MovieMaker by MiniTool is an affordable, easy-to-use video modifying program. It features a honest variety of results and offers you simple methods to affix your clips, add transitions, and overlay objects and textual content. Some novices at video modifying might be well-served by it, but it surely lacks instruments you discover in different video modifying apps, resembling chroma-keying, picture-in-picture, and movement monitoring. You discover all that in our Editors’ Selection winner for shopper video modifying software program, CyberLink PowerDirector, which is a greater purchase for the long run. You even get many of those options in free software program that comes along with your working system, iMovie and Clipchamp, so learners probably will need to begin there as a substitute.You should utilize MiniTool MovieMaker totally free with all its modifying, results, and components, and even with out watermarking, however after your first three video exports, film size is proscribed to 2 minutes. If it’s essential to go longer than that, the perfect deal is the $35.99 annual subscription, for the reason that month-to-month subscription of $12.99 works out to much more than that after only a few months. You’ll be able to set up the software program on just one pc at that worth; when you want licenses for 3 PCs, you pay $59.99 per 12 months.
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(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
For comparability, for PowerDirector you pay both $74.99 per 12 months for a subscription or a one-time price of $139.99. Adobe’s consumer-focused Premiere Components prices $99.99, one-time. The also-highly rated Corel VideoStudio Final prices $99.99.MovieMaker runs on PCs working Window 7, 8.1, 10, and 11. We don’t advocate Home windows 7 or 8.1 as a result of they not obtain safety updates. There’s no model for macOS. The corporate doesn’t specify {hardware} necessities, however for a pain-free expertise with any video modifying app, you need an above-entry-level CPU, a minimum of 16GB of RAM, and a fairly highly effective graphics processor.
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
While you first run this system, a transparent dialog presents a giant purple New Venture button. You see a video tutorial, and fewer distinguished buttons allow you to open present initiatives or begin with a film template. You may have a selection of 9 templates within the classes of Journey, Love, Household & Associates, and Competition. Once I hit the play button to preview the templates, I acquired an error. Not an amazing begin.
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
To make use of a template, you could add your individual video earlier than you see something on the timeline. One thing I like about these templates is that they resemble these in Apple iMovie; that’s, they offer you slots on your clips that specify what kind of scene must be within the video and the way lengthy it ought to final. After you fill every placeholder along with your clips or photos, you merely have the selection to export, with no customized video modifying wanted or supplied. That’s a boon for many who don’t need to tinker with initiatives, however some individuals would slightly have extra management.A Clear Interface and Primary EditingMiniTool MovieMaker has a clear and easy interface. A part of the explanation it is so easy is it is lacking many instruments present in different video modifying packages. In the event you don’t select a template, you end up in a reasonably customary video modifying interface, which this system calls Full-featured mode. This interface can also be clear and easy, with a darkish grey colour and huge buttons for Media, Audio, Textual content, Transitions, Results, Filters, Components, and Movement.Pre-trimming supply clips shouldn’t be an choice, and you may preview them solely in a small pop-up window on mouse hover. What performs in the primary preview window solely reveals your venture video, and its controls are restricted, with no solution to soar to the subsequent clip or scroll forward with the mouse.Trimming is intuitive. You drag the left or proper fringe of your clip within the timeline to shorten it, or you should utilize the Break up software to chop it on the cursor location. There’s no likelihood of getting empty house in your video, for the reason that clips at all times snap collectively after you make a trim.You don’t have the power in MiniTool MovieMaker to overlap clips within the timeline. The extra tracks above the primary timeline are only for objects and textual content. An audio monitor sits beneath the primary video monitor. Which means no picture-in-picture results, although there’s a Crop software that maintains the side ratio of your canvas, making it extra like a zoom, with no empty house within the ensuing video. One other profit for novice editors is that you just don’t want to rework clips of differing dimensions to suit your venture as a result of they mechanically stretch or shrink. All of it suits the recurring theme of this software program—restricted capabilities within the identify of simplicity.The timeline monitor helpfully locations transition bins in between your film’s clips, and you may simply add tracks with a plus button on the prime left of the timeline. One disappointment is that you would be able to’t use the mouse wheel to scroll the timeline, however there’s a button to make all of the part media tracks match into this system window, and plus and minus buttons to enlarge and shrink the view. There’s no solution to solo or conceal a monitor. Nor can you alter the relative sizes of panels as you may with most editors. In the event you enlarge or scale back this system window dimension, this system decides how huge every panel is.Simple Transitions That Add FlairA respectable collection of transitions is at your disposal in this system, with some cool ones like Morph and Color Distance. Left rail selections embody Trending, Gentle, Wipe, Superior (drastic results like ButterflyWaveScrawler), Diagonals, Iris, PagePeel, and Reveals. You merely drag the one you need onto the goal between clips within the timeline.Hovering the mouse over any transition entry opens a mini video participant displaying its results, a pleasant useful contact. Unusually lacking within the midst of this pretty spectacular set of transitions, nevertheless, is the fundamental cross-fade (aka cross-dissolve transition), although a few related substitutions can be found: FadeGrayscale, and the extra jarring Dissolve, which overlays a random grid because it transitions.
