Updated Unlock Cinematic Storytelling Using Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro

Updated Unlock Cinematic Storytelling Using Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro

Ava Lv12

Unlock Cinematic Storytelling: Using Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro

How to Use Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro with Detailed Steps

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Those new to the Final Cut Pro or Pro X programs will be finding it a little challenging to add effects or edit videos. It’s a complex film editing software that takes a while to use. With our help, however, we can have you mastering the Ken Burns effect in Final Cut Pro. Do you want to know how to make ken burns effect in final cut pro? Listen closely.

Part 1: How to Make Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

To make a Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro X (or a Ken Burns Effect on Final Cut, since they are both extensions of one another) simply follow our guide.

First, let’s talk about what Ken Burns is and why he has an effect named after him in Final Cut programs!

What is the Ken Burns Effect

Ken Burns is a world-famous American documentary filmmaker. He is well known for producing documentaries that take a candid if somewhat old-world-feeling look into different worlds. He has covered Baseball, the Civil War, and other fascinating times and places. Arguably, he is best known for using archival footage as film footage. How does he do this? By using the Ken Burns Effect, of course.

The Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X allows the editor to zoom in and out, slow pan, and scroll across archive photography and still film. This will enable you to substitute whole parts of the program you are making with photographs if you haven’t taken enough footage. It is commonly used in editing, particularly when making things like wedding videos , which often feature lots of photos of the happy couple.

Anyway, let’s look at how you implement the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Steps to Making the Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

Now that we know what is Ken Burns Effect. Let’s go over the steps to making the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Step 1 – Import your video. From your timeline workspace, select the clip, or highlight the section of the clip, that you want to apply the Ken Burns Effect to.

import media

Step 2 – Enter into the viewer mode to do this. From here, select the pop-up menu from the list of options at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Hold down both the shift key and the letter C. This is the fast way to cut out what you need. You can always stick to the right-click to cut a clip if you are more comfortable with this.

Step 4 – scroll down until you find the Ken Burns Effect option in the control panel. The effect should now appear on your page, in the area you selected.

Ken Burns Customization

You can also customize the ken burns effects in Final Cut.

Step 1 – To transform from the Ken Burns Effect into customization mode, drag the green box in the viewer.

Step 2 – Adjust the green box’s size, shape, and height until you are happy with where it is placed.

customize ken burns effects

Step 3 – Checking what you have already put in place using the preview option is a good idea at this stage. You can edit mistakes out later, but when you are trying to edit for speed, it is best to get it right the first time around!

Step 4 – Adjust the viewer to accommodate any changes you need to make – don’t click the done button until you are sure. That being said, you can always back-step should you mis-click. You can also just start over with the effect customization if you messed up.

Part 2: How to Zoom in Final Cut Pro Using Keyframing

Now that we know how to open and apply the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro. Let’s examine how we zoom in Final Cut Pro using keyframing. Keyframing, of course, involves basic animation that allows movement to be added to a still frame. So how do you use the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X in conjunction with keyframing? Let’s talk you through it.

You can use keyframing to zoom and pan. We will talk you through how you use it to zoom in, and you should be able to work out the rest from there.

Step 1 – Set the playhead at the start of the chosen clip. This is where you want the zoom effect to start from.

Step 2 – Click to select the effects menu. It should be at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Seek out the scale and position tools. You can use these to size your animation, decide how much of a zoom you like, and how fast it will go.

scale and position

Step 4 – Follow keyframe > size > position and ensure your clip is covered as you need it. You can always come back to this step a few times if you don’t get it immediately right.

Step 5 – Set the playhead where you want the clip and animation to end. Remember – if you zoom or pan too fast, you might glitch in your footage. Do it on time for the best results.

As a Pro Tip: you will be baled to view all keyframes on your clip if you select show video animation from your timeline.

The Ken Burns Conclusion

The Ken Burns Effect is famous for a reason. It allows you to fill up space if you don’t have footage for certain things. It can be used to depict ancient battles without the use of CGI.

The Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro (X) technique lets filmmakers go to places that they wouldn’t otherwise get to. It is excellent for both glimpsing into the past, and for flashing forward into imagined futures. Best of all, it lets you go there when you aren’t a big-budget Hollywood film producer. We love anything that saves a buck or two while we edit.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Those new to the Final Cut Pro or Pro X programs will be finding it a little challenging to add effects or edit videos. It’s a complex film editing software that takes a while to use. With our help, however, we can have you mastering the Ken Burns effect in Final Cut Pro. Do you want to know how to make ken burns effect in final cut pro? Listen closely.

Part 1: How to Make Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

To make a Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro X (or a Ken Burns Effect on Final Cut, since they are both extensions of one another) simply follow our guide.

First, let’s talk about what Ken Burns is and why he has an effect named after him in Final Cut programs!

What is the Ken Burns Effect

Ken Burns is a world-famous American documentary filmmaker. He is well known for producing documentaries that take a candid if somewhat old-world-feeling look into different worlds. He has covered Baseball, the Civil War, and other fascinating times and places. Arguably, he is best known for using archival footage as film footage. How does he do this? By using the Ken Burns Effect, of course.

The Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X allows the editor to zoom in and out, slow pan, and scroll across archive photography and still film. This will enable you to substitute whole parts of the program you are making with photographs if you haven’t taken enough footage. It is commonly used in editing, particularly when making things like wedding videos , which often feature lots of photos of the happy couple.

Anyway, let’s look at how you implement the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Steps to Making the Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

Now that we know what is Ken Burns Effect. Let’s go over the steps to making the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Step 1 – Import your video. From your timeline workspace, select the clip, or highlight the section of the clip, that you want to apply the Ken Burns Effect to.

import media

Step 2 – Enter into the viewer mode to do this. From here, select the pop-up menu from the list of options at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Hold down both the shift key and the letter C. This is the fast way to cut out what you need. You can always stick to the right-click to cut a clip if you are more comfortable with this.

Step 4 – scroll down until you find the Ken Burns Effect option in the control panel. The effect should now appear on your page, in the area you selected.

Ken Burns Customization

You can also customize the ken burns effects in Final Cut.

Step 1 – To transform from the Ken Burns Effect into customization mode, drag the green box in the viewer.

Step 2 – Adjust the green box’s size, shape, and height until you are happy with where it is placed.

customize ken burns effects

Step 3 – Checking what you have already put in place using the preview option is a good idea at this stage. You can edit mistakes out later, but when you are trying to edit for speed, it is best to get it right the first time around!

Step 4 – Adjust the viewer to accommodate any changes you need to make – don’t click the done button until you are sure. That being said, you can always back-step should you mis-click. You can also just start over with the effect customization if you messed up.

Part 2: How to Zoom in Final Cut Pro Using Keyframing

Now that we know how to open and apply the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro. Let’s examine how we zoom in Final Cut Pro using keyframing. Keyframing, of course, involves basic animation that allows movement to be added to a still frame. So how do you use the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X in conjunction with keyframing? Let’s talk you through it.

You can use keyframing to zoom and pan. We will talk you through how you use it to zoom in, and you should be able to work out the rest from there.

Step 1 – Set the playhead at the start of the chosen clip. This is where you want the zoom effect to start from.

Step 2 – Click to select the effects menu. It should be at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Seek out the scale and position tools. You can use these to size your animation, decide how much of a zoom you like, and how fast it will go.

scale and position

Step 4 – Follow keyframe > size > position and ensure your clip is covered as you need it. You can always come back to this step a few times if you don’t get it immediately right.

Step 5 – Set the playhead where you want the clip and animation to end. Remember – if you zoom or pan too fast, you might glitch in your footage. Do it on time for the best results.

As a Pro Tip: you will be baled to view all keyframes on your clip if you select show video animation from your timeline.

The Ken Burns Conclusion

The Ken Burns Effect is famous for a reason. It allows you to fill up space if you don’t have footage for certain things. It can be used to depict ancient battles without the use of CGI.

The Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro (X) technique lets filmmakers go to places that they wouldn’t otherwise get to. It is excellent for both glimpsing into the past, and for flashing forward into imagined futures. Best of all, it lets you go there when you aren’t a big-budget Hollywood film producer. We love anything that saves a buck or two while we edit.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Those new to the Final Cut Pro or Pro X programs will be finding it a little challenging to add effects or edit videos. It’s a complex film editing software that takes a while to use. With our help, however, we can have you mastering the Ken Burns effect in Final Cut Pro. Do you want to know how to make ken burns effect in final cut pro? Listen closely.

Part 1: How to Make Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

To make a Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro X (or a Ken Burns Effect on Final Cut, since they are both extensions of one another) simply follow our guide.

First, let’s talk about what Ken Burns is and why he has an effect named after him in Final Cut programs!

What is the Ken Burns Effect

Ken Burns is a world-famous American documentary filmmaker. He is well known for producing documentaries that take a candid if somewhat old-world-feeling look into different worlds. He has covered Baseball, the Civil War, and other fascinating times and places. Arguably, he is best known for using archival footage as film footage. How does he do this? By using the Ken Burns Effect, of course.

The Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X allows the editor to zoom in and out, slow pan, and scroll across archive photography and still film. This will enable you to substitute whole parts of the program you are making with photographs if you haven’t taken enough footage. It is commonly used in editing, particularly when making things like wedding videos , which often feature lots of photos of the happy couple.

Anyway, let’s look at how you implement the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Steps to Making the Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

Now that we know what is Ken Burns Effect. Let’s go over the steps to making the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Step 1 – Import your video. From your timeline workspace, select the clip, or highlight the section of the clip, that you want to apply the Ken Burns Effect to.

import media

Step 2 – Enter into the viewer mode to do this. From here, select the pop-up menu from the list of options at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Hold down both the shift key and the letter C. This is the fast way to cut out what you need. You can always stick to the right-click to cut a clip if you are more comfortable with this.

Step 4 – scroll down until you find the Ken Burns Effect option in the control panel. The effect should now appear on your page, in the area you selected.

Ken Burns Customization

You can also customize the ken burns effects in Final Cut.

Step 1 – To transform from the Ken Burns Effect into customization mode, drag the green box in the viewer.

Step 2 – Adjust the green box’s size, shape, and height until you are happy with where it is placed.

customize ken burns effects

Step 3 – Checking what you have already put in place using the preview option is a good idea at this stage. You can edit mistakes out later, but when you are trying to edit for speed, it is best to get it right the first time around!

Step 4 – Adjust the viewer to accommodate any changes you need to make – don’t click the done button until you are sure. That being said, you can always back-step should you mis-click. You can also just start over with the effect customization if you messed up.

