By: Hailey | Last updated February 2, 2020 
Taking photos and videos is now accessible to anyone who owns a smartphone. If 50 years ago Polaroids were seen as a true miracle of technology, nowadays even our phones can shoot in 4K and sharing our photos and videos with the whole world is just a finger touch away.
Same goes for processing video and image. The market is now full of complex video editing software for hobbyists and professionals alike. If you are now capable of easily taking photos and videos anytime you want, just by taking the phone out of your pocket, it is only logical to be able to process those images/videos just as quickly and hassle-free. You no longer have to leave this task to professionals, you don’t need special hardware or equipment. Everything is accessible to anyone who owns a computer/laptop and is willing to watch a few tutorials and spend some time to figure out the program.
Aspects to consider when choosing video editing software
There are so many offers on the internet when it comes to video editing software that it can be exhausting to try and figure out which one is best for you. Here are some tips on how to choose a video editing program.
The first thing to do is establish your needs and skills. Do you need a program for constant use or you just need one for a one-time project? What kind of work do you need to do and how complex does the program has to be, feature-wise? What is your skill-level when it comes to video editing? Are you a novice, do you have any background in editing? Answering all these questions will narrow down your options.
When you are looking for a video editing program, try to choose a company that offers a free trial version of the software. Although free trials don’t usually give you access to the complete set of features, you might find out that what is included in the trial version is more than enough for your needs. This way you won’t even have to pay for the program and you can just do your job with the free version. Taking advantage of the trial version is useful even if you plan on purchasing the software afterwards, because it is a good opportunity to test the program and see whether it meets your needs or not.
One other important aspect to consider is whether the program allows you to import/export and edit high resolution videos such as 4K. It might also be useful to choose software that has features for editing action videos such as those taken with GoPros for instance. No matter how hard you try to shoot a great video, you might still have to do some editing afterwards, especially for those shaky footages and so on.
Also pay attention to supported video formats and go for a program that can cover as many of them as possible: AVI, MOV, MP4 and so on.
Technical support is another important aspect to consider. Even if you are not a beginner, you might still stumble upon problems with the software and it is reassuring to know there’s someone there you can rely on when that happens. Choose a company that offers reliable, around the clock customer support via as many channels as possible (phone, live chat, email).
Wondershare Filmora 8 – is it a good option to consider?
Wondershare has first started to gain popularity for its Mac software. The company was founded in 2003 and released its first Mac app in 2007.
Wondershare is currently known for its multimedia editing programs and its Filmora editing software is widely used especially by beginners and casual users.
Filmora 8 is a very intuitive and user-friendly video editing program and it is a great tool for first-time editors.
The program has versions for both Mac and Windows. It is an offline video editing program, so you have to download it and install it on your device.
Pricing
Filmora 8 includes a limited free trial and when that expires, you can either subscribe to a plan or pay a one-time fee and purchase a permanent license.
For the Windows version of the program you have to pay $39.99, billed annually, or you can buy a permanent license for $59.99.
For the Mac version you can choose between the $44.99 subscription (also billed annually) and buying the permanent license, also for $59.99.
The free trial of the program only allows you to export 10 times and you’ll also have the Filmora logo on your videos. If you want it removed, you have to purchase the software.
Features
After you download and install the Filmora 8, you have to open the program and first choose between the 2 available modes: Easy and Full Feature.
With the Easy mode, you have to rely on their themes and the software pretty much creates the video automatically for you, so there’s not enough room for customization.
The Full Feature mode is more complex, as the name suggests it. You can use 8 media editing tracks, which is not the highest number we’ve encounter in such programs, but it will have to do. However, you get plenty of customizing options. You can choose between storyboard and a timeline for the workflow and there’s an action cam module for your action videos, such as those taken with GoPro and the like. There is also 4K editing support, which is a useful functionality to have.
You can export your project and keep it on your drive or choose to burn it on a DVD. You can also share it online, via Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo.
Filmora 8 offers other useful features as well, such as noise removal, GIF support, frame by frame preview, speed control, an audio mixer, split screen, color tuning, reverse, video stabilization and more.
However, overall, this is still entry-level video editing software which lacks some more advanced features. You don’t have motion tracker to be able to individually assign effects throughout the video and you can’t import/edit 360 degree videos.
Simplicity and user-friendliness are the main characteristics of Filmora 8. The program is really intuitive, it doesn’t require you to waste too much time on technicalities, you can start editing your project right away and learn the program as you go. For hobbyists, novices and casual users, Wondershare Filmora is definitely a good and affordable option to consider.