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
I do recognize the top-right Property panel that permits you to select a transition’s length and mode (overlap, prefix, or postfix). You don’t have to determine how a lot to overlap your clips, as this system does it for you. Once more, more-proficient customers will need extra management, however this method serves novices. Additionally useful is the Apply to All context menu selection from the transitions’ right-click choices.Fascinating However Restricted Results and Enjoyable FiltersAs talked about, MiniTool lacks fairly quite a lot of superior results like movement monitoring, chroma-keying, and picture-in-picture, which you could find in lots of shopper video modifying packages. MiniTool does embody some results which might be extra related to picture modifying apps, such because the face-altering Magnificence Pores and skin and Large Eyes. You additionally get Sparkle, Hearth Particles, and distortion choices like VCR and water ripple.
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
Pace-changing potential is without doubt one of the few considerably superior results that make an look in MiniTool MovieMaker. You’ll be able to go as much as 50x velocity and right down to 0.01x slowdowns, and you may even reverse the video. There’s no freeze-frame software, although you may create this impact manually by inserting a nonetheless picture of the stopped body.
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
The Filters part in MovieMaker consists largely of seems to be you see in Instagram and its ilk. You’ll be able to apply just one filter at a time, and one other limitation is that you would be able to’t alter the energy of the consequences with a slider, as you may in most different picture and video modifying apps. A seemingly pro-level inclusion in this system is LUT assist, although you may solely apply the included LUTs—you may’t set up LUTs you discover elsewhere.What this system contains within the Movement software part is of minimal use. It helps you to do issues like zoom or rotate your video, however you haven’t any management over the movement or velocity.The Components panel is extra helpful, particularly for many who make social movies. It contains emoji, arrows, and buttons each YouTuber wants: Like and Subscribe. In all, it’s a full collection of stickers, as you may inform simply from the variety of classes proven beneath.
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
Impactful, Intuitive Textual content Choices
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
MovieMaker places a great variety of textual content choices at your disposal, grouped by Trending, Caption, Credit, and Title. They’re handsome, and plenty of are animated. I like that you would be able to edit the textual content proper on the video preview window, and also you get all of the font, dimension, and colour selections you could possibly need, even for the animated titles.Minimal Audio Controls, However Respectable Inventory Sounds
(Credit score: MiniTool/PCMag)
On the audio monitor, you may add background music, clips, and sound results from a listing of selections. The one sound-altering results accessible are fade in, fade out, and quantity, which you’ll be able to apply to both the music monitor or the primary video monitor. Overlook results like simulating the acoustics of a symphony corridor or stadium, and even the power to use noise cancellation, all of which you may get in PowerDirector, Wondershare Filmora, and Movavi Video Editor.Output and PerformanceWhen it’s time to output your video venture, you may select from eight file codecs (together with WebM and MKV, along with the usual ones), and designate decision and body price. To alter the bitrate, it’s essential to faucet the Settings button on the export dialog. MiniTool MovieMaker’s rendering velocity was simply acceptable, at 93 seconds. That’s not the worst performer I’ve seen, but it surely’s within the backside half. Beneath, you may see outcomes of the rendering take a look at for software program I’ve examined.
For the take a look at above, I’ve every program be part of seven clips of varied resolutions starting from 720p as much as 8K. I then apply cross-dissolve transitions between them (FadeGrayscale in MiniTool’s case). I observe the time it takes to render the venture to 1080p30 H.264 at a bitrate of 16Mbps with 192Kbps 48-bit audio. The output film is simply over 5 minutes in size. I run this take a look at on a Home windows 11 PC sporting a 3.60GHz Intel Core i7-12700K, 16GB RAM, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, and a 512GB Samsung PM9A1 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.The Verdict: Nice for BeginnersMiniTool MovieMaker is among the many least intimidating video editors I’ve come throughout. True, you don’t get most of the options you discover within the likes of our shopper video modifying software program Editors’ Selection winner, CyberLink PowerDirector, not to mention in our skilled video modifying selection, Adobe Premiere Professional. You received’t discover movement monitoring, chroma-keying, or picture-in-picture results. However for anybody who needs a easy, clear solution to be part of some video clips with transitions, place overlaid objects and textual content, add music, and bling all of it up with some results, MiniTool MovieMaker could also be simply the ticket. Its characteristic set is simply too restricted for it to attain greater in our evaluation.
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About Michael Muchmore
Lead Software program Analyst
PC {hardware} is sweet, but it surely’s not a lot use with out revolutionary software program. I’ve been reviewing software program for PCMag since 2008, and I nonetheless get a kick out of seeing what’s new in video and picture modifying software program, and the way working methods change over time. I used to be privileged to byline the duvet story of the final print difficulty of PC Journal, the Home windows 7 evaluation, and I’ve witnessed each Microsoft win and misstep as much as the newest Home windows 11.Previous to my present position, I lined software program and apps for ExtremeTech, and earlier than that I headed up PCMag’s enterprise software program crew, however I’m comfortable to be again within the extra accessible realm of shopper software program. I’ve attended commerce reveals of Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their merchandise.I’m an avid fowl photographer and traveler—I’ve been to 40 international locations, many with nice birds! As a result of I’m additionally a classical fan and former performer, I’ve reviewed streaming companies that emphasize classical music.
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