Part 2: How to Zoom in Final Cut Pro Using Keyframing

Now that we know how to open and apply the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro. Let’s examine how we zoom in Final Cut Pro using keyframing. Keyframing, of course, involves basic animation that allows movement to be added to a still frame. So how do you use the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X in conjunction with keyframing? Let’s talk you through it.

You can use keyframing to zoom and pan. We will talk you through how you use it to zoom in, and you should be able to work out the rest from there.

Step 1 – Set the playhead at the start of the chosen clip. This is where you want the zoom effect to start from.

Step 2 – Click to select the effects menu. It should be at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Seek out the scale and position tools. You can use these to size your animation, decide how much of a zoom you like, and how fast it will go.

scale and position

Step 4 – Follow keyframe > size > position and ensure your clip is covered as you need it. You can always come back to this step a few times if you don’t get it immediately right.

Step 5 – Set the playhead where you want the clip and animation to end. Remember – if you zoom or pan too fast, you might glitch in your footage. Do it on time for the best results.

As a Pro Tip: you will be baled to view all keyframes on your clip if you select show video animation from your timeline.

The Ken Burns Conclusion

The Ken Burns Effect is famous for a reason. It allows you to fill up space if you don’t have footage for certain things. It can be used to depict ancient battles without the use of CGI.

The Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro (X) technique lets filmmakers go to places that they wouldn’t otherwise get to. It is excellent for both glimpsing into the past, and for flashing forward into imagined futures. Best of all, it lets you go there when you aren’t a big-budget Hollywood film producer. We love anything that saves a buck or two while we edit.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Those new to the Final Cut Pro or Pro X programs will be finding it a little challenging to add effects or edit videos. It’s a complex film editing software that takes a while to use. With our help, however, we can have you mastering the Ken Burns effect in Final Cut Pro. Do you want to know how to make ken burns effect in final cut pro? Listen closely.

Part 1: How to Make Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

To make a Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro X (or a Ken Burns Effect on Final Cut, since they are both extensions of one another) simply follow our guide.

First, let’s talk about what Ken Burns is and why he has an effect named after him in Final Cut programs!

What is the Ken Burns Effect

Ken Burns is a world-famous American documentary filmmaker. He is well known for producing documentaries that take a candid if somewhat old-world-feeling look into different worlds. He has covered Baseball, the Civil War, and other fascinating times and places. Arguably, he is best known for using archival footage as film footage. How does he do this? By using the Ken Burns Effect, of course.

The Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X allows the editor to zoom in and out, slow pan, and scroll across archive photography and still film. This will enable you to substitute whole parts of the program you are making with photographs if you haven’t taken enough footage. It is commonly used in editing, particularly when making things like wedding videos , which often feature lots of photos of the happy couple.

Anyway, let’s look at how you implement the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Steps to Making the Ken Burns Effect Final Cut Pro

Now that we know what is Ken Burns Effect. Let’s go over the steps to making the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro.

Step 1 – Import your video. From your timeline workspace, select the clip, or highlight the section of the clip, that you want to apply the Ken Burns Effect to.

import media

Step 2 – Enter into the viewer mode to do this. From here, select the pop-up menu from the list of options at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Hold down both the shift key and the letter C. This is the fast way to cut out what you need. You can always stick to the right-click to cut a clip if you are more comfortable with this.

Step 4 – scroll down until you find the Ken Burns Effect option in the control panel. The effect should now appear on your page, in the area you selected.

Ken Burns Customization

You can also customize the ken burns effects in Final Cut.

Step 1 – To transform from the Ken Burns Effect into customization mode, drag the green box in the viewer.

Step 2 – Adjust the green box’s size, shape, and height until you are happy with where it is placed.

customize ken burns effects

Step 3 – Checking what you have already put in place using the preview option is a good idea at this stage. You can edit mistakes out later, but when you are trying to edit for speed, it is best to get it right the first time around!

Step 4 – Adjust the viewer to accommodate any changes you need to make – don’t click the done button until you are sure. That being said, you can always back-step should you mis-click. You can also just start over with the effect customization if you messed up.

Part 2: How to Zoom in Final Cut Pro Using Keyframing

Now that we know how to open and apply the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro. Let’s examine how we zoom in Final Cut Pro using keyframing. Keyframing, of course, involves basic animation that allows movement to be added to a still frame. So how do you use the Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro X in conjunction with keyframing? Let’s talk you through it.

You can use keyframing to zoom and pan. We will talk you through how you use it to zoom in, and you should be able to work out the rest from there.

Step 1 – Set the playhead at the start of the chosen clip. This is where you want the zoom effect to start from.

Step 2 – Click to select the effects menu. It should be at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3 – Seek out the scale and position tools. You can use these to size your animation, decide how much of a zoom you like, and how fast it will go.

scale and position

Step 4 – Follow keyframe > size > position and ensure your clip is covered as you need it. You can always come back to this step a few times if you don’t get it immediately right.

Step 5 – Set the playhead where you want the clip and animation to end. Remember – if you zoom or pan too fast, you might glitch in your footage. Do it on time for the best results.

As a Pro Tip: you will be baled to view all keyframes on your clip if you select show video animation from your timeline.

The Ken Burns Conclusion

The Ken Burns Effect is famous for a reason. It allows you to fill up space if you don’t have footage for certain things. It can be used to depict ancient battles without the use of CGI.

The Ken Burns Effect, Final Cut Pro (X) technique lets filmmakers go to places that they wouldn’t otherwise get to. It is excellent for both glimpsing into the past, and for flashing forward into imagined futures. Best of all, it lets you go there when you aren’t a big-budget Hollywood film producer. We love anything that saves a buck or two while we edit.

author avatar

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Mastering Stop Motion: A Comprehensive Guide to Software and Tools

Stop motion animation has been a huge trend. People use this technique to tell stories through their pictures. There are many videos editing software available in the market to create easy stop motion animations. It depends on the project you want to shoot and using what equipment.

You can create animation online or using an app. There is an extremely powerful desktop software to create simple stop motion movies-Wondershare Filmora Video Editor . You will also find many user-friendly applications available for both Android and iOS. One of the best apps out there is Stop Motion Pro, which lets you create movies on Stop Motion Studio in a better way.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

  • Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
  • Position the objects accordingly
  • Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
  • Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

  • Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
  • Enhance your movie with different video filters
  • Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
  • Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

  • Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
  • Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

  • Add titles and other text on the animation
  • Enhance images, sketch, and paint
  • Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
  • Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

download stop motion studio

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

adding new movie in stop motion studio

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

changing frame rate on stop motion studio

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

exporting file on stop motion studio

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

download stop motion maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

download picpac stop motion

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

download imotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

  • Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
  • Position the objects accordingly
  • Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
  • Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

  • Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
  • Enhance your movie with different video filters
  • Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
  • Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

  • Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
  • Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

  • Add titles and other text on the animation
  • Enhance images, sketch, and paint
  • Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
  • Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

download stop motion studio

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

adding new movie in stop motion studio

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

changing frame rate on stop motion studio

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

exporting file on stop motion studio

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

download stop motion maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

download picpac stop motion

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

download imotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

  • Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
  • Position the objects accordingly
  • Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
  • Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

  • Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
  • Enhance your movie with different video filters
  • Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
  • Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

  • Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
  • Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

  • Add titles and other text on the animation
  • Enhance images, sketch, and paint
  • Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
  • Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

download stop motion studio

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

adding new movie in stop motion studio

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

changing frame rate on stop motion studio

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

exporting file on stop motion studio

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

download stop motion maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

download picpac stop motion

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

download imotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Part 1. What is Stop Motion Studio?

Stop Motion Studio is the world’s easiest app for stop motion moviemaking. It has an easy-to-use interface to create beautiful animated movies easily.

You can install Stop Motion Studio Pc or go for its iPhone, iPad, or Android version. However, you must make in-app purchases if you wish to export your projects in 4K resolution or import images from your device to create the animation. Let’s look at its features in detail-

Basic functions:

  • Overlay mode that shows the differences between frames
  • Position the objects accordingly
  • Copy, paste, cut, and insert frames wherever required
  • Interactive interface to easily access it.

Unique features

  • Add titles, credits, and text cards or create your very own with the built-in editor
  • Enhance your movie with different video filters
  • Add different foregrounds, backgrounds, aspect ratios, and fade effects
  • Add built-in music, sound effects, songs from your music library.

Camera control

  • Full camera control to capture with an adjustable time interval feature
  • Adjust white balance, focus, and exposure, ISO, and shutter speed manually.

An image editor:

  • Add titles and other text on the animation
  • Enhance images, sketch, and paint
  • Use the eraser tool to wipe away unwanted objects
  • Merge frames to simulate fast movement

Part 2. How to Use Stop Motion Studio?

With the help of Stop Motion Studio, you can make animation by combining multiple pictures. You need to download Stop Motion Studio Pro for your iOS or Android device to use the app. You can also download it for PC.

download stop motion studio

Step 1: Once you have downloaded the app, install it to work on your animation project right away. To create a new movie, click on the plus icon to create a new movie.

adding new movie in stop motion studio

Step 2: Set the object you wish to capture in the frame. Let us consider one example where we will turn over an object. Click the camera icon to capture the shot. Move the thing a little and again tap on the shutter icon. Repeat the process until you have moved it all the way around. Once done, click on the play button. It will appear as if the object is in motion and moving on its own.

changing frame rate on stop motion studio

Tip: To ensure that your object is in the right place, you can use different controls like grid and onion skin. The grid will give you an idea of where you placed the subject in the frame. The onion skin puts the last frame you captured on top of your camera’s live view. In this way, you can see how far you moved your subject between frames.

Step 3: You can click as many pictures as you need to convey your story. After clicking all the pictures, you can edit them as per your requirements. To increase or decrease the speed at which your video plays, change the frame rate by choosing the number of pictures to be shown per second when you play the video. Play the video to see how your work turned out. If you like the end result, exit the editor.

Step 4: Now select the animation that you just saved. Click on the export icon which you will find at the top left of the screen—select animated GIF from the pulldown menu. Export the file to Google drive, mail yourself or upload it on your social media profile. AirDrop the file to other iPhone users if you are an iPhone user.

exporting file on stop motion studio

Step 5: You are done!! Yes, it was that simple and easy to create a great stop motion video yourself.

If you want to make a basic video and add audio, the Stop Motion Studio free version is ideal for you. But if you’re going to explore more app features, you need to buy Stop Motion Studio Pro Windows, a paid version of the app.

