Hello and welcome to The DIY Video Editor.
I created this website as a source of information on video editing strictly from the viewpoint of the consumer or home movie making enthusiast.
As a moderator and active participant on many of the well known software forums relating to video editing, I have had firsthand experience in seeing the frustrations the average person can go through in trying to make a good choice of software and get started with the basics.
On the site I have tried as best I can to isolate what is important and what is just marketing or advertising hype within the available information so that you can find something that suits your needs.
If you are just starting out in your search for software then I would strongly recommend checking out the “How to Choose Video Editing Software” section of the site first of all.
However if you have already started your search and feel you now know less about what you want in an editor than before you started then trust me… I feel your pain!
There really are only a few really important points to consider in choosing the right product for your needs so by remaining focused on those points you can take a lot of the pain and confusion out of the process.
There are some commonsense guidelines there that will either set you off on the right foot in the selection process or help you clear your mind f you have already started.
Basic Video Editing Tips
I have put together a series of pages covering some of the more basic video editing techniques that will help you at least get started with editing your footage or even improve your existing editing efforts.
I do not by any stretch of the imagination consider myself an expert in the field of editing videos but I do at least know some of the basics.
In this section of the site I have attempted to relate some of those basic points in an understandable way.
A Guide to Shooting Better Videos
This section of the site is a recent series I put together covering some very fundamental points regarding how you go about shooting your videos in the first place.
Very often the problems you may encounter in editing could have been avoided by following some simple guidelines at the shooting stage of your production.
Video Editing Software Reviews
In the Video Editing Software Reviews section of the site there are full reviews of what I currently think are the best consumer choices for software in this category.
All the reviews on this site have been carried out by me personally and strictly from a user perspective.
I don’t use an impressive array of state of the art computers purpose built for video editing! In fact my computer is probably like yours and gets used for all sorts of things other than video editing.
It is for that reason that I believe they are of value.
Too often I seen reviews done from a professional film editor’s point of view or a professional reviewers point of view and they seem somehow disconnected from the real world you and I live in.
The video editing software market is absolutely awash with products these days and to be honest I don’t have the time, resources or inclination to review them all!
What I have included on the site are those that meet my basic criteria of stability, usability and compatibility.
If you notice a well known product not mentioned here it is probably because I didn’t like it or more likely that it is part of a wider group of products that fail to stand out from the crowd.
Using Free Trials
One point you will notice I do keep making throughout the site’s contents is that when you are looking for video editing software please, please take the time to inform yourself about each product then use the free trials they offer BEFORE you make your final decision.
As a final point, in the navigation menu of the site you will see a “Contact” button. I am always happy to hear from anyone visiting my site and I will answer your questions or comments personally as quickly as I can.