Video editing on a smartphone doesn’t cut it. Here’s why (and the solution).

About 12 months ago I wrote a review of the Quik app for GoPros. It’s here if you want to read what I thought about it back then.

I haven’t changed my mind particularly, but I have noticed a fair number of folk in the GoPro forums complaining. I suspect this is for a couple of unconnected reasons, if I read between the lines.

First and foremost, I’d be willing to bet that many people who are using Quik are expecting miracles from it. You know, feed some rough footage into the slot and out of the other end comes a Hollywood masterpiece.

Well I hate to disappoint you, but that is simply not going to happen. Silk purse, pigs ear and all that. Over the period of time I have been publishing my magazine and website under various monikers,  (https://cre-8.com.au  is the current carnation) I have interviewed many pro people in the film and video game, including editors, and taking an hour or more to get 1 minute of finished footage is not unheard of by any means!

Patience is a huge virtue as they say.

Quik is designed to throw together a, well, quick (and dirty) version of what you have shot, not necessarily be the final product. Some – or lots – may disagree with me here in my saying to do that footage real justice, you need a proper editing package and a real computer with access to many other resources. Only then can you realise what I think many people expect to be the final result.

So, accepting that, what are your options?

There are a number of editing packages for the PC that are excellent – but of course cost. These include (but not limited to) Adobe Premiere and Adobe Premiere Elements, Vegas Pro, Grass Valley EDIUS, AVID Media Composer and Hitfilm.

If you want something for free though, there are also some brilliant options, each with varying degrees of strength. My choice without question is DaVinci Resolve (of which there is also a Studio version which is NOT free), but you also have AVID Composer First and Hitfilm Xpress.

On the Mac, all of these are available barring Vegas Pro, and accepting that EDIUS works under the Bootcamp emulator, plus of course there is Final Cut, Apple’s own video editing app.

I have linked each of these titles to its download page for either the full version (for freebies) or trials (for non-freebies) to save you having to dig them up.

Be prepared for a bit of a learning curve however, as all of these are all very comprehensive programs that deliver a LOT more than just cutting up clips and joining them together with some cheesy transitions chucked in for good measure.

Pro Tip: Avoid cheesy transitions like the plague. ANY editor worth his or her salt will stick to the bare minimum of either a cut or dissolve. Don’t believe me? Watch any Star Wars movie.

In short, if you want a decent end result, you have to be prepared to put in the time and effort to learn how that is done.

My second guess is that if you are editing “in phone” or even “in tablet”, screen size is a major issue for decent editing. I for one simply cannot do it. Consequently, I am thinking a fair number of clips are left somewhat underdone, because using editing tools on the phone such as Quik (and others) is just too hard and people simply run out of patience of find it all too hard.

My suggestion is to have a look at each of my options I have nominated for “proper” editing packages and see which suits you best. It can be a very personal thing, with one person’s favourite editing program another’s pet hate!

You may disagree with all of the above of course. If you do (or even if you don’t) please leave a comment below telling me why – or why not – as the case may be!