For this week’s assignment, I was asked to evaluate two video editing programs. Upon reading the article “Before You Buy Video Editing Software,” by Gretchen Siegchrist, I decided to evaluate Windows Movie Maker and Wax. In order to conduct both evaluations, I chose a video clip recording I had in my video library and edited it in both programs. Ultimately, I chose Windows Movie Maker to edit my video because I had previous experience working with it, it was free, and its features were far more user friendly.
The format of the video clip I chose to edit was QuickTime Movie (.MOV). I had no problem uploading this file format to Windows Movie Maker. Within seconds, my video had been uploaded. The ease of access to the different editing tools made editing my video an easy process. With its easy accessibility, I was able to split my video into sections, cut out any parts I did not want, add transition effects, text, audio, and even an image to my video. After I finished editing my video, I saved it to my computer for playback. Windows Movie Maker gave me several video quality options to choose from when saving my video, including high definition, both 1080p and 780p, widescreen, and standard definition. For easier storage, I chose standard definition and clicked the save button. Within less than thirty seconds, my video was saved in Windows Media Audio/Video file (.wmv) format, which makes it easy to upload to video sharing websites, such as YouTube.com or TeacherTube.com.
When I tried to edit the same video on Wax, I encountered some problems. First, the navigation menu was not very user friendly. I spent quite some time trying to figure out how to upload a video clip to edit. When I finally figured it out, my chosen file format, QuickTime Movie (.MOV), was not supported. As a result, I was not able to upload my video. This presents a large problem because most of my video files are .MOV. In order to edit any of my movies in Wax, I would have to convert them all to the accepted format, WAV. This process would be very time consuming, thus making it a less favorable option. In order to fully review the Wax software, I uploaded a Video Clip (.avi) file, which was a supported format. I tried to edit it in the provided storyboard; however, though it looked like the video was playing, the audio nor the video image never came on. Only a black screen was shown. Next, I went on to try out transition effects. When I clicked the button for transition, the program deleted the video clip I had downloaded and left me with a blank project. In the end, I was never able to edit anything with Wax. The only thing I accomplished was the wasting of time.
Before conducting this week's assignment, I had only heard of Windows Movie Maker for editing videos. Now, I know there is a wide array of software available for such task, all with different strengths and weaknesses. After editing a video in both Windows Movie Maker and Wax, I came to the conclusion that Windows Movie Maker is by far the best editing software for me. Because of its ease of use, I am most likely going to use this program again for all my future video editing needs. By learning how to edit videos, I will be able to create my own educational videos, tailored to my own class’s needs. Video editing software is a very powerful tool for educators. It provides more opportunities for individualized instruction by allowing its users to keep necessary information, and discard any that may not be as useful.
Siegchrist, G. (n.d.). Before you buy video editing software. About. Retrieved on August 30, 2010, from http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/editingsoftware/bb/Buyeditsoftware.htm.
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