A Free Video Editor Is Back in Windows 11 (and It’s Pretty Good)
Windows once had a pretty powerful video editor called Movie Maker, but it was discontinued back in 2017. After some delay, Clipchamp has arrived as the new default video editor on Microsoft’s operating system, and it comes with a ton of useful features to help you put together some impressive footage.
Whether you’re looking to get started with Clipchamp for the first time or dive deeper into its offerings, I’ve put together some tips on how to get the most out of it. It’s suitable for any kind of basic filmmaking – from putting together a set of family holiday highlights to creating your first short film – and it’s not difficult to get to grips with.
Unfortunately, unlike Movie Maker, Clipchamp is not completely free. Many basic features can be used without paying, but you’ll have to pay to export videos in 4K and without a watermark, and with a premium subscription you’ll also be able to download more filters, effects and standard content. The premium package costs $12 per month or $99 per year.
Getting started with templates
As friendly as Clipchamp is, navigating to a blank timeline can be a little intimidating, and the best way to get started is to download one of the templates (like TikTok or Birthday ), which you can access under the Templates tab. front screen.
Once you’ve selected and uploaded a template, you’ll be taken to an editing screen where your timeline will be populated with sample content. Any of these elements can be customized or replaced as needed—for example, with text fields, simply double-click them in the timeline to enter your own text.
In the top left corner, you have the “Import Media” option to upload images, videos, and audio, and you can also see everything that has already been imported. Hover over an item here to be given the option to remove it or add it to the timeline.
Timeline management
Once you place an item on the timeline—you can drag it from the media panel or click the + (plus) button on it—you’ll see handles on both ends when you hover over it. Drag them in any direction to make the element appear in your video for a longer or shorter period of time.
You can’t stretch video and audio clips longer than their actual length or length, but you can trim them at either end. Static elements such as images and text fields can be visible for as long as you need.
To change the position of something, simply drag it. Right-click on an element and you’ll get the options Duplicate , Copy , Paste or Delete , as well as Split – useful if you want to split an audio or video clip into multiple pieces.
Add fades, filters, etc.
Once you have the basic building blocks of your project, you can start to get a little more creative. Select an item in the timeline and the Fade In and Fade Out options should appear on the right – these do exactly what you’d expect and can work with audio as well as video and still images.
Next on the right you have the Filters and Effects options. Here you can change the colors and style of what’s on your timeline. For example, in the Effects section you have options such as Blur , Slow Zoom and VHS (to give something a slightly old-fashioned look) – there are plenty of options to play with.
Under these icons there is also Adjust Colors (a simpler version of Filters ) and Speed , which you can use to speed up or slow down your video or audio. When you adjust the speed of an element, its length on the timeline decreases or increases accordingly.
Adding text and transitions
On the left side of the editing screen is the Transitions panel, which gives you a range of options for creating smoother connections between clips and other elements: you can choose between wipes, slides, rotations, and more. Simply click and drag the transition to the border between two elements to apply it.
Just above Transitions is Text , where you can insert headings and text overlays. Again, you have many different sizes and styles to choose from: click the + (plus) button to add a text element to the timeline, or drag it into place.
Once you select a text element in the timeline, you can switch to the Text tab on the right to change the font style, size, and color, as well as the text itself. The handles that appear inside the preview window allow you to change the size and position of the text field (just drag it with your mouse).
Export your work
All of this gives you a quick idea of the world of Clipchamp and what it’s capable of, but there’s more to explore: like the Content Library tab (to the left of the editing screen), which gives you a selection of standard elements) or Create video with AI option (on the front screen) that will help you quickly turn your selected clips and images into a movie.
If you have something that you think is good enough to share with the rest of the world, click “Export” in the top right corner of the editing screen, then select your export resolution (4K won’t be available unless you’re a premium member). subscription). ).
On the next screen, you can choose where the exported video file will be placed: you can save it directly to various cloud storage services (such as OneDrive and Google Drive) or upload it directly to YouTube or TikTok. You also have the option to save it to a local folder using the Save to Your Computer command .