Too busy doing something dangerous to edit your GoPro footage? Magix has you covered
Magix has developed and sold video and image editing software for many years, yet it's not that often that it introduces a brand new product. Now, though, it’s launching Fastcut, a video editor designed specifically for editing footage from the fast expanding range of action cameras (in particular the GoPro, which I guess is currently the most popular).
Clearly you could use any video editor, but Fastcut is optimised for speed of use and includes templates designed for the sort of action movies produced by GoPro users. Let's see if it can live up to the task.
Unlike many other editing products, FirstCut is quick to install, and it also has a much cleaner interface. In fact, the lack of tools by comparison is at first rather alarming. Yet once you get into the methodology behind the program, it's quite a capable product. Magix has obviously studied the mindset of action camera users, who want instant action and instant results - and Fastcut does exactly what its name implies.
While other editors have to convert GoPro video files before they can be edited, Fastcut doesn't; you can import them directly. You can also use an LRV (low resolution version) during editing, which can make the editing process a lot more fluid and, consequently, less time consuming. In fact, because most of these cameras use high definition SD cards to store video files, it's even quicker if you use a card reader, because Fastcut will edit directly off the card, so there's no delay while you import the (sometimes huge) video files to your PC.
The interface borrows a lot from the company's Movie Edit Pro product, which is not really surprising. If you have a tried and tested formula, why change it? Where they differ is in the tools and sometimes overwhelming effects you get with the more comprehensive editors. Initially, I thought the lack of these features could make your videos quite repetitive in style. However, I have to admit there are quite a number of action templates provided, offering various changes of pace and different music to accompany each particular style - and, to be fair, the program uses these to good effect, automatically creating quite upbeat videos with very little input from the user. Having said all that, if you chose to edit using the alternative manual mode, then Fastcut opens its toolbox to reveal many more options that are initially hidden, so for those who like to get more involved, the tools are all there.
If you let Fastcut do what it's designed for, then creating a video can be done in about four mouse clicks: choosing the files and template, adjusting the exposure and outputting the finished video. You could do it in less, but I found the Fastcut exposure correction was a worthwhile click on most video clips, making a marked improvement on the output.
There's a lot more you can do to improve the footage, such as editing out any bits of uninteresting or superfluous bits. You can also make your own colour corrections, choose different transitions, add titles or captions, but the idea is to create a video for YouTube, or perhaps your own blog as quickly as possible, and it does very well. Joe Lavery
A new video editor from Magix that makes short work of video editing.