Talk: Free software video editing tools
This was sent to us:
I have read with interest your list of programs that you call high priority software projects.
One in particular that caught my attention is video editing.
I have about 20 years of experience in the media field, working with TV stations, training, consulting and lecturing at universities.
At the moment, all free solutions are mere playtools compared to the systems you have to pay for. And in the end, all everyone wants to do is get the job done. When you struggle against a deadline, you do not want to take any chances. So yuo go with something you know works.
This is in my opinion the reason why Linux still struggle to get a foothold in most areas of life. Sure, there are many enthusiasts out there that are using it (including myself), but for Average Joe it is not important what the name of the system is. He just want it to work.
I think the best focus of a project like this is to spend time on the "boring" stuff. The stuff that do not get attention from developers because it is not cool. But it mean a lot to regular users that know nothing about technology.
Here is how to qualify something for that list:
1. Take an available distro of Linux and install on an available PC. I am using Linux Mint 5 as it has a lot of the things I am looking for in an OS.
2. Every time something is not working and you have to open a console window to fix something, you have a candidate. "The console windows is the enemy!" Yes, I know about the power of the commandline and that it might be a good thing. But not for Average Joe. Don't tell me my mother needs to learn anything about the commandline. She needs a simple system that works.
3. Everytime you have more than one choice, choose the best one and eliminate the others. Again - Linux might be about choices for tech savvy people, but it is not needed for Average Joe. He jsut want something that works. It is fine to be able to choose between Firefox and Opera, but when it comes to sound on the computer, he just want to plug in his loudspeakers and get sound out. And when he is using a VOIP program, he wants to be able to use his microphone.
Do not focus on the application. First you need to get everything in the OS to work.
Back to video that was the start of this.
None of the programs you mentioned have any chance when measured against any of the professional solutions out there. The one that could come closest and actually have a chance of becoming a real solution is Cinelerra. But it seems to me that the project lack a real understanding of how to make videoediting acceccible to anyone but the most tech savvy.
One day, when there is a good, free, video editor, I will design training for it an start teaching it in the universities. But that is a long time from now.
The first thing is to start with the basis. Video and sound capabilities. They exist, but need to be simplified. For sound, it seems to me that Jack is the system with the biggest potential. So get rid of everything else - do not even include the others in the distributions. And make sure that every bit and piece of the rest of the OS is tuned to make Jack work the best.
For video, I must admit I do not know what exist. Maybe this is something that need addressing as well. Simplify and run with a videobase that can handle all types of formats.
There are two industry initiatives that you should look at. Both, I think, are accepted or are trying to get accepted as standards. One is AAF which is a way for applications to exchange metadate and mediafiles. The other one is MXF and is used mainly as mediaflies and as capture formats. Both are containers that can house any codec you want and as such will work as a good base for any video application.
The next thing to do is to get hardware manufacturers on board. One good name on the video side is Blackmagickdesign at www.blackmagic-design.com with products like this http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/videorecorder/ for the home market and this http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/hd/ for the high end market. Still it is definitely affordable!
Another one is Aja Video at www.aja.com with products like this http://www.aja.com/html/products_macintosh_kona.html for the Mac and this http://www.aja.com/html/products_windows_xena.html for Windows. Why nothing for Linux? Because there are no products to run on them!
I would definitely prefer to have something running on Blacmagick hardware.
One thing to avoid is to run anything that has to do with QuickTime as a basis for video on Linux. There has long been problems with sync between audio and video on QT, and is still the source of a lot of problems, even if Apple would like to tell you something else.
On the audio side, I think abandoning everything else in favour of Jack will solve any problems that exist. A program like Ardour is definitely worth using over many of its paid-for competitors as long as it is stable.
This turned into a long rant, and kudos to yuo if you still are reading!
I hope that there will be some development in this soon. I, for one is looking forward to see it!
Reading the list of flaws with Blender, I would say the interface is not a flaw, it is a really good interface that works more efficiently than others once you learn how it works. Perhaps a better approach would be in the form of education, such as a quickstart guide along with the program? (I'm imagining this could come up in a "Did you know?" kind of message at the first start) - Rakhun
