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Shotcut is highly versatile free video editing software available on Mac and PC. Once you get past the somewhat steep learning curve, you’ll find you can do quite a lot with Shotcut. And, since it’s a free software, you have the option of seeing whether or not you like it without having to pay a cent. Jun 03, 2020 DaVinci Resolve is the best video editing software for Mac, when it comes to free software. It blows punches with Adobe Premiere Pro and FCPX. This filmmaking software is a must for video teams working remotely. Produced by Apple, Final Cut is one of the best pieces of film editing software on the market. Intuitive, user-friendly, and sleek, this filmmaking software is used by both huge studio productions and YouTube videos, alike.
- Editing Software For Youtube
- Best Editing Software For Filmmaking On Mac Computer
- Video Editing Software For Mac
- Free Editing Software For Mac
Nothing can replace the blood, sweat, and tears shed on set. But filmmaking software can certainly help.
From apps to websites to online services, we’ve compiled a list of the best filmmaking software to aid you in any phase of production.
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Best Screenwriting Software of 2020
Stories start on scratch paper and cocktail napkins. Scripts start in screenwriting software.
Here are the best on the market currently.
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Final Draft
Considered the industry standard, this screenwriting software is a must-have for Hollywood writers. While a no-brainer for scribes, producers may want to consider purchasing the software, as well, so you can track changes and send drafts.
However, at $250 per license, it’s going to cost you. But it’s not called the best screenwriting software for nothing.
WriterDuet
Unlike Final Draft, WriterDuet is web-based app that’s totally free. Perfect for screenwriting partners, WriterDuet allows you to edit scripts in real time with other collaborators.
Think of WriterDuet as the Google Docs to Final Draft’s Word.
Highland 2
Created by John August, Highland is a powerful screenwriting software, made “by screenwriters for screenwriters.” Endorsed by the likes of Phil Lord, Highland is smart as it is new.
Unlike Final Draft, where you have to tell the software whether you’re formatting dialogue or action lines, Highland is smart enough to auto-format for you.
It’s free for the basic package, with options to add on premium features.
StudioBinder
The newest screenwriting software on our list, StudioBinder is perfect for the writer-producer.
100% free, StudioBinder’s screenwriting software syncs with their many other suites of software, so you can easily go from script to pre-production in a matter of seconds.
Easily, go from script to script breakdown to shooting schedule to call sheet all in one app.
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Best Scheduling & Film Budgeting Software of 2020
Once the script is locked, the next step on a producer’s agenda is figuring how much the project will cost to make. Thankfully, there’s some great filmmaking software to help with this extremely important process.
And since budgeting and scheduling are so closely linked, we’ve provided our favorites together.
Assemble
Assemble is an end-to-end project management platform designed for film producers. It features production calendars, task lists, asset review, feedback and approval tracking, as well as production specific features such as casting and location management, a call sheet builder, frame specific video commenting and more.
Assemble allows you to easily collaborate with your team and track progress for every phase of the project, keeping your assets and communication centralized in one place.
Assemble offers a free 30 day trial to take their platform for a test run.
StudioBinder
Importing a script into StudioBinder will immediately churn out a stripboard you can organize into a shooting schedule. Easy-to-use, StudioBinder is perfect for creating shooting schedules, which can be turned instantly into call sheets with just one click.
Editing Software For Youtube
When it comes to Yamdu vs StudioBinder, StudioBinder simply has a better design with more functionality. However, they don’t have budgeting software available at this time.
Best Editing Software For Filmmaking On Mac Computer
PreProCloud
PreProCloud allows you to generate and tweak film budgets from a web-based application. Perfect for production companies and freelance line producers, PreProCloud allows you to invite team members and visualize your budget break down in real time.
While offering a demo, PreProCloud charges a one time activation fee per project – and then again if your budget bid is accepted.
Movie Magic Scheduling & Budgeting
Created by Entertainment Partners, Movie Magic Budgeting and Movie Magic Scheduling are considered industry standard.
