New features in version 17 make Resolve quicker and easier to use for the novice or those on a budget, but sitting down cold with a professional tool such as this will always be intimidating. Combined with the beginner’s guides and hours of video tutorials on YouTube and the Blackmagic Design website, a lot of people are going to learn how to edit video with this software, and if only a few of those make it as a professional editor, then they’re going to buy that Advanced Panel - maybe five of them - and Blackmagic has justified the low cost of entry.įor the rest of us, this is a chance to see how the big boys do it, and learn from them. Giving this software away for free is the most astonishing bargain. but Resolve works perfectly well with the keyboard on your laptop. A cynic might say this is to bait you into springing $995 for the Editor Keyboard or $31,000 for the Advanced Panel. The software used in the production of feature films such as The Last Jedi and Deadpool 2 is given away completely free by its developer, which also happens to be one of the biggest names in digital movie cameras and editing suite hardware. Apple Final Cut Pro X: Affordable power, yet fully featured

Read our CyberLink PowerDirector 19 review (opens in new tab)ģ.

Whichever option you go with, you’ll still be able to use the impressively large array of tools and features to tweak your finished product at the end. We also like that it allows you to either have absolute control over your video, editing it step by step, or you can use the ‘auto video’ creator mode to do most of the hard work for you. The software has wide-ranging video support and is capable of handling 4K video, 360 footage, and more with ease.

There are versions of this software available for PC and Mac, although the latter is still playing catch-up in terms of some of the features. The company regularly updates its package offering recently, it cleaned up some UX elements and added new tools that make it easier to auto select objects in frame. You can buy the software outright if you prefer, but subscription options mean that you can also pay a lower monthly fee to access it. PowerDirector is a program that's suitable for both novices and experienced editors, offering all of the tools you’ll need to fine tune your footage at a fairly reasonable price.

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