Video Editing Software

[Gongalong]

Hi folks,

I'm after recommendations for Windows based video editing software. Currently we use a mix of Adobe Elements (an older version) and MovieMaker.

The Head of ICT would like something a bit better than MovieMaker, so I'm just checking whether we should upgrade Elements, or try something else? (is there anything free?)

TIA

[plexer]

Main recommendation seems to be Serif Movie Plus which is what we use, they'll give you a trial.

Ben

[Bananas]

Seconded, un until recently I despised the Serif stuff, in fact a lot of it I still do but Movieplus is a real GEM. Well worth the money

[plexer]

I too used to think the same but the instructions and tools they provide for making a network deployable version are really good.

Ben

[localzuk]

Another Serif MoviePlus recommendation here. Its easy to use, doesn't generate *massive* project files like Elements and doesn't have the instability of Movie Maker.

Deployment is so simple, they've really put effort into making it school friendly!

Plus, its pretty cheap. We got 600 licenses for £1500, and that included a free video camera, 5 individual copies for staff to use on their own machines, and 5 printed manuals.

[Bananas]

Oh yeah not a problem with that side of things. I meant more from a usage PoV I don't like things "master pages" when building websites and I also had huge problems when students were linking 2 websites they'd created together. If they ticked the embed box or linked a website as a file (which seems logical, you have another index.html file to link, it's a file ergo link file) then when you publish the work it goes horribly wrong, errors all over the place, half publishes one site and half the other with no pictures and you just TRY finding out what the problem is.

I spent a day trying to figure out why none of these portfolios would publish till I found that. It's just little things like that that bug me about it. Deployment tools are excellent and it is fairly idiot proof too......

I haven't found any problems like that in Movieplus though it really is EXCELLENT. I haven't had one single scream of it's crashed taking all my work with it (unlike Movie Maker, XP version)

[FragglePete]

I use Sony Vegas Studio at home and it's pretty good. The education site license is only about £500, but I haven't been able to persuade them to get it here yet.

We've got the site license for CS4 Master Collection which includes Premiere Pro, but it's just too heavy handed for a School environment. Most of the students use Movie Maker!

Pete

[cookie_monsta]

Plus, its pretty cheap. We got 600 licenses for £1500, and that included a free video camera, 5 individual copies for staff to use on their own machines, and 5 printed manuals.

you got all that for £1500? is that primary or secondary pricing? can i have the name of the sales guy please?

Chap im dealing with at Serif wants £599 for 30 licences for a primary school....not extras or anything

[sonofsanta]

This is not necessarily more powerful than Movie Maker, but is free and online so students can access it from home (which seems to count for big brownie points with my IT teacher, at least)
WeVideo - Collaborative Online Video Editor in the Cloud

[localzuk]

you got all that for £1500? is that primary or secondary pricing? can i have the name of the sales guy please?

Chap im dealing with at Serif wants £599 for 30 licences for a primary school....not extras or anything

Secondary pricing. The base price is about what you say, but adding an extra 100 licenses is like £100 or something.

[plexer]

We paid £1500 for 32 licences, feelign robbed now.

Ben

[localzuk]

We paid £1500 for 32 licences, feelign robbed now.

Ben

You got ripped off there somehow! All the resellers have the following prices listed... So, I did get a good deal, but it isn't *that* different to the prices below when you also look at their 'full suite' pricing, where each extra 100 licenses costs £100.

Serif MoviePlus X5 - Single Boxed ProductWIN£39.95
Serif MoviePlus X5 - 10 User PackWIN£259.00
Serif MoviePlus X5 - 20 User PackWIN£499.00
Serif MoviePlus X5 - 30 User PackWIN£599.00
Serif MoviePlus X5 - 50 User PackWIN£799.00
Serif MoviePlus X5 - 100 User PackWIN£1,399.00

[Bananas]

This is not necessarily more powerful than Movie Maker, but is free and online so students can access it from home (which seems to count for big brownie points with my IT teacher, at least)
WeVideo - Collaborative Online Video Editor in the Cloud

I'm LOVING that. We use Google extensively mostly for the students email but also apps and it's beautifully integrated into Google and Google Drive. Thanks very much I love it!!

[RTFM]

It's ok recommending Serif because its cheap but at the end of the day is that 'industry standard' and adding value to the students? They'll use Serif in school, leave and then have what experience of real life video editing software will they have?

Somewhere between 'none' and 'very little'.

It's sometimes a case of stepping back and thinking, what will add the most value to the students in later life? I'm not sure Serif does that. Just a personal opinion.....

[Steve21]

It's ok recommending Serif because its cheap but at the end of the day is that 'industry standard' and adding value to the students? They'll use Serif in school, leave and then have what experience of real life video editing software will they have?

Somewhere between 'none' and 'very little'.

It's sometimes a case of stepping back and thinking, what will add the most value to the students in later life? I'm not sure Serif does that. Just a personal opinion.....

Isn't the point to learn the underlaying skills of how it works. Not how to click a certain button though?

It's like saying don't use open office, as everyone uses ms office. End of day whether you have a button with a cow, or a button with a dog. If it does the same thing it's the same skills surely?

Just think relying on a single program isn't always the best option, especially when you'll find every "industry standard" program is only standard in a small area. Take business/accounting etc. Is excel standard? access? sage? insert 5milllllllion more programs.

Some would say teaching kids to click a button is setting them more back then teaching them what a button does.

Just my opinion though

Thanks,
Steve