We’re addicted to video. Simply can’t get enough of it. We’re watching eight billion videos daily on Facebook, seven billion videos daily on YouTube, and who even knows how much on Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, Periscope, Blab, and on, and on, and on. Those moving pictures on a screen mesmerize us.
So it’s no surprise that there’s no dearth of video editing apps for your smartphones and tablets. Whether you’re traveling by plane, train, or automobile, we have a bevy of apps that will help you polish your videos and make you ready for video fame and fortune.
Okay, maybe no fame or fortune. But you’ll look less like a fool, so there’s that. Here are five video editing apps to check out.
Magisto
Pretty much no matter who you ask or what research you do, Magisto is going to come up on the top list of video editing apps. And clearly, we are no exception. However, this comes with a strong caveat: This is the video editing app for people who want to post short videos and have no desire to spend time editing.
With Magisto, you upload your video and it edits it for you. The video will be up to 75 seconds long (almost twice that if you upgrade to premium or pro), or you can ask it to create a 15-second Instagram version. You select the style (equivalent of Instagram filters), a soundtrack (you can upload your own music), and, if you want, give the video a title that will show up at the start of the clip. Magisto does the rest. And yes, you also can integrate still photos into your video.
Videos can be downloaded if you have a premium or pro account, but only for two months. With a free account, you can pay to download on a per-video basis.
Cost: Initially free, but in-app purchases and subscriptions can run anywhere from 99 cents to $200. Android and iOS versions available.
Pinnacle Studio
Pinnacle Studio is a full-service video editing app for iPhone and iPad. (Sorry, no Android version yet.) You can edit video, audio, and photos, arrange the clips in a storyboard and export to YouTube, Facebook, Box, and elsewhere. The iPad version has an in-app purchase that allows you to export to Vimeo, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive.
Picture-in-picture effects, soundtracks with three audio tracks and voiceover, transitions, titles, animations—all are available in-app. You can even shoot the video from within the app itself.
Cost: The standard iOS app is $2.99 and the pro app is $14.99.
Power Director
This is the Android equivalent of Pinnacle Studio. An online suite of PC photo editing tools, Power Director has a full suite of video editing tools.
The timeline interface makes it simple to trim clips or swipe them in and out. A “magic wizard” tool offers an automated video creator. There are dozens of video effects and transitions, and you can upload directly to Facebook and YouTube.
The app supports slo-mo and fast motion video and allows for voiceover narration and HD export. Full HD export comes with an in-app purchase.
Cost: Free, with in-app purchases.
Split Lens 2
If you’ve ever wanted to make it look like the subject of your video is floating on air or has been cloned, this is an app you’ll want to check out. Split Lens 2 works for both photos and videos, and enables various illusions, even swapping the positions of various body parts (think: your face on your finger or your legs where your arms belong).
You can record up to 15 minutes of video and shoot in landscape mode, which will make many professional videographers happy. The video portion offers nine different layouts and 11 different aspect ratios, so your cloned self floating through the air will look good on a variety of different types of screens.
Cost: Free for iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch.
JumpCam
JumpCam is probably the least sophisticated of the bunch, but also the easiest for collaborating on videos. You can start off with a short video and invite others to add to it. The clip order can be quickly rearranged and several free soundtracks can be added.
If you’re hosting a live event, this would be a great way to pull together a variety of video sources—and you could even export them and stitch them together for a more in-depth video later on.
Cost: Free, on Android.
