Edit the easy way with this capable editing software
Arguably, Magix has the most comprehensive range of editing software available today, covering type of user, from the rank amateur to the professional videophile. Yet there are times when you simply want to get your footage from the camera to the screen, in the quickest and simplest way possible. That’s why it's introduced this latest product, imaginatively titled Magix Video Easy.
I guess the name says it all, so let’s see what you get for your money and go through what it can (and can’t) do for you.
After launching the program, you’ll see the familiar layout, with a timeline (or storyboard) at the bottom of the screen, and a preview monitor above this, with the content, effects and adjustment panel on the right. This is a fairly standard arrangement that, to be fair, is presented in a very unintimidating fashion, which is an important consideration for those new to video editing. Yet I’ve quickly realised that the product is not hamstrung by a lack of features, which can sometimes be the case with so called 'easy to use' software.
Although I’m very familiar with video editing, I must say working with Video Easy is quite refreshing, to the point where it would be easy to ask “Why have I bothered with all these complex products in the past?” Well, the answer to that is because I’ve had the opportunity to do so, and I do like to spend far more time than is necessary. Yet sadly these extra tweaks and nuances I lavish on my productions are rarely even noticed… that very effective picture in picture or meticulously timed fade between shots that took me days to create… totally wasted!
But being more serious, it’s easy to forget that the content is the most important part of any production – at least for someone creating home videos of family events or holidays spent in far flung corners of the world. That's why Video Easy has the mix just right. It’s quick to use, has a fine range of transitions, allows you to quickly remove superfluous footage and can output to just about any format you’re likely to need, including uploads to YouTube. It also has a rudimentary title editor, a comprehensive colour correction dialogue and quite an effective image stabilisation system. This takes out the camera shake that inevitably occurs when you’re panning or zooming. It’s not as good as some of the dedicated commercial products, particularly with action movies, but if you consider you could pay more than the cost of Video Easy for such a product, it’s a very useful addition.
Video Easy also includes a range of effects templates, including camera effects like zoom and pan, creative effects like old movie, sepia or black-and-white, and tracking shots. Once again, there is no skill needed to apply or remove these; you just drop and drag them onto the clip you want to affect. Although you can add these to movie clips, some of them are more effective on still images, where they can mimic real movement.
As you might expect, the package includes a wide range of transitions, covering standard wipes and fades, a full selection of 3D animated fades and a few complex blurry transitions that are a bit wacky for my tastes. However, tacked onto the transition menu are a range of animated intros and outros that are brilliant, adding a real spark of professionalism to your productions.
When your production is finished, a single click will export it to your chosen format. If you decide on traditional formats like DVD or Blu-ray, there are more than 50 predefined menu templates for you to choose from. They're content themed and use the clips you originally defined as chapter markers.
Finally, if you’d like to try Video Easy, there’s a free 30-day trial version on the Magix website. Joe Lavery
Perfect for producing professional looking videos quickly.