The Art of Video Enhancement: Expert Guidance

Cool Video Editor: How to Add Cool Effects to Video

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

How to make a cool video? Besides creativities, you may also need a video editing software which allows you to add some cool video effects. Actually it’s much simpler than you might expect if you use cool video editor like Wondershare Filmora , which enables you to easily trim videos, add voice narration or a music sound track from your personal collection and add cool effects and give your plain old home videos the extra touch that makes them more special. In this article, we will introduce some cool video effects that you can use in Filmora as well as the step-by-step guide about how to add cool effects to videos for making a cool edit.

Part 1: Introducing 5 cool effects that you may be interested in

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1. Mask: Filmora allows you add various image masks and shape mask to the image and video in the timeline, which will create a special effect. You can always add Mask effect to media when creating PIP videos.

2. Green Screen Effect: Green screen or chroma keying feature is used to key out colors from a subject of a photo or video and composite two images or videos together based on color chroma range.

3. Transition Effect: Transition video effect is used to be more visual and obvious when playing back one scene to another. Namely, it is what the scene showing between two clips. Filmora provides more than 200 transition effects, including the basic fade, bar, ripple & dissolve, 3D and slideshow transitions, you can also find the transition effects for special events such as birthday and wedding.

4. Overlays: A video overlay refers to an image or an animated video that appears over the background video. Filmora provides more than 110 overlays including frame overlay, bokeh blurs overlay, lens flares, old film, damaged film, TV static, and view finder overlays.

5. Filters: Filmora has a great collection of video filter effects and there are about 150 filters in it, including camera shake, distortion, Lomography, background blur, faux film and Instagram-like filters.

Besides these common cool video effects, Filmora Effects Store offers more possibilities. There are packs, sets and bundles covering gaming, media, beauty and fashion, action cam, education, lifestyle, VFX and special event. Check the blockbuster video effects video below to check how it works.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Part 2: How to Add Cool Effects to Videos in Filmora [Tutorial]

With Filmora, you can also add some cool effects conveniently to improve your video with ease. After several clicks, your video will turn out to be a stunning masterpiece which is really fantastic to share with your family and friends on YouTube or Facebook. Now follow this step-by-step guide on how to edit videos with this cool software.

1 Import your videos

Install and launch Wondershare Filmora. Click New Project and then click the “Import” button to load your media files through its navigation import panel or directly drag and drop your files to the media library.

2 Add cool effects to your video

Now it’s time to add cool effects to your video. Just drop the video and audio files from the media library to the corresponding timelines. Then click the “Effect” button in the toolbar to switch to the “Effect” tab. Here you will see filters and overlays effects for you to choose.

To add transitions between two clips, or add an overlay or filter video effect to video, just go to the corresponding tab and drag and drop the target video effects to videos.

You can also right click your favorite effect and select apply. You will see the “Effect” Timeline appear below the video track. If you want to increase the effect duration, just mouse over the edge of the effect in timeline, and when the “double arrow” cursor appears, drag it to any length you want.

Detailed information about how to add a split-screen effect video, check our guide about how to make a split screen video here .

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

For steps of compositing a green screen video, check this video tutorial below:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Besides that, you can add more cool effects provided by Video Editor. Just highlight the target media file, then go to Effects Tab. Yu can select and apply more cool effects like Tilt-Shift, Mosaic, and Face Off under Utitliy filters. These effects will help you turn your video clip into a work of art.

3 Export your videos

You can preview and watch your video by clicking the “Play” button before you export it. Go back and make some necessary adjustments. Then you can save and export the video to your computer in the “Format” tab. If you want to play video on mobile devices, go to the “Devices” tab and choose a device from the list. Of course, you can also directly burn it to DVD or post on YouTube or Vimeo.

Filmora features more than 300 video effects, elements and motion effects and 100+ text and title styles to choose. Besides adding cool video effects to video clips, you can also reverse, speed up or slow down the video to make a cool effect. You can also choose music sound from the built in music library and do some audio editing with the Audio Mixer or Audio Equalizer tool.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

As one of the best and easiest video editing software which comes with cool effects, Filmora can empower your imagination. Download this cool video editor with various effects and try it yourself!

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Top 9 Best Free MP4 Video Cutters

Top 11 Best Free MP4 Video Cutters

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

MP4 is a video format mostly used worldwide and it’s also the recommended video format if you want to upload a video to YouTube. There are times when you may need to cut your MP4 videos, for example, to cut out the unwanted parts, or to shorten the duration. The article will list top 11 free MP4 cutters for Windows, Mac and online.

---

Want a fully-featured product? A commercial product like Wondershare Filmora is a good choice. Besides the video cutting function, this video editing tool also provides various video editing tools. Now you can seamlessly put together video clips, music & text, apply effects to make a professional-looking home movie in minutes. Download and try it out.

If you want to have an online solution, Filmora video trimmer is a free online tool that can help you trim video instantly. You can upload your video from computer and video link with drag-and-drop. It is easy to use with the slider or just input specific start and end times for precise trim. It also supports various importing and exporting video format, including .mp4, .mov, .wemb, .mpeg, .flv. More importantly, the exported video is free of watermark. It is definitely worth a try!

---

Top 10 Best Free MP4 Video Cutters

2. Avidemux

Avidemux is a free open-source video editing program for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It comes with a well selected feature set to get your cutting, filtering and encoding tasks done. It also features a lot of interactive options and step by step guide for using this tool is there. Hence, using this tool is quite easy.

Pros:

• Lightweight and fairly simple;
• Useful video filters.

Cons:

• Outdated interface;
• May drop frames in certain formats;
• Can be complicated for beginning users.