But industry standard usually means “been around the longest.” With a clunky design and overly complicated interface, you’re probably better off using a combination of StudioBinder and PreProCloud.
That being said, Movie Magic Scheduling & Budgeting are used on most every major production making them an essential if you’re working as a coordinator or UPM.
Best Payroll & Accounting Software of 2020
Ask any crew member and they’ll tell you their favorite part of the job: getting paid on time.
Since union contracts are complicated beasts, most filmmakers turn to entertainment payroll companies for help with getting people paid and to ensure they get a tax credit for their production.
Wrapbook
Created in 2018, Wrapbook is powerful entertainment payroll service that allows you to pay your cast and crew all from your browser. With everything on one dashboard, you can easily review expenses and timesheets, pay people with a click, and share important documents like call sheets with your entire production – all in one place.
Unlike most entertainment payroll services that keep their prices behind quote walls, Wrapbook has a one-time activation fee and charges just 0.75% of the payroll you run. If you’re looking to cut costs on your indie film, Wrapbook is perfect for you.
Wrapbook also supports direct deposit, unlike other payroll companies.
Best Equipment Rental Sites of 2020
The best deals for renting equipment are often found in tiny rental houses only your friend’s friends know about.
However, like everything else, the internet has made renting convenient, and affordable.
ShareGrid
You don’t need to know a friend of a friend with a camera anymore. Thanks filmmaking sites like ShareGrid, finding equipment is easier (and cheaper) than ever.
ShareGrid is an online rental house, connecting you to film equipment of all types, right in your area. From cameras to lenses to drones, ShareGrid carries just about any equipment you might need for your shoot. Plus, everything they rent automatically comes with equipment insurance.
All equipment is user reviewed, so you can evaluate before you shell out some of your budget. You can even rent your own equipment if you want to make some cash on the side.
First time renters receive $20 dollars off of their first rentals.
KitSplit
If you’re looking for gear online, you might also want to visit KitSplit. An alternative to ShareGrid, the company has a slightly stronger focus on cameras.
KitSplit recently announced a 100% theft protection guarantee, ensuring all gear is 100% covered in all scenarios. While their prices are transparent, if you’re looking to rent a ton of gear for a shoot, definitely reach out to one of their agents – as they might be able to cut a deal for you.
As with any equipment rental sites, be sure to review terms and conditions before renting or lending out your own equipment.
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Sign up for the Wrapbook monthly newsletter where we share industry news along with must-know guides for producers.
Best Film Editing Software of 2020
Perhaps the place where filmmaking software comes most in handy is during the editing process. From giving notes to actually making edits, you probably can’t make it through the production process without using one of these:
Wipster
If you’re working with a remote editor or churning out many videos in a short span of time, check out Wipster. Similar to Frame.io, Wipster allows you to give notes on your film…right onto the frame.
By uploading your project to your accountant’s cloud, collaborates can then add “sticky notes” to your film. You can easily add comments to notes, and once your editors have completed them, they can check them as completed.
This filmmaking software is a must for video teams working remotely.
Jul 12, 2014 Download Desktop Clock Live for macOS 10.10 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. The 'Desktop Clock' app puts a beautiful and practical clock on your Mac's desktop and Dock. The app offers 23 beautiful designs to choose from depending on your taste and preference. Time app for mac dock. May 27, 2020 Dock Clock is a live clock displaying your current local time, day and date on the dock. Click on the icon and a bigger display we appear that can be placed anywhere on your screen. You may want to check out more software for Mac, such as Live Dock Clock, Clock Dock or Docker Cloud, which might be similar to Dock Clock. Apr 06, 2011 Download Dock Clock for macOS 10.7 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. Dock Clock is a live clock displaying your current local time,day and date on the dock. Click on the icon and a bigger display we appear that can be placed anywhere on your screen.
Final Cut
Produced by Apple, Final Cut is one of the best pieces of film editing software on the market.
