Help finding a lightweight video editor
January 2, 2024 6:34 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for a lightweight video editor with a few specific features that might be able to run without lag on my somewhat-old computer.
I'm looking for a lightweight video editor that can help me make videos like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JttOZC1aiG8&ab_channel=PhilosophyofFreedom). The features I'm interested in are: 1) ability to add a static background image 2) ability to add a voiceover and separate music track 3) ability to overlay text and set timing, position, font and transition. My computer is old and most free video editors I've tried run with a lot of lag. They also include a lot of features that I wouldn't need. I'm wondering if there is some "bare bones" video editing software that might include limited features but would work for my purposes and maybe isn't so laggy?
I'm looking for a lightweight video editor that can help me make videos like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JttOZC1aiG8&ab_channel=PhilosophyofFreedom). The features I'm interested in are: 1) ability to add a static background image 2) ability to add a voiceover and separate music track 3) ability to overlay text and set timing, position, font and transition. My computer is old and most free video editors I've tried run with a lot of lag. They also include a lot of features that I wouldn't need. I'm wondering if there is some "bare bones" video editing software that might include limited features but would work for my purposes and maybe isn't so laggy?
I suspect a video like that wouldn't even require a video editor to produce. It seems like something you could create with presentation software -- Powerpoint, or some generic equivalent. You might want to investigate Google Slides and/or LibreOffice Impress.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 7:27 PM on January 2
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 7:27 PM on January 2
I don't know of any video editing software that doesn't do 1 and 3. They can also add multiple audio rack s(music, sound effects, narration, whatever). If by "they can add a voiceover", you mean "record a voiceover", then I don;t know of anything that lets you do that (for all software I've used, the audio is actually recorded in another program and then brought in as a .wav or .aiff file)
What are the specs of your computer, and what software have you tried that's laggy?
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:50 PM on January 2
What are the specs of your computer, and what software have you tried that's laggy?
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:50 PM on January 2
Response by poster: Last one I tried was DaVinci Resolve and it was laggy. And yeah, to clarify, I mean I want to be able to add a pre-recorded voiceover track (not that I would be recording it from within the program). Specs are:
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.40 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
posted by NoneOfTheAbove at 7:54 PM on January 2
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.40 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
posted by NoneOfTheAbove at 7:54 PM on January 2
You could record the voiceover and combine it with music in free software like Audacity.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:50 PM on January 2
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:50 PM on January 2
Filmora would probably fit the bill.
Here's some of their system requirements.
Processor : Intel i3 or better multicore processor, 2GHz or above.
RAM : 8 GB RAM
Graphics : Intel HD Graphics 5000 or later; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700 or later; AMD Radeon R5 or later.
It comes in Mac and Windows flavours.
posted by Zedcaster at 9:03 PM on January 2 [1 favorite]
Here's some of their system requirements.
Processor : Intel i3 or better multicore processor, 2GHz or above.
RAM : 8 GB RAM
Graphics : Intel HD Graphics 5000 or later; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700 or later; AMD Radeon R5 or later.
It comes in Mac and Windows flavours.
posted by Zedcaster at 9:03 PM on January 2 [1 favorite]
No GPU? The onboard graphics are Intel HD 2500. Two generations earlier than the Intel HD 5000.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:49 AM on January 3
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:49 AM on January 3
Canva would also do all of this, even in the free version - I found it very easy to use to do all of those things
posted by london explorer girl at 4:56 AM on January 3
posted by london explorer girl at 4:56 AM on January 3
In terms of trying to squeeze more life out of the base system:
About $70 would get you a Core i7 3770K which has HD4000 graphics (and was the fastest LGA1155 desktop processor) but that's still fairly weak graphics, and the different in CPU grunt wouldn't be that dramatic.
About $70 (or less) should also get you a used GTX 750 ti GPU, or $80 a new GT1030.
Disk I/O performance matters for video. Do you have spinning hard drives or SSDs in there? How are they connected?
Check your motherboard compatibility before doing a CPU upgrade, and your PSU's capacity (and connectors) for either.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:58 AM on January 3
About $70 would get you a Core i7 3770K which has HD4000 graphics (and was the fastest LGA1155 desktop processor) but that's still fairly weak graphics, and the different in CPU grunt wouldn't be that dramatic.
About $70 (or less) should also get you a used GTX 750 ti GPU, or $80 a new GT1030.
Disk I/O performance matters for video. Do you have spinning hard drives or SSDs in there? How are they connected?
Check your motherboard compatibility before doing a CPU upgrade, and your PSU's capacity (and connectors) for either.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:58 AM on January 3
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posted by oxisos at 7:27 PM on January 2