HitFilm Express 5.0
Free
HItFilm Express is a free program that lets you edit and add special effects to your video files, thus making them suitable to upload to the most popular video-sharing sites or even to produce short or long films, music videos, or other more ambitious film projects.
After downloading and installing the program, you can set the video and audio properties, such as height and width, frame rate, aspect ratio, sample audio rate, and more. The program lets you open any video file you have recorded. You can import video files from several formats such as MP4, MPEG, and more. Then, you can trim the file or join it to another to form a sequence. Also, you can add video effects. This is perhaps the most interesting part of the program. It has several built-in effects that you can use to enrich your video, for example, there is an automatic color correction feature, as well as different blur types, gradings, lights, flares, distortions, and much more. If these effects are not enough for your project, you can purchase different effect sets from the program's main interface. The type of effects pack you need will depend on the result you are looking for. There are packs such as Sci-Fi Adventure, Destruction, Audio-Visual, and more. In general, the cost of the packs is affordable: between 10 and 50 bucks. The advantage is that you can purchase only those you need, but if you want them all, you will spend well beyond 100 dollars.
Please note that you need to create an account in order to have the download link. Also, to activate the Export function, you need to activate your copy of the program. Both processes are free.
In sum, whether if you love to edit your family videos or aim to become the next Hitchcock, this free program is a good way to start.
Screenshots
Review summary
Pros
- The program is free to download and use
- It has several built-in effects
Cons
- Although the cost of each extra package is affordable, the total cost of all of them amounts to more than US$100