Part 3. 4 Stop Motion Studio Alternative Software

1. Life Lapse Stop Motion Maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS, Android

User Ratings: 4.8 on App Store, 3.6 on Google Play

This app is undoubtedly a lifesaving stop motion apps ever created. Why do we say this? It offers unlimited tools to shoot on an unlimited number of projects. As well as use audio tracks and effects from the built-in library.

While shooting a video on the app, you can add and remove various objects from frames, adjust the focus, and apply many other effects. It has built-in editing tools to change frame rates, apply visual effects, or make soundtracks from royalty-free songs. Video creators can import photos from the mobile phone to add to the animation you create.

Life Lapse permits you to use other color correction tools to set saturation, brightness, contrast, or white balance values manually. You can import audio files to your projects or export videos without a watermark on this app. The pro version lets you record footage in 4K resolution. Isn’t that amazing?

2. Stop Motion Maker

download stop motion maker

Price: Free, offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.0

You can easily take a sequence of images and make your own stop-motion video on this app. Once you launch the app and tap on the Create button, the device’s camera will open. Press the camera button and make a new frame.

Tap on the Done button once you are done arranging the photos.

You have the option to preview the result once you are done. Then, you can quickly proceed to export the video. The app doesn’t allow you to record voiceovers or create soundtracks, and you must use another video editing app for iOS devices if you want to further edit a stop motion video.

Make sure you give Stop Motion Maker access to your phone’s camera and photo library for it to function correctly.

3. Pic-Pac Stop Motion & Time Lapse

download picpac stop motion

Price: Free, offers in-app purchase

Compatibility: Android

User Ratings: 4.0

If you are still learning to create stop motion animations, you should consider installing PicPac Stop Motion & Time Lapse. One can take photos or import images from the gallery or Instagram on this app. On the free version, you can even reorder pictures. It also enables you to change the order of frames and perform simple edits like removing small objects.

Users can search online music or add local music and record their audio on Pic Pac. You can edit existing projects and share your animations with the YouTube community if you are a signed-in user. To keep track of your projects, add a logo at the end of the videos. The Timelapse-manual mode enables you to bring your stop motion ideas to life. The pro version lets you export videos in resolutions larger than 360p.

4. iMotion

download imotion

Price: Free, but offers in-app purchases

Compatibility: iOS

User Ratings: 4.4

This app lets iPhone, and iPad users create both time-lapse and stop motion videos. It has a quick and smooth interface to create good quality animations easily. You can also add an audio soundtrack to your movie with iPod import, microphone, and AudioPaste (In-App Full Version required).

On iMotion, the user can manually control focus, exposure, or white balance. It has unlimited movie length, and you can also preview your projects at different frame rates. There is an option to autosave and directly preview your creation. If you want to do reverse playback, you can do that too.

Export all the video projects iMotion in 4K, 1080p, or 720p resolutions. However, only newer versions of iPhones and iPads can support 4k resolution. The free version of iMotion offers only limited options; get the full version to use the advanced features.

Closing Word

Stop motion animation is a simple and exciting way to create movement on a screen. Taking hundreds of photos to create a stop motion animation is not a huge task anymore. Anyone can easily do it on their smartphone camera, or it’s even better if you use a DSLR.

Stop Motion Studio is rightly called a studio as it has all the tools needed to create a stop motion animation. It gives you complete control over all camera settings and editing features.

So, bring your photos to life today with stop motion studio free or stop motion pro.

Get Started with Video Editing: Top Free Options for Desktop, Online, and Mobile

Best Video Editor for Beginners on Windows and Mac

Wondershare Filmora is one of the most popular video editing software among YouTubers , download and have a try.

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content creation is becoming the trend because it retains human attention longer than images or writings do. As a beginner who is not so familiar with video editors, getting free video editing software for beginners might prove difficult.

In this article, you will learn the best free video editing software for beginners, its features, and its pros and cons. Also, you’ll learn some extra tips that will make your video editing seamless.

In this article

01 Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

02 Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

03 Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

04 What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

Part 1: Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

1. Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie is a free video editing software for beginners; it comes pre-installed on Mac devices. It is known for having a simple interface that makes it user-friendly.

Supported on: Mac

Apple iMovie Main Features are:

  • Chromakeying: With iMovie, you can change the background of a video from blue/ green to an image of your favorite place.
  • Sound Integration: iMovie lets you record voiceovers, add music from iTunes and add special sound effects.
  • Video tools: Add filters, titles, animations, and photos to the video.
  • Speed control: fast track and add slow-mo effects to the video.

Pros

  • It supports 4K videos.
  • Professional standards.
  • Chromakeying feature.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Exported files take up a lot of space.
  • Available for Mac and iOS users only.

2. Microsoft Photo App

Microsoft Photos app is a free photo and video editor for beginners. It was created to replace the Windows movie maker. Many might not know about the existence of the app and its ability to edit videos and photos.

Go to the search bar and type photos, and then select the Photos app to bring a menu where you can create albums, edit photos and videos. To edit videos, click on video projects to create a video from scratch or create video automatically.

Supported on: Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11

Microsoft Photos app main features for video editing are;

  • Motion graphics, 3D effects, and animations.
  • It allows the addition of background music or audio from the computer.
  • It allows the addition of title cards and text backgrounds.
  • Change of photo or video durations and speed

Pros

  • It is free and readily installed in Windows 8 and above
  • Easy to use
  • Face detection
  • Album collection and arrangement

Cons

  • No essential video editing tools like transitioning and layering
  • You can’t use it professionally.
  • Does not allow video preview before exporting

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC is a free video editing software for beginners that can edit 4K UHD, 3D, and VR 360 videos. VSDC is one of the best video editors for beginners to edit complex videos. VSDC has a busy interface, making it less user-friendly than the other free video editing software for beginners.

Supported on: Windows

VSDC’s video editor has;

  • Non-linear video editing tools
  • Social media support features; VSDC has Instagram-like filters and lets you share edited videos directly to your social media.
  • Audio Effects; The 360 editor has many audio effects like equalizer, audio delay, and volume correction.
  • Video editing tools; VSDC has color-correction tools and tools to hide and replace unwanted elements. You can also transform videos with their subpixel resolution.
  • Numerous 3D templates you can choose from.

Pros

  • It supports many audio and video formats.
  • 4K and HD exports

Cons

  • Reduces video quality after editing
  • Professional tools like stabilization, beat syncing, and motion graphics are only available in the pro version.

Part 2: Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an online free video editor for beginners. Clipchamp can create social media videos, ads videos, presentations, and other short videos. It has a unique feature that allows teams to collaborate and edit videos projects.

Clipchamp has basic video editing features like:

  • Text-to-speech feature; This feature allows you to add text that will become voiceovers in the video. You can choose the gender and nationality of the voice.
  • Thousand of templates to choose from
  • Video transitioning and layering.

Pros

  • It allows auto-captioning capabilities on the mobile app.
  • Video compression
  • Allows Screen recording
  • It can convert videos to WMV, which you can use in PowerPoint presentations.

Cons

  • Not available on Android devices
  • It uses selective browsers like Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
  • It is not optimized for touchpad screens.
  • The best quality video requires registration for the premium version.

2. Hippo Video

Hippo Video is one of the best video editors for beginners free online. You can use it on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhones, and iPads. Hippo is an all-in-one platform to create, record, edit, and share videos across different social media platforms.

Hippo video can;

  • Create GIFs from videos.
  • Trim, cut, and add emojis and tags to a video.
  • Hide or blur unwanted objects in the video.

Pros

  • It has other marketing features like email marketing, campaign management, and social media sharing.
  • It can be added as a chrome extension to be used for screen capturing and recording.

Cons

  • Watermarked in free version
  • Limited video quality download in free version
  • Long load time for video in between uploads.

3. Kapwing

Kapwing is an online free video editing software for beginners. The video editor is made for creators to create, edit and subtitle video content. Kapwing can convert MP4 videos to any file format as well as save the edited file in the cloud.

Primary Features

  • It supports text overlay and drag-and-drop function
  • Cut, resize, merge, split and trim videos.
  • Supports HD resolution
  • Lots of editable social media templates
  • Convert video to any form (GIF, JPG, MP4)

Pros

  • It does not add its watermark; instead, you can add your logo to create the video. Kapwingis
  • Auto-generated subtitles.
  • Background removal function
  • It backs up videos on the cloud.

Cons

  • It cannot export a video longer than 60 minutes
  • On-site technical glitches
  • To export files above 250MB or 7 minutes, you have to upgrade to the premium version.
  • Only available online

4. Online Video Cutter/ 123 apps video editor

Online Video Cutter is an online-based video editor used to edit videos. It is used primarily for trimming videos to desirable sizes. Online video cutter is one of 123 apps to edit and convert different file formats. The video editor can trim, crop, rotate and resize videos.

123 app online video editor tools

With Online Video Cutter, you can;

  • Frame the video or change the frame proportions of the videos.
  • Change the angle of a video up to 270 degrees; this comes in handy when you want to change a video’s view from landscape to portrait.
  • Flip, resize, change volume and add texts and images to your video.
  • Trim, equalize, and record sounds to be added to the video.

Pros

  • Supports all video format
  • Privacy is guaranteed as you are the only one with access to the video.
  • It works well in most browsers.
  • It does not require sign up before use
  • Converts files to any format
  • Can upload files larger than 4GB in size

Cons

  • It takes up a lot of time to upload files
  • Decreases the video quality
  • Cannot upload a file of more than 700MB in the free version

5. FlexClip

Flexclip is an online video creator and editor with essential editing tools. Flexclip has numerous templates and presets that let you create videos in a short time. You can create your video from scratch, templates, and previously saved videos.

Main Feature

  • Audio effects: you can record voices and add background music to the video.
  • Video tools: trim, merge, compress and convert videos.
  • Customization: you can add your logo or watermark to the video.
  • Allows video transition and GIF production
  • Allows you to increase video brightness and add filters to video.

Pros

  • It has more than 4 million pictures and pictures to add to videos.
  • Allows preview of videos before exporting.
  • It supports different video resolutions.
  • Templates for various events are available.

Cons

  • Limited video resolution download in free version
  • The free version can only create a 1-minute video and hold 12 projects.

