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30 Incredibly Useful Apps for Video Pros and Novices

2012-02-01 05:00
The Mac has long been the homestead for effective and easy video editing, graphic design, and video compressing for many professionals and novices alike. If you are at all interested in getting your creative juices flowing, video wise, you will absolutely love this roundup. Many people know the big video apps for Mac, while other smaller and still great apps out there remained a mystery. So as a professional video editor and cinematographer, it is my mission to let you in on over thirty of the best video apps around. Many of these apps are free and others are paid. Bang for your buck is very important when choosing what to spend your hard earned money on, so rest assured that all of the apps listed are in fact worth every penny. Lets dive right in and get creative! iMovie 039;11 iMovie 8217;11 If you purchased a new Mac recently you most certainly have iMovie 8217;11 installed. I know this might seem obvious but, real video pros use iMovie for quick samples or pilot videos and very small projects. When iMovie was updated in 2008, it was under-baked and pretty bad. Now, iMovie 8217;11 is a proud tool in my arsenal and should be in yours. Never think iMovie is just for home videos; just remember it is the talented creative person that can use this tool for pro or prosumer grade purposes. iMovie comes installed with a great variety of preset effects, transitions, and titles. Also, it has a wide range of output options which effectively eliminates the need for standalone video transcoders. Plus, the always handy YouTube upload feature is built in. Price: $14.99 Requires: Mac OS X 10.6.7 or later Developer: Apple Inc. Final Cut Pro X Final Cut Pro X Sometimes you just need a real pro tool for the job. When those times call, answer with Final Cut Pro X! I paid over $1,000 for my copy of Final Cut Studio several years ago and love it. Last year, Apple upped the ante by releasing Final Cut Pro X for only $299.99. FCPX has gained speed improvements, ease of use improvements, and many of iMovie 8217;s looks and features. Although I still use FCP 8, FCPX is awesome for many projects and will come in handy if you get real serious. Final Cut Pro X has many features to covet. The best includes magnetic timeline, built-in audio editor, a new 64bit architecture, faster rendering, built in effects, and a simpler to use color grading effect. Being that the price is hundreds of dollars lower the FCStudio, I could not recommend it enough. Price: $299.99 Requires: Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later Developer: Apple Inc. Google Earth Pro Google Earth Pro By now I know you are asking yourself, Why is Google Earth in this roundup I 8217;m glad you asked! Google Earth Pro is a useful tool in my arsenal for two main reasons. First, I use it to scout filming locations and to spot any potential problems that may occur doing filming. Also, you can use Google Earth Pro for map shots in your video. Ever seen a tv show that uses Google Maps Pro to do fly in shots from outer space This...
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