Video editing with the kitchen sink thrown in
The ideal video-editing program should be easy for beginners to grasp, while still offering advanced features that satisfy more confident users. Magix claims the revamped user interface in Magix Movie Edit Pro 2015 Premium does just that, but we remain to be convinced.
The program didn’t make a great first impression. After downloading and installing it, there was no guidance as to how to install the templates and additional effects that set the top-dollar Premium version apart from its cheaper Pro and Pro Plus counterparts. Instead we were bombarded with pop-up adverts for a host of other Magix products.
The main interface isn’t particularly welcoming either. Long, sprawling lists of options in the menus make features hard to find. Nor is it obvious what some of these menu options and buttons do.
But if you can cope with the steep learning curve, the program has much to offer. The editing controls are precise and responsive. We particularly like the ability to fade clips in and out simply by dragging handles on the corners of each clip. The program supports up to 99 tracks for layering complex montages of video, image and audio elements.
Unexpectedly in a video editor at this price, there were ripple-editing options. These determine what happens to clips further down the timeline when earlier clips are amended. For example, if you move a clip the program will automatically close any gaps created by its absence. Ripple editing is particularly useful for complex multi-track projects. However, it’s odd here that ripple editing is applied when clips are added or moved, but not when they’re deleted or truncated. It’s also confusing that there appears to be two sets of controls for ripple options. We eventually figured out that one set is used for inserting content into the timeline. More descriptive labels are desperately needed here.
The fish-eye correction effect can repair distorted footage shot with cameras that have inferior lenses. The program also lets you synchronise footage of a single event shot from up to four cameras with easy-to-use controls for cutting between multiple points of view. This is another unusual feature at this kind of price, and in this instance it’s extremely well implemented. Both of these features are also available in the Pro Plus version.
Also new are effects that give a vintage look to video footage, apply glows and add lens flares. The quality of these effects is extremely high, but more fundamental bread-and-butter effects such as colour correction aren’t nearly as good.
Ultimately, Movie Edit Pro adds up to less than the sum of its parts. There are lots of powerful features but the unintuitive interface makes it a difficult program to master.
VERDICT
Some useful improvements and plenty of powerful features, but the interface is frustratingly complex.