Marc

As the need for video marketing gets larger and more important in your business, you have to make a couple of decisions. The first major one is whether or not you will be the person doing the editing or if you'll get somebody else to do it for you. Let's say you decided it was time for you to get into making your own videos. First off, let me say "good choice", you can do it. I'm going to run down the well known programs for video editing and why or why not you should use them.

Windows Movie Maker - This is the old faithful of editing software. It's free to use and will get the job done. However, it's got it's own share of problems. The major problem with Movie Maker is that blue title screen. It screams amateur. Since every high school kid with a camcorder uses Movie Maker to edit their Youtube videos, the blue title background has been associated with cheaply made videos, even if they weren't. Windows Movie Maker is great if you are just starting out but if you're going to be editing a handful of videos (which you should be) you've got to keep your credibility and leave Windows Movie Maker.

Sony Vegas Movie Studio (platinum) - I'm going to focus on Sony Vegas Movie Studio the most since it's really all you need for editing videos for the Internet. The other versions of Vegas either do too little or too much. Vegas Movie Studio is very cheap for what you get, and you get a good amount of features. You can basically do whatever you want to do with this program, it really does do it all for Internet videos. You can create titles, lower thirds, effects, edit audio, export in multiple formats. Make sure you do use the Platinum version if you choose Vegas because that will allow you to edit HDV videos and AVCHD files. These file formats are common high definition file formats that you should be using to make your videos. Okay, so maybe Vegas is looking like the winner, hold on, not so fast. Vegas is meant for anybody but I will warn you, it's not very intuitive and acts stiff. There is a large learning curve and sometimes things work weird. Also, there's not too much in the way of tutorials online compared to other programs.

Adobe Premiere Pro/Elements - This program, although not cheap, is the ultimate program to use if you're on a PC. With Premiere, you will never have to shell out money for editing software again, well maybe if you want to upgrade, but that's about it. You can create videos for the web, animations, and full on video products. It works very well with Photoshop and if you want to create DVD products, it works very well with Encore. Of course, with a program like Adobe Premiere, the learning curve is steep but there is a lot of tutorials online to help you out. The difference between the Pro version and Elements other than price is miniscule. Go with elements if you decide to use Premiere.

iMovie - If you're on a Mac, you might already have iMovie available. If you do, you're in luck. This is all you need to create great looking videos. The user interface is easy to understand, the program is robust, and it works with iDVD and iPhoto as well as with the heavier hitters Photoshop and DVD Studio Pro (Apple's professional DVD software). This is a great program and the learning curve isn't too difficult when compared to other editing software.

Final Cut Pro/Express - Final Cut Pro is a big dog compared to the rest in this article. It is the most widely used editing software for professionals and prosumers alike. With Final Cut, you will never need another program to do anything editing related. Basically, Final Cut and Premiere Pro are on the same tier as far as options, price, and power. Final Cut works very well with the other software it was meant to work with, namely DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Compressor, Motion, etc. You don't need to buy these other programs unless you are going to be making DVD products or working on a lot of videos all of the time. Final Cut Express is equivalent to Premiere Elements. It doesn't work with a couple of file formats, formats that are hardly used by anybody other than professional videographers, and it's cheaper than the pro version. There are also thousands of tutorials and forums online to help you if you get stuck.

Camtasia - I've heard of a lot of people using Camtasia to edit videos. I've used it as well but don't recommend using it if you're going to be making videos often. The software is a little tough to do certain things, and other times just won't give you the option of doing it at all. It's great for making basic edits with a few nice titles and transitions. The power of Camtasia lies in the screen capturing, not in editing.

If it was up to me, I'd always edit with Final Cut Pro. It's robust and powerful, and does what I need it to do. Since the price is what drives away most people, Final Cut Express would be a good alternative. Whatever editing software you decide to use, be prepared to put some time away and learn the software. Trust me though, it's worth it once you learn it.