Part 3: Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

1. CapCut

Cap C ut is a free video editing software for beginners suitable for TikTok content creators. It was formerly known as Viamaker. Cap cut is easy to use for beginners, and it can create spectacular videos automatically by cutting, reordering, and merging recorded videos.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Cap cut allows you to:

  • Split, merge, and reverse videos.
  • Control the video speed
  • Add filter, special effects, stickers, and texts to videos.
  • Overlay and add sounds to the videos

Pros

  • You can export directly to Tiktok.
  • It has a vast music library, including copyrighted songs.
  • Exported videos are of high quality.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Effectiveness depends on the phone’s processor and features.
  • Limited editing features.
  • Video cannot exceed 15 minutes.
  • You can only add a music track per video.

2. Quik

Quik is a free video editor for beginners produced by the makers of GoPro. Quik is an auto-video maker that puts together pictures, videos, and music with a few selections.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Main features

  • Auto-video: Quik will create a video with transitions and soundtrack when you select several pictures and videos.
  • Video editing tools: you can adjust the brightness, add texts and stickers, and add filters to a video.
  • Adjust video speed: you can add slo-mo and freeze effects to the video.
  • It allows direct sharing to social media pages.

Pros

  • Allows HD video download
  • Video styles template for new users.
  • Unlimited cloud backup.
  • Changes video ratio to suit different social media

Cons

  • Limited editing features in the free version.
  • Not suitable for videos longer than 60 seconds
  • Limited font styles

Part 4: What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

When trying to choose a video editor as a beginner, you should look out for:

What video editor has the most commonly used editing tools and intuitive interface

Some essential video editing tools should be available in a video editor. These include Video tools (cropping, rotating, merging, cutting, and splitting of videos), effects and animations, audio effects, the addition of texts, and other features necessary to the purpose of the video you are editing.

Templates for different occasions to create videos quickly

As a beginner video editor, you might not be creative enough to edit professional videos. Video editors that have ready-made templates will come in handy when you want to create a video quickly.

Ready-made templates give a guide to a beginner video editor to create professional-looking videos.

Tutorials and Supports

The best video editors for beginners are user-friendly, and they provide free tutorials to guide new users on their video editing journey. Some video editing software targets digital marketers and video content creators, so they release tutorial videos every week to help them improve their skills.

Are you a creator, influencer, or marketer, and you need to join the trend of creating video content that converts. Check out the list to know which free video editing software best suits your niche.

These are beginner-friendly video editing software that you can use to create professional-looking video content. Watch tutorials and get to work. The more videos you edit, the better you get at it.

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content creation is becoming the trend because it retains human attention longer than images or writings do. As a beginner who is not so familiar with video editors, getting free video editing software for beginners might prove difficult.

In this article, you will learn the best free video editing software for beginners, its features, and its pros and cons. Also, you’ll learn some extra tips that will make your video editing seamless.

In this article

01 Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

02 Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

03 Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

04 What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

Part 1: Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

1. Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie is a free video editing software for beginners; it comes pre-installed on Mac devices. It is known for having a simple interface that makes it user-friendly.

Supported on: Mac

Apple iMovie Main Features are:

  • Chromakeying: With iMovie, you can change the background of a video from blue/ green to an image of your favorite place.
  • Sound Integration: iMovie lets you record voiceovers, add music from iTunes and add special sound effects.
  • Video tools: Add filters, titles, animations, and photos to the video.
  • Speed control: fast track and add slow-mo effects to the video.

Pros

  • It supports 4K videos.
  • Professional standards.
  • Chromakeying feature.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Exported files take up a lot of space.
  • Available for Mac and iOS users only.

2. Microsoft Photo App

Microsoft Photos app is a free photo and video editor for beginners. It was created to replace the Windows movie maker. Many might not know about the existence of the app and its ability to edit videos and photos.

Go to the search bar and type photos, and then select the Photos app to bring a menu where you can create albums, edit photos and videos. To edit videos, click on video projects to create a video from scratch or create video automatically.

Supported on: Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11

Microsoft Photos app main features for video editing are;

  • Motion graphics, 3D effects, and animations.
  • It allows the addition of background music or audio from the computer.
  • It allows the addition of title cards and text backgrounds.
  • Change of photo or video durations and speed

Pros

  • It is free and readily installed in Windows 8 and above
  • Easy to use
  • Face detection
  • Album collection and arrangement

Cons

  • No essential video editing tools like transitioning and layering
  • You can’t use it professionally.
  • Does not allow video preview before exporting

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC is a free video editing software for beginners that can edit 4K UHD, 3D, and VR 360 videos. VSDC is one of the best video editors for beginners to edit complex videos. VSDC has a busy interface, making it less user-friendly than the other free video editing software for beginners.

Supported on: Windows

VSDC’s video editor has;

  • Non-linear video editing tools
  • Social media support features; VSDC has Instagram-like filters and lets you share edited videos directly to your social media.
  • Audio Effects; The 360 editor has many audio effects like equalizer, audio delay, and volume correction.
  • Video editing tools; VSDC has color-correction tools and tools to hide and replace unwanted elements. You can also transform videos with their subpixel resolution.
  • Numerous 3D templates you can choose from.

Pros

  • It supports many audio and video formats.
  • 4K and HD exports

Cons

  • Reduces video quality after editing
  • Professional tools like stabilization, beat syncing, and motion graphics are only available in the pro version.

Part 2: Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an online free video editor for beginners. Clipchamp can create social media videos, ads videos, presentations, and other short videos. It has a unique feature that allows teams to collaborate and edit videos projects.

Clipchamp has basic video editing features like:

  • Text-to-speech feature; This feature allows you to add text that will become voiceovers in the video. You can choose the gender and nationality of the voice.
  • Thousand of templates to choose from
  • Video transitioning and layering.

Pros

  • It allows auto-captioning capabilities on the mobile app.
  • Video compression
  • Allows Screen recording
  • It can convert videos to WMV, which you can use in PowerPoint presentations.

Cons

  • Not available on Android devices
  • It uses selective browsers like Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
  • It is not optimized for touchpad screens.
  • The best quality video requires registration for the premium version.

2. Hippo Video

Hippo Video is one of the best video editors for beginners free online. You can use it on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhones, and iPads. Hippo is an all-in-one platform to create, record, edit, and share videos across different social media platforms.

Hippo video can;

  • Create GIFs from videos.
  • Trim, cut, and add emojis and tags to a video.
  • Hide or blur unwanted objects in the video.

Pros

  • It has other marketing features like email marketing, campaign management, and social media sharing.
  • It can be added as a chrome extension to be used for screen capturing and recording.

Cons

  • Watermarked in free version
  • Limited video quality download in free version
  • Long load time for video in between uploads.

3. Kapwing

Kapwing is an online free video editing software for beginners. The video editor is made for creators to create, edit and subtitle video content. Kapwing can convert MP4 videos to any file format as well as save the edited file in the cloud.

Primary Features

  • It supports text overlay and drag-and-drop function
  • Cut, resize, merge, split and trim videos.
  • Supports HD resolution
  • Lots of editable social media templates
  • Convert video to any form (GIF, JPG, MP4)

Pros

  • It does not add its watermark; instead, you can add your logo to create the video. Kapwingis
  • Auto-generated subtitles.
  • Background removal function
  • It backs up videos on the cloud.

Cons

  • It cannot export a video longer than 60 minutes
  • On-site technical glitches
  • To export files above 250MB or 7 minutes, you have to upgrade to the premium version.
  • Only available online

4. Online Video Cutter/ 123 apps video editor

Online Video Cutter is an online-based video editor used to edit videos. It is used primarily for trimming videos to desirable sizes. Online video cutter is one of 123 apps to edit and convert different file formats. The video editor can trim, crop, rotate and resize videos.

123 app online video editor tools

With Online Video Cutter, you can;

  • Frame the video or change the frame proportions of the videos.
  • Change the angle of a video up to 270 degrees; this comes in handy when you want to change a video’s view from landscape to portrait.
  • Flip, resize, change volume and add texts and images to your video.
  • Trim, equalize, and record sounds to be added to the video.

Pros

  • Supports all video format
  • Privacy is guaranteed as you are the only one with access to the video.
  • It works well in most browsers.
  • It does not require sign up before use
  • Converts files to any format
  • Can upload files larger than 4GB in size

Cons

  • It takes up a lot of time to upload files
  • Decreases the video quality
  • Cannot upload a file of more than 700MB in the free version

5. FlexClip

Flexclip is an online video creator and editor with essential editing tools. Flexclip has numerous templates and presets that let you create videos in a short time. You can create your video from scratch, templates, and previously saved videos.

Main Feature

  • Audio effects: you can record voices and add background music to the video.
  • Video tools: trim, merge, compress and convert videos.
  • Customization: you can add your logo or watermark to the video.
  • Allows video transition and GIF production
  • Allows you to increase video brightness and add filters to video.

Pros

  • It has more than 4 million pictures and pictures to add to videos.
  • Allows preview of videos before exporting.
  • It supports different video resolutions.
  • Templates for various events are available.

Cons

  • Limited video resolution download in free version
  • The free version can only create a 1-minute video and hold 12 projects.

Part 3: Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

1. CapCut

Cap C ut is a free video editing software for beginners suitable for TikTok content creators. It was formerly known as Viamaker. Cap cut is easy to use for beginners, and it can create spectacular videos automatically by cutting, reordering, and merging recorded videos.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Cap cut allows you to:

  • Split, merge, and reverse videos.
  • Control the video speed
  • Add filter, special effects, stickers, and texts to videos.
  • Overlay and add sounds to the videos

Pros

  • You can export directly to Tiktok.
  • It has a vast music library, including copyrighted songs.
  • Exported videos are of high quality.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Effectiveness depends on the phone’s processor and features.
  • Limited editing features.
  • Video cannot exceed 15 minutes.
  • You can only add a music track per video.

2. Quik

Quik is a free video editor for beginners produced by the makers of GoPro. Quik is an auto-video maker that puts together pictures, videos, and music with a few selections.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Main features

  • Auto-video: Quik will create a video with transitions and soundtrack when you select several pictures and videos.
  • Video editing tools: you can adjust the brightness, add texts and stickers, and add filters to a video.
  • Adjust video speed: you can add slo-mo and freeze effects to the video.
  • It allows direct sharing to social media pages.

Pros

  • Allows HD video download
  • Video styles template for new users.
  • Unlimited cloud backup.
  • Changes video ratio to suit different social media

Cons

  • Limited editing features in the free version.
  • Not suitable for videos longer than 60 seconds
  • Limited font styles

Part 4: What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

When trying to choose a video editor as a beginner, you should look out for:

What video editor has the most commonly used editing tools and intuitive interface

Some essential video editing tools should be available in a video editor. These include Video tools (cropping, rotating, merging, cutting, and splitting of videos), effects and animations, audio effects, the addition of texts, and other features necessary to the purpose of the video you are editing.

