Moviemakers of the world unite! It's time to shed the shackles of the movie-editing software that came with your PC and move on to tools that are actually easy to use.

Ulead VideoStudio 9 ($99.99) and Magix Movie Edit Pro 11 ($59.99) bring out the Steven Spielberg in all of us as we try to create video masterpieces from our home movies.

Both products take you through the editing process using wizards, allowing you to add music and special effects to give your movies that extra punch that may keep Uncle Frank and Aunt Martha from falling asleep as you show off your latest trip to the beach.

But that's where the similarities end.

VideoStudio 9

• The ability to "autoscan" your DV tape so you can pick the clips you want, add music, text and transitions and record them directly to DVD.
• Novices can use the movie wizard to make the first edits for them. Just choose from one of 30 themes and it will add music and other effects for you.
• The movie editor gives you access to more than 1,000 special effects, filters and transitions.
• Auto Edit automatically removes poorly shot scenes.
• You can create slide shows from photos using Auto Slideshow.
• Drag and drop images and video clips directly to the program's library.
• Only a few of the program's new features include the ability to create wide-screen (16:9) movies; a new music analysis engine; ripple editing, to remove portions of clips; auto save, so you won't lose your work; Flash animation overlay support; new video filters and transition effects; the ability to put multiple titles in a single frame and them animate them using Pause Titles; the ability to fill in backgrounds with photos of your choice.

Movie Edit Pro 11

• Many of the editing features offered in the Ulead product, including a task assistant, image enhancement, a motion stabilizer, 70 video effects, etc.
• There are 25 click and drag effects to enhance poorly-shot scenes.
• The ability to create animated chapter menus.
• You can burn your movies to double-layer DVDs.
• You can create high-definition discs to take advantage of HD monitors, TVs and projectors.
• Transitions can be converted into any of 16 3D objects such as dancing snowmen or folding images.
• You can add humorous touches to your scenes by giving Dad an eyepatch or Mom missing teeth.
• There's a VHS copy assistant for scene recognition and chapter markers.
• In addition to the ability to create wide-screen (16:9) movies, other new features include smart design; quick optimization, which allows for auto-exposure, auto color and selective brightness; faster image and sound import and export; scene overview, which allows you to quickly view and sort scenes; real-time preview on any TV via a firewall and DV cam or TV out.

The list of features for both products are endless and can be found by going to the manufacturers' Web sites at www.ulead.com and www.magix.net.

Obviously the product you choose depends on how much you want to be like Steven and how much you're willing to spend to achieve that goal. Both do the job quickly and efficiently and should cut down on the migraine headaches that usually accompany the task of editing video on PCs.

---

 

To comment on this article, contact me here.