I normally talk about a passage in the Bible, today I will be covering a tech question. What is the best software to edit church videos on? This is important because many Churches will be looking to make more online content because of COVID-19. Today I have a solution that is completely free, Davinci Resolve.
I love Premiere Pro and have used it for two solid years. Before that I used Final Cut Pro and it was a fast video editing software. Premier Pro is a tool that many professionals will use because they can work on multiple projects on the same system. If you have something in Photoshop, you can use that in After Effects. Adobe is like Mac and how they have the iPhone, iPad, ect. Adobe has Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, After Effects, and others.
I recently switched from Premiere Pro to Davinci Resolve because it was better for me overall. One of the main reasons I switched was because Davinci Resolve is free. They have an upgraded version that you can pay for, but I would say around 95% of the tools you need are in the free version. So what’s the catch? The guy from Learn Color Grading makes a great point in his video, “Resolve is free…. What’s the catch?” He points out that beginner filmmakers will use Resolve to start out. Blackmagic, the company behind Resolve, will gain credibility through this and many people will get their software and camera’s. Also, there are some ads when you start up the software. These ads are subtle and not something that would aggravate the user.
Here are some reasons I made the switch. Export speed, Premiere just wasn’t exporting as fast as I liked. I could not tell a difference when I edited with resolve, honestly in my view I thought for a free product, Resolve kept up great. The next reason was money, right now if you get the Adobe complete kit it will charge you around $50 for Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, and a lot of really cool tools. These are great if you are making a lot of material. If you aren’t making a lot of videos, I just don’t see the value. To get just Premiere alone, it is $20 a month, which is a better price point, but if you are using Photoshop, you will have to get the complete kit. Also once you get comfortable with this software, you can use it on any system because it’s free. One of the final reasons I switched was because Resolve doesn’t make a copy of my files. There may have been a work around, but I never found it.
As a small church Pastor, my budget is important. I made the decision that spending $50 a month on Photoshop and Premiere Pro was not worth it. I now use Photopea which is a free alternative to Photoshop. Then I use Audacity which is also another free audio editing software for out Church podcast. I’d rather use that $50 bucks a month and use that on ads for the church.
In conclusion, we cannot say that the budget is the problem for not making content for our church. Software like Davinci Resolve, Audacity, and Photopea are great alternatives for those on a budget. Premiere is a better solution for someone who is making a lot of videos, and I love the Adobe suite. Davinci Resolve is what works best for me and what I do. The only thing holding us back from creating amazing content for the King, is ourselves. Use this time away from your normal church gathering and start making great videos and online content.