Templates for different occasions to create videos quickly

As a beginner video editor, you might not be creative enough to edit professional videos. Video editors that have ready-made templates will come in handy when you want to create a video quickly.

Ready-made templates give a guide to a beginner video editor to create professional-looking videos.

Tutorials and Supports

The best video editors for beginners are user-friendly, and they provide free tutorials to guide new users on their video editing journey. Some video editing software targets digital marketers and video content creators, so they release tutorial videos every week to help them improve their skills.

Are you a creator, influencer, or marketer, and you need to join the trend of creating video content that converts. Check out the list to know which free video editing software best suits your niche.

These are beginner-friendly video editing software that you can use to create professional-looking video content. Watch tutorials and get to work. The more videos you edit, the better you get at it.

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content creation is becoming the trend because it retains human attention longer than images or writings do. As a beginner who is not so familiar with video editors, getting free video editing software for beginners might prove difficult.

In this article, you will learn the best free video editing software for beginners, its features, and its pros and cons. Also, you’ll learn some extra tips that will make your video editing seamless.

In this article

01 Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

02 Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

03 Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

04 What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

Part 1: Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

1. Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie is a free video editing software for beginners; it comes pre-installed on Mac devices. It is known for having a simple interface that makes it user-friendly.

Supported on: Mac

Apple iMovie Main Features are:

  • Chromakeying: With iMovie, you can change the background of a video from blue/ green to an image of your favorite place.
  • Sound Integration: iMovie lets you record voiceovers, add music from iTunes and add special sound effects.
  • Video tools: Add filters, titles, animations, and photos to the video.
  • Speed control: fast track and add slow-mo effects to the video.

Pros

  • It supports 4K videos.
  • Professional standards.
  • Chromakeying feature.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Exported files take up a lot of space.
  • Available for Mac and iOS users only.

2. Microsoft Photo App

Microsoft Photos app is a free photo and video editor for beginners. It was created to replace the Windows movie maker. Many might not know about the existence of the app and its ability to edit videos and photos.

Go to the search bar and type photos, and then select the Photos app to bring a menu where you can create albums, edit photos and videos. To edit videos, click on video projects to create a video from scratch or create video automatically.

Supported on: Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11

Microsoft Photos app main features for video editing are;

  • Motion graphics, 3D effects, and animations.
  • It allows the addition of background music or audio from the computer.
  • It allows the addition of title cards and text backgrounds.
  • Change of photo or video durations and speed

Pros

  • It is free and readily installed in Windows 8 and above
  • Easy to use
  • Face detection
  • Album collection and arrangement

Cons

  • No essential video editing tools like transitioning and layering
  • You can’t use it professionally.
  • Does not allow video preview before exporting

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC is a free video editing software for beginners that can edit 4K UHD, 3D, and VR 360 videos. VSDC is one of the best video editors for beginners to edit complex videos. VSDC has a busy interface, making it less user-friendly than the other free video editing software for beginners.

Supported on: Windows

VSDC’s video editor has;

  • Non-linear video editing tools
  • Social media support features; VSDC has Instagram-like filters and lets you share edited videos directly to your social media.
  • Audio Effects; The 360 editor has many audio effects like equalizer, audio delay, and volume correction.
  • Video editing tools; VSDC has color-correction tools and tools to hide and replace unwanted elements. You can also transform videos with their subpixel resolution.
  • Numerous 3D templates you can choose from.

Pros

  • It supports many audio and video formats.
  • 4K and HD exports

Cons

  • Reduces video quality after editing
  • Professional tools like stabilization, beat syncing, and motion graphics are only available in the pro version.

Part 2: Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an online free video editor for beginners. Clipchamp can create social media videos, ads videos, presentations, and other short videos. It has a unique feature that allows teams to collaborate and edit videos projects.

Clipchamp has basic video editing features like:

  • Text-to-speech feature; This feature allows you to add text that will become voiceovers in the video. You can choose the gender and nationality of the voice.
  • Thousand of templates to choose from
  • Video transitioning and layering.

Pros

  • It allows auto-captioning capabilities on the mobile app.
  • Video compression
  • Allows Screen recording
  • It can convert videos to WMV, which you can use in PowerPoint presentations.

Cons

  • Not available on Android devices
  • It uses selective browsers like Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
  • It is not optimized for touchpad screens.
  • The best quality video requires registration for the premium version.

2. Hippo Video

Hippo Video is one of the best video editors for beginners free online. You can use it on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhones, and iPads. Hippo is an all-in-one platform to create, record, edit, and share videos across different social media platforms.

Hippo video can;

  • Create GIFs from videos.
  • Trim, cut, and add emojis and tags to a video.
  • Hide or blur unwanted objects in the video.

Pros

  • It has other marketing features like email marketing, campaign management, and social media sharing.
  • It can be added as a chrome extension to be used for screen capturing and recording.

Cons

  • Watermarked in free version
  • Limited video quality download in free version
  • Long load time for video in between uploads.

3. Kapwing

Kapwing is an online free video editing software for beginners. The video editor is made for creators to create, edit and subtitle video content. Kapwing can convert MP4 videos to any file format as well as save the edited file in the cloud.

Primary Features

  • It supports text overlay and drag-and-drop function
  • Cut, resize, merge, split and trim videos.
  • Supports HD resolution
  • Lots of editable social media templates
  • Convert video to any form (GIF, JPG, MP4)

Pros

  • It does not add its watermark; instead, you can add your logo to create the video. Kapwingis
  • Auto-generated subtitles.
  • Background removal function
  • It backs up videos on the cloud.

Cons

  • It cannot export a video longer than 60 minutes
  • On-site technical glitches
  • To export files above 250MB or 7 minutes, you have to upgrade to the premium version.
  • Only available online

4. Online Video Cutter/ 123 apps video editor

Online Video Cutter is an online-based video editor used to edit videos. It is used primarily for trimming videos to desirable sizes. Online video cutter is one of 123 apps to edit and convert different file formats. The video editor can trim, crop, rotate and resize videos.

123 app online video editor tools

With Online Video Cutter, you can;

  • Frame the video or change the frame proportions of the videos.
  • Change the angle of a video up to 270 degrees; this comes in handy when you want to change a video’s view from landscape to portrait.
  • Flip, resize, change volume and add texts and images to your video.
  • Trim, equalize, and record sounds to be added to the video.

Pros

  • Supports all video format
  • Privacy is guaranteed as you are the only one with access to the video.
  • It works well in most browsers.
  • It does not require sign up before use
  • Converts files to any format
  • Can upload files larger than 4GB in size

Cons

  • It takes up a lot of time to upload files
  • Decreases the video quality
  • Cannot upload a file of more than 700MB in the free version

5. FlexClip

Flexclip is an online video creator and editor with essential editing tools. Flexclip has numerous templates and presets that let you create videos in a short time. You can create your video from scratch, templates, and previously saved videos.

Main Feature

  • Audio effects: you can record voices and add background music to the video.
  • Video tools: trim, merge, compress and convert videos.
  • Customization: you can add your logo or watermark to the video.
  • Allows video transition and GIF production
  • Allows you to increase video brightness and add filters to video.

Pros

  • It has more than 4 million pictures and pictures to add to videos.
  • Allows preview of videos before exporting.
  • It supports different video resolutions.
  • Templates for various events are available.

Cons

  • Limited video resolution download in free version
  • The free version can only create a 1-minute video and hold 12 projects.

Part 3: Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

1. CapCut

Cap C ut is a free video editing software for beginners suitable for TikTok content creators. It was formerly known as Viamaker. Cap cut is easy to use for beginners, and it can create spectacular videos automatically by cutting, reordering, and merging recorded videos.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Cap cut allows you to:

  • Split, merge, and reverse videos.
  • Control the video speed
  • Add filter, special effects, stickers, and texts to videos.
  • Overlay and add sounds to the videos

Pros

  • You can export directly to Tiktok.
  • It has a vast music library, including copyrighted songs.
  • Exported videos are of high quality.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Effectiveness depends on the phone’s processor and features.
  • Limited editing features.
  • Video cannot exceed 15 minutes.
  • You can only add a music track per video.

2. Quik

Quik is a free video editor for beginners produced by the makers of GoPro. Quik is an auto-video maker that puts together pictures, videos, and music with a few selections.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Main features

  • Auto-video: Quik will create a video with transitions and soundtrack when you select several pictures and videos.
  • Video editing tools: you can adjust the brightness, add texts and stickers, and add filters to a video.
  • Adjust video speed: you can add slo-mo and freeze effects to the video.
  • It allows direct sharing to social media pages.

Pros

  • Allows HD video download
  • Video styles template for new users.
  • Unlimited cloud backup.
  • Changes video ratio to suit different social media

Cons

  • Limited editing features in the free version.
  • Not suitable for videos longer than 60 seconds
  • Limited font styles

Part 4: What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

When trying to choose a video editor as a beginner, you should look out for:

What video editor has the most commonly used editing tools and intuitive interface

Some essential video editing tools should be available in a video editor. These include Video tools (cropping, rotating, merging, cutting, and splitting of videos), effects and animations, audio effects, the addition of texts, and other features necessary to the purpose of the video you are editing.

Templates for different occasions to create videos quickly

As a beginner video editor, you might not be creative enough to edit professional videos. Video editors that have ready-made templates will come in handy when you want to create a video quickly.

Ready-made templates give a guide to a beginner video editor to create professional-looking videos.

Tutorials and Supports

The best video editors for beginners are user-friendly, and they provide free tutorials to guide new users on their video editing journey. Some video editing software targets digital marketers and video content creators, so they release tutorial videos every week to help them improve their skills.

Are you a creator, influencer, or marketer, and you need to join the trend of creating video content that converts. Check out the list to know which free video editing software best suits your niche.

These are beginner-friendly video editing software that you can use to create professional-looking video content. Watch tutorials and get to work. The more videos you edit, the better you get at it.

Try It Free Try It Free

Video content creation is becoming the trend because it retains human attention longer than images or writings do. As a beginner who is not so familiar with video editors, getting free video editing software for beginners might prove difficult.

In this article, you will learn the best free video editing software for beginners, its features, and its pros and cons. Also, you’ll learn some extra tips that will make your video editing seamless.

