Free audio and video software
Although these programs are all compatible with any computer, be wary of the file formats you save your creations under. Otherwise, they might not be compatible when transferred to other computers.
These AV software packages may not be the answer to how to make money fast with the next big blockbuster, but they will get you on the right track at least.
For free audio and video editing software, try these programs:
1. Audacity
Audacity is free software that allows you to record, convert, edit, copy, slice, mix and do much more to your chosen audio.
Amongst other tools, the software allows you to dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings, monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording, and remove static, hiss, hum, or other constant background noises.
Audacity enables you to import and export WAV, MP3, AIFF, AU, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis files and create WAV or AIFF files that are suitable for burning to a CD.
2. Lightworks
Lightworks sells itself as the professional video editing software that is available to everyone – people use it to edit their holiday videos, while big Hollywood producers have used it on films including The Wolf of Wall Street, LA Confidential, and Pulp Fiction.
It’s probably the most powerful free video editing suite out there, so beginners might be a bit overwhelmed by the huge range of features.
It supports many video formats and allows you to trim clips with precision and export them for YouTube.
For the more advanced features, you’ll have to get Lightworks Pro, which costs around £175 a year – but the free version should be more than adequate for most projects.
3. VLC player
If you’ve often spent hours downloading a video, only to find it won’t work on your media player (aaargh!) then VLC player is the software for you.
VLC claims you’d be hard-pressed to find a format that it can’t work with, and it can even play broken, corrupted, or unfinished video or audio files.
The software leaves a little to be desired aesthetically, but it’s really easy to use and does exactly what it says on the tin.
4. Ocenaudio
Ocenaudio doesn’t have a huge amount of features but is perfect for more straightforward daily audio editing.
Whether you’ve got a podcast or you’re a music student, Ocenaudio is definitely worth a look and is a lot easier to use than Audacity.
Useful features include being able to select multiple parts of an audio clip and apply changes to them all simultaneously, plus there are plenty of plugins if you want to extend the features even more.
