Wanted: video editing software for OSX?

July 28, 2009 4:49 AM

I'm looking for OSX video editing software to use for preparing live music videos for uploading to YouTube. I want to overlay audio tracks from an audio recorder over video footage from a digital camera, cropping either as needed, and exporting the finished video as MPEG4 or H.264. Final Cut seems like overkill (and costs a fair bit), and iMovie doesn't offer the precision to easily align the separate tracks. Can anyone recommend a good, reasonably inexpensive package that will do the job?
posted by acb to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Have you looked at BoinxTV? I used it about 5 months ago for post-production for a webcast, and found it easy to use. The sponsored version is $199, but requires a 5 second credit at the end, to take off the closing credit, you need to pay $500.
posted by thebestsophist at 5:05 AM on July 28, 2009

Best answer: There is always Adobe Premiere for both Mac and PC. Also, I am not sure if your aware of Final Cut Express which is a slightly keyed down version of Pro. If neither of those are what you are looking for, perhaps you should consider MediaEdit. There is the open source, cross-platform jahshaka. You also may want to be a non-traditionalist and give Kaltura a shot. It is another open source, web-based solution.
posted by fightoplankton at 5:27 AM on July 28, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I know you said no iMovie, but have you looked at the new "Precision Editor" feature of iMovie '09? Seems like it would meet your requirements
posted by misterbrandt at 6:58 AM on July 28, 2009

I can understand not wanting to consider iMovie if you had a poor experience with the crappy '08 version. I recently gave it another try with '09 and it is a fine little editor. Otherwise, I suggest Final Cut Express.
posted by terrapin at 7:02 AM on July 28, 2009

Seconding Final Cut Express. I've done multiple videos of this type using it. I never have missed any features from the full FC package (tho I do get tired of waiting for stuff to render).

$ well spent.
posted by omnidrew at 9:37 AM on July 28, 2009

FCExpress offers a really intuitive multitrack timeline perfect for your goal, and is a great deal if you'll be doing more projects in future, but for a one-off it's a bit expensive. Check out Norrkross Movie; it's like iMovie with a multitrack timeline, $60; quite powerful.
posted by dpcoffin at 11:44 AM on July 28, 2009

iMovie '09 rocks, seriously. Much better for precise editing than iMovie '08.
posted by ferdinandcc at 3:48 PM on July 28, 2009