Video Editing Help and the Next Step

Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:13 am

Alright, so, long story short: I've hit a point in my YouTube channel's growth where I need to start actually performing video editing more complicated than what YouTube naturally provides. Thanks to some help from a Cohhilition member and a lot of self-teaching, I've manged to learn how to do audio editing on Audacity with basic proficiency. But I've hit a huge roadblock again and all of the next steps are littered with scams, virus traps, and dismissive responses.

Now that the summary is done, here's my problems:
1) I cannot find a single decent video editor within an affordable price range. The cheapest one is hundreds of dollars, and my current editing tools (mostly ffmpeg) limit me to only cutting video, merging video, removing audio, and putting audio back.
2) I cannot figure out how to obtain a basic intro animation or outro screen without having a dedicated artist. The elements I can find online that show some amount of promise...well, they lead me to point number three.
3) All tools and guides I can find online through searching are littered with malicious content. I've yet to find an actual Blender template that isn't through fifteen different sites that set off my antivirus programs without fail, and no, I cannot get Sony Vegas Pro 12 for free. Heck, they don't even sell the program anymore as far as I can find.
4) While I've finally learned some basic ways of modifying text in GIMP, I feel like there's some aspect I'm missing in my thumbnail design. More dynamic text options would be nice, but this is incredibly minor in comparison to points 1-3.

I don't have unrealistic expectations for an intro or outro or a video editing program. All I need is for my intro to be more than simple 2-D single color text, my outro could be a still image for all I care as long as it has two spaces for showing linked videos, and my video editing program just needs to let me occasionally inset an image or video clip, splice video and audio with more precision than a plain ffmpeg fusion, and allow me to do fade transitions.

I've tried searching and posting topics on Reddit, and most YouTube videos obtained in searches lead to malicious sites or view clickbait with no content.

So, basically, does anyone know of how YouTubers generally get past these hurdles? I've tried sending messages to various other channels, but I don't get replies or just get told to "Use Google lol". And yes, that quotation is taken directly from a reply I got. That was the entire reply. Needless to say, I unsubscribed. I also have scoured most legitimate subredddits and tried posting a few topics, and Google's a damn minefield. So I really don't know where to go for help on this one. I'm missing tools, and the skills I'd need to use the tools I do have would take years to learn to make something mediocre at best.

I'll take any and all advice.

Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:22 am

So on the adobe website you can get single program (like Premiere Pro) on a month to month (take just enough time to create your intro/outro) for only $29/mo. This may be the cheapest way to get a AAA type software. If you do that for one month the switch and pick After Effects then you should be able to make everything for a pretty low cost.

Thu Jan 07, 2016 11:35 am

[QUOTE="ticktock1231, post: 31365, member: 39876"]So on the adobe website you can get single program (like Premiere Pro) on a month to month (take just enough time to create your intro/outro) for only $29/mo. This may be the cheapest way to get a AAA type software. If you do that for one month the switch and pick After Effects then you should be able to make everything for a pretty low cost.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, except I hate Adobe's payment model. I'm aiming to do this channel for the forseeable future, so I'd start losing out on a huge chunk of money before the year's already out. So far, the best option suggested to me on the Discord (thanks SurviveOnCoffee!) was Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13. Sure, I'll have to budget for a $60 purchase, but that's easily better than $29/mo for the channel.

Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:40 pm

I am a bit late to the party, but will drop in my advice just in case you are still looking for some opinions.

Will have to agree with [USER=39876]@ticktock1231[/USER] and say that the adobe options for any kind of editing software are the way to go. I just checked a little while ago and it is $20 a month, which could be steep like you said, but I think in the long run could be totally worth it.

I've been using the Adobe editing suite for quite a while and must say that it is very easy to use, even for a beginner. The fact that you have used some editing software and are not going in blind, I really think you could pick it up quick with a little time spent inside the program. That being said, Premiere Pro does offer very basic title card sequencing, so if you are looking for something simple, it might be the way to go.

On the other hand, I myself had doubts about paying the Adobe toll (didn't much like them switching to monthly either), but they update frequently, and it will be a long term investment if you are going forward with YouTube.

On the other, other hand, you could always try the 30 day free trial, get some videos under your belt and then go from there. Also maybe consider getting someone you know with a bit of After Effects experience to design you something and export it so you could use it for a while. That would be an investment as well, and I am not sure what kind of budget you are working with. Opening and ending title sequences for your personal brand could be used for months on end until you decide to switch it up.

Like I said, all of this is a bit late, but I would like to know what you decided to go with, if anything at all. Good luck friend.

Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:13 pm

It's not really an investment if I'm not in it for the money, though. Plus, recent events have caused my channel to hit an unfortunate hiatus due to YouTube's awful system of "shoot first, ask questions never". I've decided for the time being to keep my YouTube channel to highlights from my Twitch stream. So my video editing software problem is momentarily a non-issue. Unless I get someone who wants to offer new art assets or intro/outro clips, I'm fine with OBS and using GIMP for thumbnail editing.

I'm currently still looking for a job, so right now my budget is "none and loans". So for someone with an uncertain future, $20 a month going to a company I don't like is...well, it's pretty expensive. In fact, most of my monthly budget for free spending goes to keep my subscriptions to Cohh going. But since that's going to someone I like, it's money I'm willing to spend.

But thank you for the input anyway! It's interesting to know a lot people still buy Adobe despite the unfair terms of service and pricing model.