In this article

01 Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

02 Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

03 Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

04 What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

Part 1: Best Free Desktop Video Editing Software for Beginners in 2024

1. Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie is a free video editing software for beginners; it comes pre-installed on Mac devices. It is known for having a simple interface that makes it user-friendly.

Supported on: Mac

Apple iMovie Main Features are:

  • Chromakeying: With iMovie, you can change the background of a video from blue/ green to an image of your favorite place.
  • Sound Integration: iMovie lets you record voiceovers, add music from iTunes and add special sound effects.
  • Video tools: Add filters, titles, animations, and photos to the video.
  • Speed control: fast track and add slow-mo effects to the video.

Pros

  • It supports 4K videos.
  • Professional standards.
  • Chromakeying feature.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Exported files take up a lot of space.
  • Available for Mac and iOS users only.

2. Microsoft Photo App

Microsoft Photos app is a free photo and video editor for beginners. It was created to replace the Windows movie maker. Many might not know about the existence of the app and its ability to edit videos and photos.

Go to the search bar and type photos, and then select the Photos app to bring a menu where you can create albums, edit photos and videos. To edit videos, click on video projects to create a video from scratch or create video automatically.

Supported on: Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11

Microsoft Photos app main features for video editing are;

  • Motion graphics, 3D effects, and animations.
  • It allows the addition of background music or audio from the computer.
  • It allows the addition of title cards and text backgrounds.
  • Change of photo or video durations and speed

Pros

  • It is free and readily installed in Windows 8 and above
  • Easy to use
  • Face detection
  • Album collection and arrangement

Cons

  • No essential video editing tools like transitioning and layering
  • You can’t use it professionally.
  • Does not allow video preview before exporting

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

VSDC is a free video editing software for beginners that can edit 4K UHD, 3D, and VR 360 videos. VSDC is one of the best video editors for beginners to edit complex videos. VSDC has a busy interface, making it less user-friendly than the other free video editing software for beginners.

Supported on: Windows

VSDC’s video editor has;

  • Non-linear video editing tools
  • Social media support features; VSDC has Instagram-like filters and lets you share edited videos directly to your social media.
  • Audio Effects; The 360 editor has many audio effects like equalizer, audio delay, and volume correction.
  • Video editing tools; VSDC has color-correction tools and tools to hide and replace unwanted elements. You can also transform videos with their subpixel resolution.
  • Numerous 3D templates you can choose from.

Pros

  • It supports many audio and video formats.
  • 4K and HD exports

Cons

  • Reduces video quality after editing
  • Professional tools like stabilization, beat syncing, and motion graphics are only available in the pro version.

Part 2: Best Free Online Video Editors for Beginners in 2024

1. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is an online free video editor for beginners. Clipchamp can create social media videos, ads videos, presentations, and other short videos. It has a unique feature that allows teams to collaborate and edit videos projects.

Clipchamp has basic video editing features like:

  • Text-to-speech feature; This feature allows you to add text that will become voiceovers in the video. You can choose the gender and nationality of the voice.
  • Thousand of templates to choose from
  • Video transitioning and layering.

Pros

  • It allows auto-captioning capabilities on the mobile app.
  • Video compression
  • Allows Screen recording
  • It can convert videos to WMV, which you can use in PowerPoint presentations.

Cons

  • Not available on Android devices
  • It uses selective browsers like Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
  • It is not optimized for touchpad screens.
  • The best quality video requires registration for the premium version.

2. Hippo Video

Hippo Video is one of the best video editors for beginners free online. You can use it on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhones, and iPads. Hippo is an all-in-one platform to create, record, edit, and share videos across different social media platforms.

Hippo video can;

  • Create GIFs from videos.
  • Trim, cut, and add emojis and tags to a video.
  • Hide or blur unwanted objects in the video.

Pros

  • It has other marketing features like email marketing, campaign management, and social media sharing.
  • It can be added as a chrome extension to be used for screen capturing and recording.

Cons

  • Watermarked in free version
  • Limited video quality download in free version
  • Long load time for video in between uploads.

3. Kapwing

Kapwing is an online free video editing software for beginners. The video editor is made for creators to create, edit and subtitle video content. Kapwing can convert MP4 videos to any file format as well as save the edited file in the cloud.

Primary Features

  • It supports text overlay and drag-and-drop function
  • Cut, resize, merge, split and trim videos.
  • Supports HD resolution
  • Lots of editable social media templates
  • Convert video to any form (GIF, JPG, MP4)

Pros

  • It does not add its watermark; instead, you can add your logo to create the video. Kapwingis
  • Auto-generated subtitles.
  • Background removal function
  • It backs up videos on the cloud.

Cons

  • It cannot export a video longer than 60 minutes
  • On-site technical glitches
  • To export files above 250MB or 7 minutes, you have to upgrade to the premium version.
  • Only available online

4. Online Video Cutter/ 123 apps video editor

Online Video Cutter is an online-based video editor used to edit videos. It is used primarily for trimming videos to desirable sizes. Online video cutter is one of 123 apps to edit and convert different file formats. The video editor can trim, crop, rotate and resize videos.

123 app online video editor tools

With Online Video Cutter, you can;

  • Frame the video or change the frame proportions of the videos.
  • Change the angle of a video up to 270 degrees; this comes in handy when you want to change a video’s view from landscape to portrait.
  • Flip, resize, change volume and add texts and images to your video.
  • Trim, equalize, and record sounds to be added to the video.

Pros

  • Supports all video format
  • Privacy is guaranteed as you are the only one with access to the video.
  • It works well in most browsers.
  • It does not require sign up before use
  • Converts files to any format
  • Can upload files larger than 4GB in size

Cons

  • It takes up a lot of time to upload files
  • Decreases the video quality
  • Cannot upload a file of more than 700MB in the free version

5. FlexClip

Flexclip is an online video creator and editor with essential editing tools. Flexclip has numerous templates and presets that let you create videos in a short time. You can create your video from scratch, templates, and previously saved videos.

Main Feature

  • Audio effects: you can record voices and add background music to the video.
  • Video tools: trim, merge, compress and convert videos.
  • Customization: you can add your logo or watermark to the video.
  • Allows video transition and GIF production
  • Allows you to increase video brightness and add filters to video.

Pros

  • It has more than 4 million pictures and pictures to add to videos.
  • Allows preview of videos before exporting.
  • It supports different video resolutions.
  • Templates for various events are available.

Cons

  • Limited video resolution download in free version
  • The free version can only create a 1-minute video and hold 12 projects.

Part 3: Best Free Video Editing Apps for Beginners on iPhone and Android

1. CapCut

Cap C ut is a free video editing software for beginners suitable for TikTok content creators. It was formerly known as Viamaker. Cap cut is easy to use for beginners, and it can create spectacular videos automatically by cutting, reordering, and merging recorded videos.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Cap cut allows you to:

  • Split, merge, and reverse videos.
  • Control the video speed
  • Add filter, special effects, stickers, and texts to videos.
  • Overlay and add sounds to the videos

Pros

  • You can export directly to Tiktok.
  • It has a vast music library, including copyrighted songs.
  • Exported videos are of high quality.

Cons

  • It does not support Multicam and 360 video editing.
  • Effectiveness depends on the phone’s processor and features.
  • Limited editing features.
  • Video cannot exceed 15 minutes.
  • You can only add a music track per video.

2. Quik

Quik is a free video editor for beginners produced by the makers of GoPro. Quik is an auto-video maker that puts together pictures, videos, and music with a few selections.

Supported on: Android and iOS

Main features

  • Auto-video: Quik will create a video with transitions and soundtrack when you select several pictures and videos.
  • Video editing tools: you can adjust the brightness, add texts and stickers, and add filters to a video.
  • Adjust video speed: you can add slo-mo and freeze effects to the video.
  • It allows direct sharing to social media pages.

Pros

  • Allows HD video download
  • Video styles template for new users.
  • Unlimited cloud backup.
  • Changes video ratio to suit different social media

Cons

  • Limited editing features in the free version.
  • Not suitable for videos longer than 60 seconds
  • Limited font styles

Part 4: What to Look for in Choosing the Best Video editors As Beginners

When trying to choose a video editor as a beginner, you should look out for:

What video editor has the most commonly used editing tools and intuitive interface

Some essential video editing tools should be available in a video editor. These include Video tools (cropping, rotating, merging, cutting, and splitting of videos), effects and animations, audio effects, the addition of texts, and other features necessary to the purpose of the video you are editing.

Templates for different occasions to create videos quickly

As a beginner video editor, you might not be creative enough to edit professional videos. Video editors that have ready-made templates will come in handy when you want to create a video quickly.

Ready-made templates give a guide to a beginner video editor to create professional-looking videos.

Tutorials and Supports

The best video editors for beginners are user-friendly, and they provide free tutorials to guide new users on their video editing journey. Some video editing software targets digital marketers and video content creators, so they release tutorial videos every week to help them improve their skills.

Are you a creator, influencer, or marketer, and you need to join the trend of creating video content that converts. Check out the list to know which free video editing software best suits your niche.

These are beginner-friendly video editing software that you can use to create professional-looking video content. Watch tutorials and get to work. The more videos you edit, the better you get at it.

How to Edit Videos in Windows Live Movie Maker [Lately Windows Movie Maker]

How to Edit Videos in Windows Live Movie Maker

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Microsoft has released Windows Live Movie Maker on August 19, 2009 as part of a refresh to their Windows Live Essentials download. Windows Live Movie Maker is the first application designed for Windows 7 and is built to make beautiful movies from your photos and videos. And the latest version is Windows Live Movie Maker 2011.

Update in 2017: Microsoft has stopped the Windows Essentials Suite support on January 10, 2017. It is claimed that it is no longer available for download. If you are looking for an alternative to windows essentials movie maker, or windows movie maker, try Filmora video editor, which is available on both Windows7, Windows8 and Windows 10.


Part 1: Best Alternative to Windows Movie Maker: Filmora [Windows7/8/10 & Mac]

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Windows Live Movie Maker is a little bit limiting for video editing. In most cases, you need to run Windows 7. Fortunately, you do have other options. There is plenty of software which will do the same thing but better than Windows Live Movie Maker for you to edit your videos and burn videos to DVD. Among many of them, we recommend one Wondershare Filmora. You may wonder what’s so special with this Video Editor. First of all, it supports almost all kinds of video formats, such as AVI, MP4, MPG, MPEG, 3GP, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, DAT, MOV, MKV and HD video formats: MTS, M2TS(AVCHD ), TS(MPEG-2), HD MKV(, MPEG-2 HD), HD WMV(VC-1), and HD MOV(, MPEG-4). Secondly, it provides powerful video editing function, such as crop, trim, adjust video effect, add watermark, etc. Also, there are various title and text templates, filter/transition and effects presets for you to choose from. Thirdly, Windows Live Movie Maker can only generate WMV files directly, but this video editor supports burn video to DVD disc, DVD Folder and ISO file or save the video to most of the popular formats.