Intuitive, user-friendly, and sleek, this filmmaking software is used by both huge studio productions and YouTube videos, alike. It’s definitely pricey though, so be sure to check your other options before purchasing.
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Premiere is the standard filmmaking software for video editing, and for good reason: it allows you to do so much.
Perfect for color grading, splicing clips, and building complex timelines, Premiere is a film editor’s dream come true – as long as you watch a few dozen tutorials.
While Final Cut is more a “complete package,” Premiere is best used in conjunction with Adobe’s other products, like After Effects.
Best Fundraising Sites of 2020
With sites likes GoFundMe and Kickstarter, funding film projects has become easier than ever.
However, no two crowdfunding sites are alike – each offers different benefits that can make or break your project’s budget.
Seed & Spark
Seed & Spark was made by filmmakers for filmmakers.
Tailored specifically to indie film projects, Seed & Spark allows donors to give generally, or earmark their donations to specific areas of production.
However, your project isn’t greenlit unless you hit your funding goal.
Like most crowdfunding sites, Seed & Spark charges 5% of your goal to process your project. Unlike other sites, Seed & Spark lets your donors cover it.
When registering your project, you can allow contributors to cover your project fee, so all of your money goes directly into the budget.
This, coupled with high success rates, makes Seed & Spark an incredible filmmaking resource.
IndieGoGo
Featuring campaigns for tech gadgets, comic books, and all other sorts of indie endeavors (get it?), IndieGoGo is often a popular choice for crowdfunding.
While Seed & Spark is exclusively made for filmmakers, IndieGoGo offers both fixed and flexible funding.
What this means is if your project doesn’t hit its goal, you still get to keep the money you raised along the way.
This can especially come in handy on a filmmaking project, where a decreased budget just means calling in more favors from friends.
The platform fee is 5%, which cannot be covered by contributors.
Wrapping Up
At the end of the day, your film production tools are only as good as the people wielding them.
Filmmaking software can save you lots of time and headaches, but just make sure you’re getting the best deal.
Apple didn’t get its reputation for performance and accuracy from nowhere.
Everything from phones to paper-thin notebooks are engineering to work efficiently, and this makes their MacBooks ideal for all levels of video editing.
Besides integrating extremely well with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and many other third-party photo/video editing software, they offer a streamlined experience that will work well in any freelance or industry position.
In this guide, we’ll point out some key points for choosing the best MacBook Pro that will most effectively work for video editing at various levels, and showcase some of our own recommendations as well.
Quick Summary
- For the casual creative, we recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 256GB SSD, which offers quality performance without unnecessarily bulking up the specs. It doesn’t offer touch bar, but it is portable and sturdy.
- If you certainly aren’t a hobbyist but not a pro either, 13-inch MacBook Pro with 512GB SSD is a better choice. The storage has been beefed up a bit, and the touch bar offers a new dimension of functionality.
- Lastly, the professional creative looking to max out their performance power would be best served with a 15-inch MacBook Pro with i9 Processor and 512GB SSD. This model offers insane amounts of processing power, though you’ll likely still want an external monitor for the sake of screen space.
Is MacBook Pro Good for Video Editing?
In this case, it isn’t about whether or not a Mac will be effective for video editing, but a matter of how much power you really need.
If you just plan on doing minor work for youtube, you won’t be troubled by extensive renders or clamoring for screen restate, so it doesn’t make sense to pay for specs built for something ten times as processor-intensive.
However, if you plan on doing digital animation or working in 4K, it’s definitely time to look at higher-end machines that will be able to handle what you’re throwing at them.
If you’re not planning on editing videos in some way, you should not treat this article as a collection of the most powerful MacBooks overall.
Intensive computer work demands different specs depending on what you plan on doing, so you can’t assume the best for editing will be the best for say, gaming.
Best MacBook Pro for Video Editing: What to Consider in 2020?
