If you read through our list of reviews, you’ll discover that free or really inexpensive video editing software should be avoided. Other times, though, it’s best to move on and not look back. In certain cases, it’s hobbled unless you pay for further features.
So here we are, examining HitFilm Express 15, the free, condensed version of its larger sibling, HitFilm Pro. How well does this Mac and Windows programme perform? Find out by reading on.
Getting started
One drawback of downloading the app is that you essentially have to submit to emotional coercion in order to acquire it. To access a “Pay What You Want” page with a slider controlled by an emoji, click here(opens in new tab). The slider can be moved to the right to pay more and receive a very happy emoji, or to the left to pay nothing and receive a sad emoji.
We acknowledge and fully accept the necessity for developers to receive compensation for their labour, but this seems a little shady. Pay for your labour or not, but don’t take advantage of people in that way.
However, you will receive free packs as a thank you if you volunteer to pay something. In order to do this review, we looked at the pack-free edition.
After overcoming this minor obstacle, you are given access to an advanced video editing software that does more than merely remove unneeded clips, adjust colour settings, and export videos in a different format. With this comprehensive editing package, you may work with filters, special effects, and a variety of 2D and 3D composition tools. While making Hollywood-style movies is the focus of the program’s website and instructions, it’s also a terrific tool for anyone publishing to social media.
The core features of HitFilm Express include keying for green screen effects, support for 360-degree video, powerful cutting tools, audio and video filters, layers and masks, and compositing tools.
User experience
When it comes to using HitFilm Express, there aren’t many surprises if you’ve already used a video editor. The interface, which includes an area for imported content and a timeline for organising it, is mostly identical to that of other tools of a similar nature. Of course, there are some tools in different places, but this won’t stop you from moving on for very long.
There are a tonne of video tutorials available to assist you learn HitFilm Express if you get stuck. However, you may also learn by playing about with the composition tools, adding clips to the timeline, and using other effects. The ones available are actually amazing and offer premium animation options that are rarely offered for free elsewhere.
The interface is also very adaptable; for example, there are a number of predefined workspaces like Audio, Colorist, Compositing, etc. that reorder the windows in a way that’s better for the task at hand. However, you can completely alter it to fit your preferences by moving windows about, docking them with other windows, closing them, or turning them into floating panels. Whatever suits your working habits is all up to you. Having this flexibility is fantastic.
However, you’ll discover that not all tools are accessible to you. In the same way, filters work. There are quite a few options in the Effects menu that are greyed out with the word “Add On” in reddish orange to the right of them. To be fair, if you’re working with conventional 2D material, you can still create edits without such add-ons, even ones that are quite complex. The creators of HitFilm Express made a terrific tool that is a very usable editor and rivals practically all other packages in its price range. They believe that these features are good to have but are not essential.
New features
Despite being free, this software is always being updated, so it isn’t outdated or out of date. The most recent upgrades are certainly good to have even though they aren’t revolutionary.
One of the functions allows you to pan through an image or video clip over time. Another feature is the Crop/Pan and Zoom tool. It’s wonderful to see it finally added to the lineup because competitor devices have had it for years, if not decades.
The capability to export audio in WAV format is another long overdue improvement.
The Track Select Tool, which allows you to highlight everything to the right or left of your pick, is one of the great innovations we enjoyed. Even better, depending on where you clicked, you can opt to either the audio or the video.
With the ability to build everything from a simple rectangle to extremely complicated polygon forms, shapes are now considerably more versatile than they formerly were. Using them is sure to be a lot of fun.
The capability to add numerous outlines to text was another innovative innovation that we found appealing and left us wondering how we survived without it earlier. We had fun experimenting with that function as well because it was so easy to use and efficient as well.
There are also the customary extra settings and templates, of course.
Final verdict
The most remarkable is HitFilm Express. a dependable, full-featured, multi-platform video editing programme that you can use without paying for its pricier add-ons (although those are definitely welcome should you need them).
It’s difficult to justify using other free or really affordable alternatives since HitFilm Express provides so much more when compared to them in terms of quality.
We’ve also highlighted the best video editing software
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