Part 2: How to Edit Videos in Windows Live Movie Maker [Step by Step]

1.Add Videos and Photos

edit videos in windows live movie maker

While you are adding videos to Windows Live Movie Maker, you may encounter a problem like 3GP files can’t be added to Windows Live Movie Maker. Or it can’t be played in Window Live Movie Maker. And many other video files as well, such as RM, RMVB, DAT and HD video formats: MTS, TS, HD MKV, HD WMV, and HD MOV, etc. It’s quite necessary to get familiar with what all those files that could be imported to Windows Live Movie Maker.

 edit video using windows live movie maker

Notes

  • Video and music files that are protected with digital rights management (DRM) can’t be used in Windows Live Movie Maker.
  • Support for using MPEG-2 and Microsoft Recorded TV Show video files in your movie is available only if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows Vista or Windows 7: Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • AVCHD video files that contain Dolby Digital audio can be used in Windows Live Movie Maker if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows 7: Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • MPEG-4 video files that contain audio can be used if you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows 7.
  • Some MPEG-4 video files can be used when you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows Vista if the necessary audio and video codecs are installed.

After adding your photos or videos, you can also add audio or background music to your video clips by clicking the Add music option.

Learn details about How to Add and Edit Music in Windows Movie Maker

2. Video Editing

As we said before, Windows Live Movie Maker (later named Windows Movie Maker) is a simple and easy video editing software for Windows, it can complete some basic video editing and become a good choice for novices. Here, I will share with you about the basic video editing tutorial in the Movie Maker.

Windows Movie Maker Edit

Cut & Trim & Split video in Windows Movie Maker

After adding videos and photos to the storyboard, you can now keep the useful sections and remove unwanted parts. To trim video, just place the playhead to the target position and right click the clip to select the Trim Set Start Point and move the playhead again to then end point and right click to select Set End Point. You can also go to the Edit tab and click the Split menu to split the video into parts. You can then delete and cut out unwanted sections or move it to the proper position.

Add Audio to Video: Record and add voiceover or Music

Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add narrations and background music to video footage. Just click the Add Music option and you can add music from online music libraries such as AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo or add music from the computer.

Windows Movie Maker Edit Add music

Add auto movie themes to Video

There is a built-in AutoMovie themes library in Movie Maker. You can use some popular themes such as Contemporary, Cinematic, Fade, Pan and Zoom, Black and White and Sepia.

Add texts &titles to Video

You can add titles, captions, and credits to video with windows movie maker, but it seems hard to add subtitles and customize its position. For more details about the text and title editing, check

Learn more details about How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker

Apply transitions & animations to video

The Movie Maker features lots of transitions under Animations tab. You can choose from wipes, cinematics, shatters, sweeps and curls, patterns and shapes, reveals, diagonals and dissolves.

Note: if you use the default themes, you won’t see all these transitions. Check the detailed steps about How to Add Transitions in Windows Movie Maker

Apply visual effects to video

We’ve introduced some of the best visual effects software before, but in Windows Movie Maker, you can also add effects such as 3D Ripple, Black and White, Blur, pixelate, mirrors, motions and fade effects.

Change video speed of video

The Movie Maker Edit tab allows you to adjust video volume, add fade in and fade out effects to video, or change video speed.

Learn more details about How to Speed Up Video in Windows Movie Maker

3. Save Video

After finish editing, you can upload your video clips to Facebook, YouTube, and other social media, or burn your videos to DVD with Windows DVD maker. You can also save your video clips on your computer.

Windows Movie Maker Save Video

You may also like: Windows Movie Maker VS Windows Live Movie Maker: What’s the Difference

While, if you find the windows movie maker editing features are limited based on your editing skills, you can try Wondershare Filmora. Below is a video tutorial about how to edit videos with Filmora.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Microsoft has released Windows Live Movie Maker on August 19, 2009 as part of a refresh to their Windows Live Essentials download. Windows Live Movie Maker is the first application designed for Windows 7 and is built to make beautiful movies from your photos and videos. And the latest version is Windows Live Movie Maker 2011.

Update in 2017: Microsoft has stopped the Windows Essentials Suite support on January 10, 2017. It is claimed that it is no longer available for download. If you are looking for an alternative to windows essentials movie maker, or windows movie maker, try Filmora video editor, which is available on both Windows7, Windows8 and Windows 10.


Part 1: Best Alternative to Windows Movie Maker: Filmora [Windows7/8/10 & Mac]

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Windows Live Movie Maker is a little bit limiting for video editing. In most cases, you need to run Windows 7. Fortunately, you do have other options. There is plenty of software which will do the same thing but better than Windows Live Movie Maker for you to edit your videos and burn videos to DVD. Among many of them, we recommend one Wondershare Filmora. You may wonder what’s so special with this Video Editor. First of all, it supports almost all kinds of video formats, such as AVI, MP4, MPG, MPEG, 3GP, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, DAT, MOV, MKV and HD video formats: MTS, M2TS(AVCHD ), TS(MPEG-2), HD MKV(, MPEG-2 HD), HD WMV(VC-1), and HD MOV(, MPEG-4). Secondly, it provides powerful video editing function, such as crop, trim, adjust video effect, add watermark, etc. Also, there are various title and text templates, filter/transition and effects presets for you to choose from. Thirdly, Windows Live Movie Maker can only generate WMV files directly, but this video editor supports burn video to DVD disc, DVD Folder and ISO file or save the video to most of the popular formats.


Part 2: How to Edit Videos in Windows Live Movie Maker [Step by Step]

1.Add Videos and Photos

edit videos in windows live movie maker

While you are adding videos to Windows Live Movie Maker, you may encounter a problem like 3GP files can’t be added to Windows Live Movie Maker. Or it can’t be played in Window Live Movie Maker. And many other video files as well, such as RM, RMVB, DAT and HD video formats: MTS, TS, HD MKV, HD WMV, and HD MOV, etc. It’s quite necessary to get familiar with what all those files that could be imported to Windows Live Movie Maker.

 edit video using windows live movie maker

Notes

  • Video and music files that are protected with digital rights management (DRM) can’t be used in Windows Live Movie Maker.
  • Support for using MPEG-2 and Microsoft Recorded TV Show video files in your movie is available only if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows Vista or Windows 7: Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • AVCHD video files that contain Dolby Digital audio can be used in Windows Live Movie Maker if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows 7: Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • MPEG-4 video files that contain audio can be used if you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows 7.
  • Some MPEG-4 video files can be used when you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows Vista if the necessary audio and video codecs are installed.

After adding your photos or videos, you can also add audio or background music to your video clips by clicking the Add music option.

Learn details about How to Add and Edit Music in Windows Movie Maker

2. Video Editing

As we said before, Windows Live Movie Maker (later named Windows Movie Maker) is a simple and easy video editing software for Windows, it can complete some basic video editing and become a good choice for novices. Here, I will share with you about the basic video editing tutorial in the Movie Maker.

Windows Movie Maker Edit

Cut & Trim & Split video in Windows Movie Maker

After adding videos and photos to the storyboard, you can now keep the useful sections and remove unwanted parts. To trim video, just place the playhead to the target position and right click the clip to select the Trim Set Start Point and move the playhead again to then end point and right click to select Set End Point. You can also go to the Edit tab and click the Split menu to split the video into parts. You can then delete and cut out unwanted sections or move it to the proper position.

Add Audio to Video: Record and add voiceover or Music

Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add narrations and background music to video footage. Just click the Add Music option and you can add music from online music libraries such as AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo or add music from the computer.

Windows Movie Maker Edit Add music

Add auto movie themes to Video

There is a built-in AutoMovie themes library in Movie Maker. You can use some popular themes such as Contemporary, Cinematic, Fade, Pan and Zoom, Black and White and Sepia.

Add texts &titles to Video

You can add titles, captions, and credits to video with windows movie maker, but it seems hard to add subtitles and customize its position. For more details about the text and title editing, check

Learn more details about How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker

Apply transitions & animations to video

The Movie Maker features lots of transitions under Animations tab. You can choose from wipes, cinematics, shatters, sweeps and curls, patterns and shapes, reveals, diagonals and dissolves.

Note: if you use the default themes, you won’t see all these transitions. Check the detailed steps about How to Add Transitions in Windows Movie Maker

Apply visual effects to video

We’ve introduced some of the best visual effects software before, but in Windows Movie Maker, you can also add effects such as 3D Ripple, Black and White, Blur, pixelate, mirrors, motions and fade effects.

Change video speed of video

The Movie Maker Edit tab allows you to adjust video volume, add fade in and fade out effects to video, or change video speed.

Learn more details about How to Speed Up Video in Windows Movie Maker

3. Save Video

After finish editing, you can upload your video clips to Facebook, YouTube, and other social media, or burn your videos to DVD with Windows DVD maker. You can also save your video clips on your computer.

Windows Movie Maker Save Video

You may also like: Windows Movie Maker VS Windows Live Movie Maker: What’s the Difference

While, if you find the windows movie maker editing features are limited based on your editing skills, you can try Wondershare Filmora. Below is a video tutorial about how to edit videos with Filmora.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Microsoft has released Windows Live Movie Maker on August 19, 2009 as part of a refresh to their Windows Live Essentials download. Windows Live Movie Maker is the first application designed for Windows 7 and is built to make beautiful movies from your photos and videos. And the latest version is Windows Live Movie Maker 2011.

Update in 2017: Microsoft has stopped the Windows Essentials Suite support on January 10, 2017. It is claimed that it is no longer available for download. If you are looking for an alternative to windows essentials movie maker, or windows movie maker, try Filmora video editor, which is available on both Windows7, Windows8 and Windows 10.


