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Posted by: thefireball Oct 23 2010, 08:00 PM

I'm not a rich guy. I want to get Sony Vegas, but I haven't been able to the past months. I'm wondering if you guys know of any free video editing programs out there that is similiar to Sony Vegas. I'm mainly looking for software that allows you to put an image behind you, as the instructors do here. Windows Movie Maker doesn't do this.

Can you help me?

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Oct 23 2010, 08:38 PM

Hmmm I'm not sure there are free video editing software solutions out there that support chroma key (way to put background behind you). Do you have a green screen background and good lighting conditions to do this?

Have you tried getting the trial versions of Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier and similar products ?

Posted by: thefireball Oct 24 2010, 08:00 PM

I could get a green screen. I'm not sure about lighting conditions. I think I do. I don't have the high dollar stuff. Probably a lot of natural sunlight would help - which I can get with my two windows. I haven't tried trial versions yet. I've thought about it, but I'm afraid to do if I can't buy the program right away. This happened with Adobe After Effects. I miss it. It was awesome. I can't afford the program, I only got the trial version for AE. Also, it might turn out that I can't make it work like I want and I'll waste time on my trial. A bunch of reasons why I haven't tried the trial yet.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Oct 31 2010, 05:37 PM

I asked you about green screen as it "costs" and also to get some nice lighting it can cost too. Generally there are tips how to get a cheap chroma key solution for you home using cheap plastic (muslin is better) background and some work lights.
Chroma key work is demanding and often results are bad. What I would suggest you is to get a professional photo/video backdrop. There are many textures and designs to choose from. You can get one for about 50$. It will in any case look 50x better/more professional then green screen backdrop. Then you won't need sophisticated video editing software and you just could use Movie Maker or something for editing.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Nov 14 2010, 06:28 PM

You can get Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum for 69$, check out this link:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=sony+vegas+movie+studio&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8295955121028668257&ei=9hngTPvDNpHAswbQkpmQDA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC8Q8wIwAw#

Posted by: thefireball Nov 14 2010, 10:28 PM

Oh wow! I think this will work for me! It will definitely do better than Movie Maker. Thanks, I will shoot for this. As a college kid, I have to think about things more in terms of inexpensive products sometimes. After all, I have a lot of stuff on my wishlist, not to mention a car to do upkeep on.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Nov 17 2010, 01:15 AM

I know what you mean mate. I do believe that Movie Studio will do the job for you. It's very similar to Vegas Pro, but it has some limitations in number of video tracks and similar things. However, for basic needs, it's awesome for the price. Let us know what you did!

Posted by: thefireball Nov 17 2010, 04:02 AM

Okay, Ivan. I plan on getting the trial first, just to be safe. Probably even get a green screen ready to use as well.

Posted by: Mudbone Nov 17 2010, 04:10 AM

Look for it on eBay, you might find a good deal.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Nov 17 2010, 08:20 PM

+1 on this.

You can find good Green Screen muslin backdrops on ebay. There are also plastic ones if you are on budget but those may be harder to get good results with.