banjoy - Posted - 10/09/2022:  05:07:27

For years to create my videos I've been using an ancient version of iMovie on an old but powerful MacPro. My Mac fried about a year ago and while I have a spare old MacPro here I can set-up I've just not had the interest to do so.



It occurred to me a few days ago that in this day and age online cloud video editing must be a thing, and sure enough a simple search shows dozens and dozens of online video editors, from free on up to a small subscription fee.



I've spent far too much time going down too many rabbit holes in trying to get a sense of several video editors and can't find answers to even the most basic questions I have. For example, almost every service out there has transition tools, free audio and image libraries, all these whiz-bang features ... which is great ... but what I'm most interested in is synching multiple camera shoots together so I can edit freely between cameras, such as more than one camera on the banjo or multiple cameras fixed on multiple pickers all at the same time. Normal stuff. And once synched, can cut from camera to camera or use one inset on the other, etc. I see this all the time but these tools are not available in iMovie.



I like the idea of cloud editing because it no longer relies on the power of my PC, or what type of PC I'm using, and I won't need to keep re-learning stuff or shell out $$ everytime I want something basic.



So I'm *really* hoping that someone reading this post will have knowledge of, and hopefully first-hand experience of one or more of these editors that are out there. My basic needs are:



-- Simple titles to more involved animated titling, etc

-- Ability to synchronize a multi-camera shoot to then edit from

--Ability to synchronize audio to video whether single or multi-camera shoot, to then edit from

--Basic to fancy transitions

--Basic image and audio corrections or effects

--Intuitive interface and controls, that does not require one to be a rocket scientist



That's my basic needs. All the rest that these services may offer is fluff that I may or may not use so is not a priority or concern.



So I've spent way too much time researching this and still can't find these basic needs in a cloud video editor. It could be that all of these service do this but don't mention it, but nearly all of them are pushing all the whiz-bang shiny objects and bright colors stuff which is not what I really want or need.



Anyone have experience with this? I'm open to any suggestions to explore from free to a small modest monthly subscription.



Many thanks in advance.

Edited by - banjoy on 10/09/2022 05:17:42

Guy Donis - Posted - 10/09/2022:  10:48:58

I'm using Shotcut, free open source, works well for me. shotcut.org/

You can see one result here made on a old 2013 macbook air...took a bit of time to synchronize but pretty happy with the result.

youtube.com/watch?v=qG7EAqhMILM

Guy

banjoy - Posted - 10/09/2022:  13:02:56

Guy Donis



Wow that video is excellent, very much in line with what I'd like to do. I had come across shotcut before but did not dig much deeper. I did notice lots of YouTube tutorials, so I'll spend some time in the next few days to take a deep dive there.



I really appreciate the suggestion and also the real results. May I ask, do you synch all the cameras first before editing begins, and then are free to cut from there, or does every cut require some work to re-synch / keep in synch?



Also, how did you consider the learning curve overall?



I appreciate your post and any other feedback on shotcut you'd care to share. I'm a sponge right now...

Edited by - banjoy on 10/09/2022 13:04:03

Guy Donis - Posted - 10/09/2022:  15:53:27

The learning process was pretty fast, maybe because I'm used to recording music programs that has some similarities. tutorials were helpful
You can put two video tracks and then make some edit with crossfades , it's technically possible for more but not with my old and basic computer. So I had to make an edit with two, save the edit as one and start the process again to include a third track etc....

banjoy - Posted - 10/10/2022:  05:46:47

Guy Donis

Thanks for that. Did some more homework. Unfortunately, shotcut is not cloud-based at all at its system requirements exceed every computer I currently own so it will not run on any of them.

So, back to the drawing board, seeking a cloud-based solution which is not reliant on my PC. There are LOTS of these services out there, unfortunately, they all appear to be linear (manipulating one video only, some don't even allow edits or trims!).

I'll keep hunting. And, still, for sure I'm open to hearing from anyone with experience in cloud-based video editing.

In the meantime, I'll explore upgrading my desktop HP PC, still new in the box but which has pretty bare bones specs. It may be upgradable to work with shotcut. It seems shotcut really grabs tons of RAM which this PC lacks and may already be at its upper limit out of the box.

Thanks!

banjoy - Posted - 10/10/2022:  06:06:28

Now I'm doing homework on the PC I have. This was given to me a year ago, brand new in the box HP model #290-p0043w. Not a great machine, but I had the idea maybe this could be a dedicated video workstation.



It does appear I can upgrade the CPU from 2 core to 4 core and upgrade the RAM from 4gb to 16gb. That would make this machine capable of editing up to HD quality, which is good enough for me. Out of the box as-is, this PC can't handle shotcut. With upgrades, it can. It appears I can upgrade everything for about $100 +/- which is something I can afford.



So, I may go with a stand alone shotcut video workstation. I would still prefer a cloud based solution, but so far they all appear to be pretty inadequate for doing basic cuts and transitions and definitely lacking on multi camera capabilities.



If anyone knows of a cloud based editor that is more powerful (like shotcut, which looks very robust) I'm all ears!



Thanks!

Edited by - banjoy on 10/10/2022 06:09:30

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/10/2022:  06:42:03

I do everything you are wanting to do on Adobe's premiere elements --I would guess it to be about 150 bucks--If you really want to get a hold --don't take the easy way on these --that would be the such things as automatic title scenes -picture in picture etc.--
the tracks are slid left and right to line up--I find a point exactly on both tracks then line them up--you can pan--zoom--fade--etc -or bring one across the other as it zooms plus many other things--
I am giving you the 2 big secrets here and it sure wasn't an easy one for me to find out--you timestretch both(slow them down)to sync them perfect -to the chosen point--after that you speed them back up--the chosen point is usually an ending note in a verse or chorus--the zooms -pans etc.start and stop on these in order to fit the music--the other big secret ---I stumbled on--animate by keyframe--after that when up and running --it is time to play with effects---

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/10/2022:  06:45:47

i have a fairly whimpy laptop--and it will crash if pushed so save often to not lose work--rendering is the necessary wrench in the cogs here--

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/12/2022:  12:13:38

with adobe

Edited by - Tractor1 on 10/12/2022 12:28:48

Tractor1 - Posted - 10/12/2022:  12:34:15

ditto