Apple offers a pretty good selection of video-editing software for the Macintosh — good thing they do, too, because not many other software vendors offer Mac-compatible editing programs
- Adobe Premiere: Available for both Windows and Mac, this was one of the first pro-caliber video-editing programs for personal computers. It’s a little expensive (about $550), but provides an advanced, power set of video-editing tools
- Apple iMovie: It comes free with all new Macintosh computers, and you can download the latest version of iMovie for free from www.apple.com. iMovie 3 is featured throughout this book.
- Apple Final Cut Pro: If you can afford pro-level prices and you want one of the most cutting edge video-editing programs available, consider Final Cut Pro (about $1000). Final Cut Pro is used by many professional video editors.
- Apple Final Cut Express: This program offers many of the features of Final Cut Pro for a fraction of the price (about $300). Final Cut Express is a good choice if you want pro-style editing features but can’t afford prolevel prices.
- Avid Xpress DV: Avid has been making professional video-editing workstations and gear for years, so it’s no surprise that they also offer one of the most advanced video-editing programs as well. And it better be good too, because it retails for $1699 (for Windows or Mac).
As you can see, if you’re a professional video editor, you can choose between several programs for your Mac. If you’re not a pro, however, your choices are a little more limited. Fortunately, iMovie is a reasonably capable program. You can even expand the capabilities of iMovie with plug-ins from Apple (and some third parties). Visit www.apple.com/imovie/ and check out the iMovie Downloads section for more information.
