. It helps a lot to newbies those have just started video editing.
Furthermore, the user can create videos up to 4k resolution with max with a maximum frame rate of 60 frames per second. The soundtracks support a surround sound of seven channels. Also, OpenShot contains an autosave mode, which saves your project automatically after an adjustable interval.
It supports all common video and audio plus image formats and even can handle GIF files. Over 400 different transitions, effects and animations can be added using it.
Some Key features:
- Trim & Slice
- Animation & Keyframes
- Title Editor
- 70+ Languages
- Audio Waveforms
- 3D Animations
- Video Effects
- Unlimited layers for watermarks, background videos, audio tracks, and more.
OpenShot is a cross-platform video editor, with support for Linux, Mac, and Window. Also, provide documentation to know how to use it.
To install OpenShot in Ubuntu, Debian or Linux Mint, one can use these commands:
2. Blender
If you are have ever searched for free tools for 3D animation then I am sure you would have seen the Blender, it is also a good tool for video editing but not a beginner.
Blender allows the modelling and texturing of 3D mesh models. The program also allows character animations using keyframes and skeleton systems. You can also use the included physics simulation tools to simulate fire, smoke, particles, water, textiles and solids.
Blender includes a non-linear video editing system that is available in all the current stable versions for Debian, Ubuntu and other Linux using Snap store including executable for Windows 10/7… Adobe after effects cc 2015 for mac.
See how to install blender on Ubuntu. For Windows 10/7 and macOS follow this official website link.
3. Pitivi Video Editor
It is another strong contender in the free and opensource that deals in video editing. The developers have written it in Python language and offer a timeline-based interface to easily navigate through different frames of videos. This also gives it a professional look similar to Avid and Adobe premiere.
It has a quite extensive range of features such as
Unlimited video/audio track layers; Frame stepping, keyboard controls and shortcuts
Trimming, splitting/cutting, Snapping, Ripple edits/roll edits, Sound mixing of multiple concurrent audio layers, Volume keyframe curves; Keyframable audio & video effects
Audio waveforms; Keyframable effects; Opacity keyframe curves; Importing support for all video/audio/image formats provided by GStreamer plugins and more…
Trimming, splitting/cutting, Snapping, Ripple edits/roll edits, Sound mixing of multiple concurrent audio layers, Volume keyframe curves; Keyframable audio & video effects
Audio waveforms; Keyframable effects; Opacity keyframe curves; Importing support for all video/audio/image formats provided by GStreamer plugins and more…
It is only available for Linux operating systems, one can use Flatpak to install it on all mainstream Linux distros.
Here are the commands:
Install Flatpak before using these commands:
4. Shotcut Video Editing tool
The Shotcut is an open-source video editing tool that allows to cut and convert videos quickly and easily, supporting a wide variety of formats.
In terms of audio technology, Shotcut comes up with all sorts of mixing tools and audio filters. Thanks to HTML5 support, one can also create impressive video effects. There is also a wide range of optical filters. Various display and monitor options make it easier for you to keep an overview. All of these options take some time before you can easily handle them.
Frame by frame video editing. Various filters and effects for image and sound are included for editing, such as colour filters for video and normalization for audio. Projects can be saved as an MLT XML file, while finished films are output via the “Encode” button, where properties such as resolution or frame rate can also be set. In addition to multicore support, Shotcut can also use the computing power of graphics units via OpenGL. Shotcut’s standard user interface can be customized using various skins and modular windows.
In addition to the Windows version shortcut also versions for Linux and OS X to download on the official website.
See– How to install Shotcut on Ubuntu 7 Linux. For other platforms see the official website.
Key Features:
- Webcam and audio capture
- Wide range of audio and video formats thanks to FFmpeg
- Also supports images extensions such as BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, SVG, TGA, TIFF and WebP.
- Native timeline editing
- Multiple Video Filters
- Video scopes: Histogram, RGB Parade, RGB Waveform, Waveform, and Zoom
- Frame-accurate seeking for many formats
- 3-way (shadows, mids, highlights) colour wheels for correction and grading
- Support for 4K resolutions
- USer can network stream playback using different protocols such as HTTP, HLS, RTMP, RTSP, MMS and UDP.
- Cross-platform support: available on Windows, Linux, and macOS
- Blackmagic Design SDI and HDMI for input and preview monitoring
- OpenGL GPU-based image processing
- Color, text, noise, and counter generators and more…
5. KdenLive
Kdenlive is a KDE project and optimized for the KDE desktop, real-time multitrack video editing program. The program is included in the package sources for all leading distributions thus a wide range of Linux users can install it to use without adding any third-party repository. The distributions are Archlinux, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, KDE neon, OpenSuse, Solus, Ubuntu, LinuxMint, Elementary those are not here can use the App Image|SNAP|Flatpak. If you are not a Linux user, then don’t worry KdenLive open source video editor is also available for Windows and macOS.
KdenLive is based on MLT video Frameworks and FFmpeg. The interface of the software is a customizable and unlimited undo steps and functions for organizing the timeline. Also supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios for both PAL, NTSC and various HD standards including HDV and AVCHD.
In addition, Kdenlive supports camcorders, webcams and all common audio, video and image formats and the recording of the screen content.
It also supports all common video formats supported by FFmpeg or libav (such as QuickTime, AVI, WMV, MPEG, and Flash Video, among others).
Movavi Vs Openshot
To run on standard resources computer, the KdenLive smartly created a low-resolution video of the source clips to make sure the editing would snag-free and later after editing when the user render the same, it uses full resolution for final output.
Key Features of KdenLive:
- Multi-track video editing.
- Uses powerful FFmpeg libraries
- Arrange and save your custom interface layouts
- Can add Title Text to video with different capabilities and arrangements.
- Dozens of effects from colour correction to audio adjustments.
- Automatically create a backup file of the project every few minutes
- Supports Audio Meter, Histogram, Waveform, Vectorscope and RGB Parade
- Timeline preview, Keyframeable effects and themable interface.
- To add different effects to the video, the user can down render profiles, wipes and title templates directly online using the software.
6. Olive is a free non-linear video editor
It is relatively new software but with quite a professional interface just like Adobe premiere. In the following screenshot, one can see the timeline and editing tools including audio levels same as Adobe.
I used it on Windows 10 and the performance of this was good and didn’t face any unexpected crash. One should give it one chance if you are looking for some prosumer editing tool, definitely, it will not underestimate you.
Beside WIndows, it is available for Linux and macOS as well.
To install it on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian and other similar kinds of Linux Distro, here are the commands:
For other Linux, one can use SNAP command:
Note: The system should have SNAP before using its command.
Free Openshot Movie Editor
Conclusion on Open source video editing tools
So, these were some best tools for video editing in a free and open source category. If you have never touched any video editor before then start from Openshot and those know a little bit about how these software work they can go for Shotcut or Kdenlive, well, of course, try Olive and Prithvi too as they are also worth to have one look. Whereas, those want something with strong 3D & 2D animation with editing capabilities should go for Blender.
Nevertheless, if you are looking for some free software with/without GPL license with Professional, one can try Davinci. Here is the link to see about more such as kind of free Videos editor software.