Magix Movie Edit Pro 12 - Demo

There are dozens of movie editors on the market, some good, some not so good. But only a few give you real power to do amazing things. When looking at pro editors you will hear the name Adobe Premiere and Final Cut used most often. Yes, they are very professional editors, but they are also very expensive. Can you get the power of the expensive editors in a software package under $100.00? Yes. Adobe Premiere Elements will do almost everything it's more expensive sister can do, but there is a learning curve. Is there an editor under $100 that is easy to learn? Yes, Magix Movie Edit Pro 12.

Will it handle alpha channels? Yes. Will is do green and blue screen? Yes. Will it do Key Framing? Yes. Will it give me multiple channels? Yes. Is it stable? Yes. Will it handle large files? Yes. Will it output to multiple formats? Yes. Input? Yes. Firewire? Yes. DVD creation? Yes. Special Effects? Yes. Audio controls? Yes. SD & HD? Yes. Transitions? Yes.

Okay, so whats the catch, why is it not listed with the big boys? Well, to answer that question I will use this analogy. Harley Davidson makes a great motorcycle, so does Yamaha, but Harley's are made in America so they get special treatment here in the states. Harley is like a godsend to motorcyclist. Is Harley motorcycles any better than Yamaha or Honda? No. They both are very good, well built machines. But everyone wants to own a Harley. They will pay more for a Harley. Will a Yamaha do everything a Harley will do? Yes. Is a Yamaha better? Depends on who you ask.
Will Magix Movie Edit Pro 12 do everything Final Cut and Adobe Elements will do? Yes. (Even in most cases, Adobe Premiere)
But, MEP12 is not an industry standard. It's a UK based product but yes, there is support in America and all over the world. Is it a broadcast standard? No, it is not used in TV stations.
Is it a good high quality editor? YES!
Can I learn it, use it and make DVD's and video programs with it? YES.
Do I need to go to college or take a class to use it? NO. Is it something I need to play with to master it? Yes.
Will it get the job done for less than the very expensive editors? YES! YES! YES!

Now, with the above said, MEP does not have the best technical support. The best technical support will come on forums and from MEP users. And if you plan to rub elbows with producers and network types then they may chuckle when you tell them you use a $80.00 program to edit. (They stop laughing when they see your final program)
MEP is considered a mid-range editor. Not quite a beginner application , and not a full blown suite. It is marketed toward a home movie editor. Overseas it is used more in video studios and Magix markets the same software under different versions for a more professional market. In America it is sold as "Magix Movie Edit Pro #" with "#" being the version number. You may also see it as "Video Deluxe".

If I had my choice I'd have built a better titler into the program. Or at least more title effects. But honestly you can do just about anything you can think of with the presets included. The titler is more than basic but no "After Effects" application. It will not do chrome 3D fonts or anything like that. One big plus MEP12 has is preset movements for photos/video. You can move photos up, down, left, right, and at angles or zoom. Or you can use Key Framing and move them anyway you want.

You have 16 channels to work with so you can stack elements up. The audio controls pop up and look and work just like a professional mixing board, and the effects are easy to apply. It comes with plenty of transitions and more you can download, and the firewire connection to my Panasonic AG-DVC20 is superb. No frame drop outs! It captures DV-AVI and ports it straight into the editor with the interface controlling the camera so you can rewind, fast-forward and play the camera from the software. Just select your scenes and then press Record, the firewire interface will rewind the camera and go get all the scenes you selected automatically.

If you are looking for a powerful editor but not ready to spend $800+ on software then you may want to check out Magix Movie Edit Pro 12. You can get a trial version here: www.MAGIX.com
Try it and see if it meets your needs.
There is a support forum here if you have advanced questions: http://support.magix.net/boards/magix/index.php?act=SF&f=113
And in a previous blog there are links to other support web sites and user tutorials.
I've used Magix for several years starting out with Video Deluxe 2.0 on a Windows 98 system and now MEP 12 on a XP system. (MEP12 supports Vista) and I am overall pleased with the software. I've produced over 5 DVD's with it for sale. And I produce my web TV series with it.

If you are doing Weddings or other event videography, MEP 12 will shine too! If you are just beginning, by all means check it out! And if you are moving up from Windows Movie Maker, get
ready for some real power! (Without the cost of more traditional applications.)
For Special Interest Video, I rely on it.
J.