Video Editing Software for Indie Filmmakers and Videographers

As a person who has been experimenting with filmmaking since the age of 10, I have been through the many technological changes in editing that have influenced us filmmakers. From cutting Super 8 film, analog, and VHS, to the new digital revolution. As an indie filmmaker and videographer, it's definitely a very exciting time. Anyone with a computer, editing software, and a digital camcorder can put together an impressive picture at a humble cost. What plagues many filmmakers in post production is what to use to edit their work. There are literally hundreds of editing suites out there, but not all of them are grand. As a professional editor, editing music videos and indie features, I've gathered what I regard to be the best editing software out there today.

Final Cut Pro
For those just starting out, I'd recommend using Final Cut Pro for editing, mainly on price and initial ease of use. Final Cut Pro is a wonderful tool that comes with an excellent DVD authoring program called DVD Studio Pro. Now, Final Cut Pro may be a great way to enter the editing world, but it is limited in its high end capabilities. The problem I've encountered with Final Cut Pro is it can be hell when cutting features as it is slow with such lengthy productions. It's a slick software for shorter productions though. Final Cut Pro is used by some companies, but they are mostly always low budget productions thus not paying a lot. Final Cut will give you the skills necessary as a base, until you're ready to learn the more advanced software.