Software
Video Editing Software: iMovie comes standard with Mac computers and Windows Movie Maker comes standard with most all PC’s. More professional editing software is available. Adobe Premier is a great intuitive program that works very well with the entire Adobe Creative Suite but is quite costly. Sony Vegas and Sony Vegas Pro seem to be the choice for PC owners and are very good programs. My choice for video editing software is Final Cut made by Apple. Final Cut Studio comes with many necessary components on how to make your videos look more professional also giving you precision editing with simple tools in the palm of your hand. Final Cut Studio, however, is insanely expensive. Apple has released a dumbed down version of Final Cut Pro called “Final Cut Express” and is available for less than $300.
Motion Graphics: I use Adobe After Effects to do all the motion graphics and intro’s for my videos. While Adobe After Effects is an expensive program it can also be fairly difficult to learn. The good news, the possibilities are endless once you learn how to use the program. You can create amazing titles and transitions for your videos as well as extensive special effects. Because the program is very difficult to learn, check out some tutorials at Video CoPilot, they will help you get started with the basic essentials you need on making professional looking special effects.
Sound Design: I also use Soundtrack Pro (available with Final Cut Studio) to edit my sound files. It is a great tool to really add precision audio editing to your videos. It comes stock with tons of sound effects which will come in very handy in post-production. Sound effects can make or break a video and can add a touch of realism to your special effects making the effect that more effective!
Music Editing Software: I currently use Garageband, which comes stock with a Mac computer, and Logic Express to do all my music editing. They are very intuitive programs and are fairly easy to use. For more extensive work on music files I use Logic Express. This program is a non-expensive program offered by Mac for less than $300. It has precision tools and aids to help you perfect your musical creations.
Photo Editing: To make the backgrounds and banners that you see on this website and on my youtube page, I use Adobe Photoshop. It’s a pretty inexpensive program that should cost you less than $300 but anything is possible with this program and is a good tool to have when doing any photo editing or creating any type of advertisement. I also use Apple’s Aperture for easy photo touchups and simple editing. It is important to have a good image design program. You can get Aperture for less than $300 as well and it is a great addition for anyone who loves tweaking photographs and touching them up. The possibilities are endless with these programs.