Note that the following advice was relevant to May 2019 and may be outdated – this page will be updated with the correct information in Autumn 2024.
So you’ve filmed a video on your mobile device – now what? As the Educational Media Producer at IML & the LX.lab, this is one of the most common questions I get asked. Thankfully, you don’t need to be Stephen Spielberg with a 100 million dollar budget. Here are three free video editing programs worth looking into.
iMovie (For Mac Users)
iMovie is without a doubt my favourite free video editing program to recommend. It’s intuitive, smooth and easy-to-use. Also not only is it free, but it comes installed on your Mac ready to go! Want to learn how to use it? Check out this tutorial here, or to get a personal face-to-face lesson, check out this hands-on, interactive workshop at the LX.lab. We’ll all edit the same footage together so you can get a proper hands on walkthrough of all the features.
OpenShot Video Editor (PC & Mac)
With Windows Movie Maker no longer supported, there’s not a lot of great free video editing programs for Mac. Thankfully, OpenShot Video Editor is a free, open source video editing program available on both PC and Mac. You can download it here*, and there’s a very helpful tutorial available here.
*Please note, you may need assistance from ITD to install it on a UTS owned computer.
YouTube and Kaltura Video Editor (Browser-based video editing)
Why edit in a program when you can just edit after uploading? Some of the platforms you can upload to may also include video editing capabilities. It may not run as smoothly, but it can get the job done! Check out this tutorial for YouTube and this one for Kaltura.
Other stuff worth checking out
Here’s a few other things that may also interest you. If you just want to record audio, take a look at Audacity. A great audio recording & editing program. For Mac users, if you just want to trim off the front & bottom or do screen recordings, you should definitely check out Quicktime in your applications folder. Or if you’re looking at video editing on your iPad, LumaFusion is cheap (not free), easy to use and easy to recommend.
Get a face-to-face lesson in iMovie (For Mac Users)
If you’re using a Mac and iMovie interests you, be sure to register for the workshop below! We’ll all edit the same footage together and I’ll show you the video editing ropes personally. BYO Macbook. We hope to see you there!
iMovie: Video Editing for Mac Users (BYO Macbook!) | 12 June