Part 1: Best Alternative to Windows Movie Maker: Filmora [Windows7/8/10 & Mac]

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Windows Live Movie Maker is a little bit limiting for video editing. In most cases, you need to run Windows 7. Fortunately, you do have other options. There is plenty of software which will do the same thing but better than Windows Live Movie Maker for you to edit your videos and burn videos to DVD. Among many of them, we recommend one Wondershare Filmora. You may wonder what’s so special with this Video Editor. First of all, it supports almost all kinds of video formats, such as AVI, MP4, MPG, MPEG, 3GP, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, DAT, MOV, MKV and HD video formats: MTS, M2TS(AVCHD ), TS(MPEG-2), HD MKV(, MPEG-2 HD), HD WMV(VC-1), and HD MOV(, MPEG-4). Secondly, it provides powerful video editing function, such as crop, trim, adjust video effect, add watermark, etc. Also, there are various title and text templates, filter/transition and effects presets for you to choose from. Thirdly, Windows Live Movie Maker can only generate WMV files directly, but this video editor supports burn video to DVD disc, DVD Folder and ISO file or save the video to most of the popular formats.


Part 2: How to Edit Videos in Windows Live Movie Maker [Step by Step]

1.Add Videos and Photos

edit videos in windows live movie maker

While you are adding videos to Windows Live Movie Maker, you may encounter a problem like 3GP files can’t be added to Windows Live Movie Maker. Or it can’t be played in Window Live Movie Maker. And many other video files as well, such as RM, RMVB, DAT and HD video formats: MTS, TS, HD MKV, HD WMV, and HD MOV, etc. It’s quite necessary to get familiar with what all those files that could be imported to Windows Live Movie Maker.

 edit video using windows live movie maker

Notes

  • Video and music files that are protected with digital rights management (DRM) can’t be used in Windows Live Movie Maker.
  • Support for using MPEG-2 and Microsoft Recorded TV Show video files in your movie is available only if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows Vista or Windows 7: Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • AVCHD video files that contain Dolby Digital audio can be used in Windows Live Movie Maker if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows 7: Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • MPEG-4 video files that contain audio can be used if you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows 7.
  • Some MPEG-4 video files can be used when you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows Vista if the necessary audio and video codecs are installed.

After adding your photos or videos, you can also add audio or background music to your video clips by clicking the Add music option.

Learn details about How to Add and Edit Music in Windows Movie Maker

2. Video Editing

As we said before, Windows Live Movie Maker (later named Windows Movie Maker) is a simple and easy video editing software for Windows, it can complete some basic video editing and become a good choice for novices. Here, I will share with you about the basic video editing tutorial in the Movie Maker.

Windows Movie Maker Edit

Cut & Trim & Split video in Windows Movie Maker

After adding videos and photos to the storyboard, you can now keep the useful sections and remove unwanted parts. To trim video, just place the playhead to the target position and right click the clip to select the Trim Set Start Point and move the playhead again to then end point and right click to select Set End Point. You can also go to the Edit tab and click the Split menu to split the video into parts. You can then delete and cut out unwanted sections or move it to the proper position.

Add Audio to Video: Record and add voiceover or Music

Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add narrations and background music to video footage. Just click the Add Music option and you can add music from online music libraries such as AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo or add music from the computer.

Windows Movie Maker Edit Add music

Add auto movie themes to Video

There is a built-in AutoMovie themes library in Movie Maker. You can use some popular themes such as Contemporary, Cinematic, Fade, Pan and Zoom, Black and White and Sepia.

Add texts &titles to Video

You can add titles, captions, and credits to video with windows movie maker, but it seems hard to add subtitles and customize its position. For more details about the text and title editing, check

Learn more details about How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker

Apply transitions & animations to video

The Movie Maker features lots of transitions under Animations tab. You can choose from wipes, cinematics, shatters, sweeps and curls, patterns and shapes, reveals, diagonals and dissolves.

Note: if you use the default themes, you won’t see all these transitions. Check the detailed steps about How to Add Transitions in Windows Movie Maker

Apply visual effects to video

We’ve introduced some of the best visual effects software before, but in Windows Movie Maker, you can also add effects such as 3D Ripple, Black and White, Blur, pixelate, mirrors, motions and fade effects.

Change video speed of video

The Movie Maker Edit tab allows you to adjust video volume, add fade in and fade out effects to video, or change video speed.

Learn more details about How to Speed Up Video in Windows Movie Maker

3. Save Video

After finish editing, you can upload your video clips to Facebook, YouTube, and other social media, or burn your videos to DVD with Windows DVD maker. You can also save your video clips on your computer.

Windows Movie Maker Save Video

You may also like: Windows Movie Maker VS Windows Live Movie Maker: What’s the Difference

While, if you find the windows movie maker editing features are limited based on your editing skills, you can try Wondershare Filmora. Below is a video tutorial about how to edit videos with Filmora.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Microsoft has released Windows Live Movie Maker on August 19, 2009 as part of a refresh to their Windows Live Essentials download. Windows Live Movie Maker is the first application designed for Windows 7 and is built to make beautiful movies from your photos and videos. And the latest version is Windows Live Movie Maker 2011.

Update in 2017: Microsoft has stopped the Windows Essentials Suite support on January 10, 2017. It is claimed that it is no longer available for download. If you are looking for an alternative to windows essentials movie maker, or windows movie maker, try Filmora video editor, which is available on both Windows7, Windows8 and Windows 10.


Part 1: Best Alternative to Windows Movie Maker: Filmora [Windows7/8/10 & Mac]

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

Windows Live Movie Maker is a little bit limiting for video editing. In most cases, you need to run Windows 7. Fortunately, you do have other options. There is plenty of software which will do the same thing but better than Windows Live Movie Maker for you to edit your videos and burn videos to DVD. Among many of them, we recommend one Wondershare Filmora. You may wonder what’s so special with this Video Editor. First of all, it supports almost all kinds of video formats, such as AVI, MP4, MPG, MPEG, 3GP, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, DAT, MOV, MKV and HD video formats: MTS, M2TS(AVCHD ), TS(MPEG-2), HD MKV(, MPEG-2 HD), HD WMV(VC-1), and HD MOV(, MPEG-4). Secondly, it provides powerful video editing function, such as crop, trim, adjust video effect, add watermark, etc. Also, there are various title and text templates, filter/transition and effects presets for you to choose from. Thirdly, Windows Live Movie Maker can only generate WMV files directly, but this video editor supports burn video to DVD disc, DVD Folder and ISO file or save the video to most of the popular formats.


Part 2: How to Edit Videos in Windows Live Movie Maker [Step by Step]

1.Add Videos and Photos

edit videos in windows live movie maker

While you are adding videos to Windows Live Movie Maker, you may encounter a problem like 3GP files can’t be added to Windows Live Movie Maker. Or it can’t be played in Window Live Movie Maker. And many other video files as well, such as RM, RMVB, DAT and HD video formats: MTS, TS, HD MKV, HD WMV, and HD MOV, etc. It’s quite necessary to get familiar with what all those files that could be imported to Windows Live Movie Maker.

 edit video using windows live movie maker

Notes

  • Video and music files that are protected with digital rights management (DRM) can’t be used in Windows Live Movie Maker.
  • Support for using MPEG-2 and Microsoft Recorded TV Show video files in your movie is available only if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows Vista or Windows 7: Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • AVCHD video files that contain Dolby Digital audio can be used in Windows Live Movie Maker if your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows 7: Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
  • MPEG-4 video files that contain audio can be used if you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows 7.
  • Some MPEG-4 video files can be used when you’re using Movie Maker on a computer running Windows Vista if the necessary audio and video codecs are installed.

After adding your photos or videos, you can also add audio or background music to your video clips by clicking the Add music option.

Learn details about How to Add and Edit Music in Windows Movie Maker

2. Video Editing

As we said before, Windows Live Movie Maker (later named Windows Movie Maker) is a simple and easy video editing software for Windows, it can complete some basic video editing and become a good choice for novices. Here, I will share with you about the basic video editing tutorial in the Movie Maker.

Windows Movie Maker Edit

Cut & Trim & Split video in Windows Movie Maker

After adding videos and photos to the storyboard, you can now keep the useful sections and remove unwanted parts. To trim video, just place the playhead to the target position and right click the clip to select the Trim Set Start Point and move the playhead again to then end point and right click to select Set End Point. You can also go to the Edit tab and click the Split menu to split the video into parts. You can then delete and cut out unwanted sections or move it to the proper position.

Add Audio to Video: Record and add voiceover or Music

Windows Movie Maker also allows you to add narrations and background music to video footage. Just click the Add Music option and you can add music from online music libraries such as AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo or add music from the computer.

Windows Movie Maker Edit Add music

Add auto movie themes to Video

There is a built-in AutoMovie themes library in Movie Maker. You can use some popular themes such as Contemporary, Cinematic, Fade, Pan and Zoom, Black and White and Sepia.

Add texts &titles to Video

You can add titles, captions, and credits to video with windows movie maker, but it seems hard to add subtitles and customize its position. For more details about the text and title editing, check

Learn more details about How to Add Text to Video with Windows Movie Maker

Apply transitions & animations to video

The Movie Maker features lots of transitions under Animations tab. You can choose from wipes, cinematics, shatters, sweeps and curls, patterns and shapes, reveals, diagonals and dissolves.

Note: if you use the default themes, you won’t see all these transitions. Check the detailed steps about How to Add Transitions in Windows Movie Maker

Apply visual effects to video

We’ve introduced some of the best visual effects software before, but in Windows Movie Maker, you can also add effects such as 3D Ripple, Black and White, Blur, pixelate, mirrors, motions and fade effects.

Change video speed of video

The Movie Maker Edit tab allows you to adjust video volume, add fade in and fade out effects to video, or change video speed.

Learn more details about How to Speed Up Video in Windows Movie Maker

3. Save Video

After finish editing, you can upload your video clips to Facebook, YouTube, and other social media, or burn your videos to DVD with Windows DVD maker. You can also save your video clips on your computer.

Windows Movie Maker Save Video

You may also like: Windows Movie Maker VS Windows Live Movie Maker: What’s the Difference

While, if you find the windows movie maker editing features are limited based on your editing skills, you can try Wondershare Filmora. Below is a video tutorial about how to edit videos with Filmora.

Download Win VersionDownload Mac Version

author avatar

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Also read:

  • Title: Updated Unlock Cinematic Storytelling Using Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro
  • Author: Ava
  • Created at : 2024-05-19 14:41:57
  • Updated at : 2024-05-20 14:41:57
  • Link: https://video-content-creator.techidaily.com/updated-unlock-cinematic-storytelling-using-ken-burns-effect-in-final-cut-pro/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
On this page
Updated Unlock Cinematic Storytelling Using Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro