Looking for an app that will let me edit videos

D

Danaldinho

macrumors member
Hey,

I'm looking for an application that will let me edit music videos on my iMac. I want to be able to add a image watermark on the video and remove parts of the video, for example the last 20 seconds of a video.

I've tried Final Cut Pro, but this application does not seem to do what I want.

Please let me know any good apps I can use.

Thanks, appreciate it :)
 
FCP will do what you want. You have to put a little time in to figure out the two things you mentioned. Just a little time.
 
Try again with Final Cut. It can do that no problem.

Removing the last twenty seconds is as simple as making an edit; adding a watermark is as simple (slightly more complicated) as importing a .psd file with an alpha channel and then adding it as a separate layer and superimposing it however you choose (straight, part transparent, using a transfer mode, etc.).
 
I was a dab hand with iMovies 1 through 4 (or 5) when someone gave me an, ahem, extended demo version of FCP3. At last, it was mine. The FCP. I launched it with great anticipation and ... quit it, eyes trembling, fingers quivering, brain overloaded. I never touched FCP again until circumstances changed ( i.e. the new iMovie was launched) and I had to learn FCP in order to progress.

I can understand why the OP mightn't be able to figure out FCP, because I sure as hell couldn't.:confused:
 
spinnerlys said:
iMovie? It comes with every Mac.

FCP is a bit overkill, but it will do what you want.
Click to expand...

iMovie doesn't do everything I need, and it only opens certain file types :(


Policar said:
Try again with Final Cut. It can do that no problem.

Removing the last twenty seconds is as simple as making an edit; adding a watermark is as simple (slightly more complicated) as importing a .psd file with an alpha channel and then adding it as a separate layer and superimposing it however you choose (straight, part transparent, using a transfer mode, etc.).
Click to expand...

Well I tried to open up one of my music video files, and it come up with an error:

"Error: Out of Memory."

So this is why I can't use FCP :(
 
Danaldinho said:
iMovie doesn't do everything I need, and it only opens certain file types :(




Well I tried to open up one of my music video files, and it come up with an error:

"Error: Out of Memory."

So this is why I can't use FCP :(
Click to expand...

What exact file type (.mov, .mp4, .avi) and codec does thus problematic file use? You can use VideoSpec to analyse the file and copy the report into your next post. Maybe the file is not compatible with FCP, as it not takes every format of video, as not ever video format is editable.

Maybe you can use MPEG Streamclip to transcode the source file (the problematic one) to a QuickTime (.mov) using the ProRes 422 or Apple Intermediate Codec for video and Uncompressed for audio.
Then try again.

Btw, what FCP version do you use on what Mac with what hardware (CPU, RAM, HDD, ...) and Mac OS X version?
 
LOL on trying to teach someone (who has zero experience) how to do something in FCP. When the OP said that he tried to open a file and got an out of memory error, what does that mean? Did that happen while importing the video? Transcoding? Editing?, or did he just try to open the video from FCP? Also, what version of FCP and what Mac? What video codec is he using? How much ram? What is his sequence settings?

Then he says that FCP won't do what he wants it to do... a simple overlay and timeline edit? That is EXTREMELY basic stuff. But if someone doesn't know the program, they might as well be trying to edit Cold Mountain.

He should look into simple editing programs such as iMovie or one of the freeware programs available to download. He is in over his head and probably doesn't want to invest time learning.
 
Danaldinho said:
I've tried Final Cut Pro, but this application does not seem to do what I want.
Click to expand...

Was what you wrote.

Well I tried to open up one of my music video files, and it come up with an error:
"Error: Out of Memory."
So this is why I can't use FCP
Click to expand...
You could have saved everyone time and effort by actually stating the problem. And the specs of your Mac. And the version of FCP. And the sequence settings you are using. And the container and codec of your clip.

And see what Larry has to say.
 
My bad guys, I messed up on explaing, sorry.

spinnerlys said:
What exact file type (.mov, .mp4, .avi) and codec does thus problematic file use? You can use VideoSpec to analyse the file and copy the report into your next post. Maybe the file is not compatible with FCP, as it not takes every format of video, as not ever video format is editable.

Maybe you can use MPEG Streamclip to transcode the source file (the problematic one) to a QuickTime (.mov) using the ProRes 422 or Apple Intermediate Codec for video and Uncompressed for audio.
Then try again.

Btw, what FCP version do you use on what Mac with what hardware (CPU, RAM, HDD, ...) and Mac OS X version?
Click to expand...

The file type of my video is .mkv, but could the problem be that it is just over 100MB?

I use Final Cut Pro 7.0 on my iMac, and here are some of the details:

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
 
Danaldinho said:
My bad guys, I messed up on explaing, sorry.



The file type of my video is .mkv, but could the problem be that it is just over 100MB?

I use Final Cut Pro 7.0 on my iMac, and here are some of the details:

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Click to expand...

The problem is not the file size, as I can use files with a file size of more than 20GB in FCP.

The problem is the container/format the file is in and the codec that is used.
.mkv as a container is not meant for editing and it uses an MOEG-4 codec which is not meant for editing too. You need to transcode the file via Handbrake and MPEG Streamclip (or other software, use MRoogle to find lots and lots of similar topics) to a QuickTime file using the .mov container/format and either the ProRes or Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) for video and Uncompressed for audio.

And as you have paid quite a hefty price for FCS (or not), you have paid for the manual (or not), thus take a look or dozens inside (or not) to read up on what formats and codecs are accepted and what are not (or not).

MRoogle is a good tool to search these fora for already existing threads about questions you have. It might be able to answer you quicker than waiting for an answer.
 
You should try Final Cut Express. It's cheaper and simpler than Final Cut Pro and you have the same basic features and it's a million times better than iMovie.
 
spinnerlys said:
The problem is not the file size, as I can use files with a file size of more than 20GB in FCP.

The problem is the container/format the file is in and the codec that is used.
.mkv as a container is not meant for editing and it uses an MOEG-4 codec which is not meant for editing too. You need to transcode the file via Handbrake and MPEG Streamclip (or other software, use MRoogle to find lots and lots of similar topics) to a QuickTime file using the .mov container/format and either the ProRes or Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) for video and Uncompressed for audio.

And as you have paid quite a hefty price for FCS (or not), you have paid for the manual (or not), thus take a look or dozens inside (or not) to read up on what formats and codecs are accepted and what are not (or not).

MRoogle is a good tool to search these fora for already existing threads about questions you have. It might be able to answer you quicker than waiting for an answer.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks for explaining.

I just tried both programs, and neither worked.

Handbrake only lets me change the .mkv file to a .mp4 and not .mov.

And MPEG Streamclip will not open .mkv files.

Is there any more programs you know about?
 
You just answered your own question. Convert it to mp4 using handbrake, then convert it with MPEG streamclip to an editing intermediate file type like ProRes for FCP.
 
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