Graphics
The key to a fast render is a high quality dedicated graphics card, and while lower-level work will likely be fine using an integrated card, you’ll want a dedicated one for anything beyond the casual home video or Youtube vlog. Dedicated graphics allow your computer to utilize RAM (Random Access Memory) specifically for the high-quality visuals you’ll be rendering as effectively as possible.
Processor
Video Editing Software For Mac
The processor is going to be handling every detail of your video as you build it, so you’re going to want to look towards the latest generations of the Intel i5 and i7 lines. Since video software can make use of multiple threads as well, these will benefit you while creating your project.
RAM
The final element that will make or break the performance of your MacBook while working on video editing is RAM. It’s used in every aspect of your computer’s execution of processes, and you’ll want a minimum of 8GB for amateur work, with a goal of 16GB if you’re editing professionally.
Best MacBook Pro for Video Editing in 2020: Our Picks
1. Casual Video Editing: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB)
If you’re going to be editing home videos and content for Youtube, you probably won’t be doing intensive 3D renders or completely utilizing heavy programs even if they are installed. This version of the 13″ MacBook Pro comes with the processing power to reach your goal without unnecessarily overcompensating.
Pros:
- The 13″ model is extremely portable, so you’ll have editing power at your fingertips wherever you go.
- RAM is the perfect amount for this type of user and should last several years.
- SSD drive means that renders and saves will be completed faster than with a physical HDD disk.
Cons:
- SSD is pricey, which is why this model only comes with 256 GB in disk space. You’ll definitely want to purchase an external drive to compensate for this when storing your videos.
- Additionally, this model uses an integrated graphics card which will be fine for this level of editing but doesn’t offer room for growth.
2. For Amateur Movie Making: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, 512GB)
Whether college student or budding short-film director, you need power and a modern flair without the expense of a professional setup. This model of MacBook is a great compromise, offering Apple’s latest touch bar and touch ID technology packed into a 13″ body powered by an integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655.
Pros:
- Offering both portability and power, this modern masterpiece has all the specs to get you where you want to go without any unnecessary bulk.
- The brand-new touch bar is also included and known to have great integrations when working in Final Cut Pro or the Adobe Suite.
Cons:
- While offering more space than the aforementioned 256GB model, it’s still a bit on the small side for storing large video files.
- It also has an integrated graphics card, which is slightly less than ideal.
3. For Professional Creatives: 15-inch MacBook Pro (2.3GHz, Intel Core i9 processor, 512GB)
Truly a top of the line machine, this MacBook Pro model was built for precision and nothing less. The 8-core i9 processor can stand up to just about anything you throw at it, it has a powerful graphics card UHD Graphics 630. The 15″ screen offers some more real estate than the smaller 13″ models.
Pros:
- It has nearly unbeatable power between the mix of RAM, dGPU, and processor.
- The beautiful screen will produce accurate colors and the touch bar will allow you to work even more effectively in your favorite editing programs.
- You have the option to choose more storage space if needed.
Cons:
- When editing professionally, you need all the screen space you can get, and no size laptop is going to be able to offer that. If you don’t have an external monitor, check out our recommendations.
Useful Mac Video Editing Resources
Just getting started with editing your own videos? LifeWire offers a great tutorial on getting started, from which software will be the most useful to whether you’ll fare better with some peripherals. Also, check out this complete video editing tutorial for non-editors on Mac:
A fan of iMovie? MacWorld has made a fantastic list of best tips on how to get the most out of Apple’s video editing software for macOS.
You could also check out this list of free and paid Mac video editing apps (TechRadar), which will let you experiment before deciding exactly what you need in a paid program.
Final Words
Video editing is a prime example of technical work that eats RAM and CPU power like no other. Luckily, a MacBook Pro was made to stand up to these things and is sure to perform if you’ve picked an adequate model.
Free Editing Software For Mac
What set up do you currently use to edit videos? Let us know and share which specs you think are most important for productive work.