3. Lightworks

This is one of the most advanced video editing or cutter tool. It features seamless options though a little complicated for the novice users. However, it is the coolest tool for serving professional purposes. It can handle large file sizes with ease.

Pros:

• Various video editing options;
• High video quality.

Cons:

• It crashes occasionally;
• Requires a long learning curve.

4. VSDC Free Video Editor

It’s a free video editing program which supports various video formats include MP4, AVI, MKV, MPG, WMV, FLV and more. It provides various video filters, transitions, audio effects as well as drawing and selection tools. With it, you can easily cut your MP4 files into different pieces. When the editing done, you can also select the optimized save outputs for a variety of devices, including smart phones and gaming consoles.

Pros:

• Provides various useful filters;
• Different output options.

Cons:

• Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level.

5. iMovie

The second position of the list will be clinched by iMovie as it is quite similar the Windows Movie Maker, compatible for MAC OS X only. In fact, this software offers a few amazing features which are absent in Windows Movie Maker. With it, you can easily cut video into pieces and edit any part of the video as you like. Truly a powerful and effective tool! File saving and export options are particularly praiseworthy.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use and efficient;
• Useful video editing functions.

Cons:

• The supported video formats are limited.

6. Free Video Cutter

Freemake video Cutter does exactly what its name suggests, and that is cut video. As well as MP4 it can deal with several other video formats, it uses a nice easy to follow interface and is a nice compact package that does the job well.

One of the easiest to use, a simple interface and good performance.

7. Freemake Video Converter

Whilst, as the name suggests, this package was designed for format conversion, it includes a wealth of other abilities, one of which is video cutting, it can also rejoin and merge clips too. As a video converter, it has the largest range of format compatibility in the list and can even burn your finished videos to DVD or Blu-ray for you. The cutting feature is nicely implemented into a clear interface and should be straightforward for anyone to use.

An easy to use interface and a comprehensive feature set far beyond just cutting make this a great general video utility package.

8. Movica

This package uses other open source scripting files as the mechanics of doing its job, and is in essence a user interface for those systems. That takes nothing away from it though, the tools it uses are very effective, but in their native form not something most people could take advantage of. In addition to MP4 there are several other video formats available as well as both .wma and .mp3 audio files.

A simple interface and a more technical outlook than many, but it works well.

9. Virtualdub

A fairly comprehensive editing package, VirtualDub has a nice selection of cutting tools enabling accurate cuts and edits with ease, covering the MP4 format as well as several others, it is a useful tool for those looking for additional features beyond just cutting. Due to the lengthy feature set the interface is a little cluttered and for those that want nothing but a cutter, is perhaps overkill, however, it does the job very well and for many presents a useful selection of video tools.

With plenty of video tools in addition to cutting, VirtualDub presents an attractive, video toolbox for the enthusiast.

10. Online Video Cutter

Our final offering is a slightly different take on the video cutter. This is an online offering that requires no downloads or installation, you simply go to the website, upload your video or select a video on the web, cut the video and save the output. It is very simple, although there is the obvious issue with larger files of upload and download time, but for many applications is perhaps the ideal solution.

Without the need to install anything, and with a very simple interface, for smaller files is perhaps the perfect solution.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

MP4 is a video format mostly used worldwide and it’s also the recommended video format if you want to upload a video to YouTube. There are times when you may need to cut your MP4 videos, for example, to cut out the unwanted parts, or to shorten the duration. The article will list top 11 free MP4 cutters for Windows, Mac and online.

---

Want a fully-featured product? A commercial product like Wondershare Filmora is a good choice. Besides the video cutting function, this video editing tool also provides various video editing tools. Now you can seamlessly put together video clips, music & text, apply effects to make a professional-looking home movie in minutes. Download and try it out.

If you want to have an online solution, Filmora video trimmer is a free online tool that can help you trim video instantly. You can upload your video from computer and video link with drag-and-drop. It is easy to use with the slider or just input specific start and end times for precise trim. It also supports various importing and exporting video format, including .mp4, .mov, .wemb, .mpeg, .flv. More importantly, the exported video is free of watermark. It is definitely worth a try!

---

Top 10 Best Free MP4 Video Cutters

2. Avidemux

Avidemux is a free open-source video editing program for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It comes with a well selected feature set to get your cutting, filtering and encoding tasks done. It also features a lot of interactive options and step by step guide for using this tool is there. Hence, using this tool is quite easy.

Pros:

• Lightweight and fairly simple;
• Useful video filters.

Cons:

• Outdated interface;
• May drop frames in certain formats;
• Can be complicated for beginning users.

3. Lightworks

This is one of the most advanced video editing or cutter tool. It features seamless options though a little complicated for the novice users. However, it is the coolest tool for serving professional purposes. It can handle large file sizes with ease.

Pros:

• Various video editing options;
• High video quality.

Cons:

• It crashes occasionally;
• Requires a long learning curve.

4. VSDC Free Video Editor

It’s a free video editing program which supports various video formats include MP4, AVI, MKV, MPG, WMV, FLV and more. It provides various video filters, transitions, audio effects as well as drawing and selection tools. With it, you can easily cut your MP4 files into different pieces. When the editing done, you can also select the optimized save outputs for a variety of devices, including smart phones and gaming consoles.

Pros:

• Provides various useful filters;
• Different output options.

Cons:

• Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level.

5. iMovie

The second position of the list will be clinched by iMovie as it is quite similar the Windows Movie Maker, compatible for MAC OS X only. In fact, this software offers a few amazing features which are absent in Windows Movie Maker. With it, you can easily cut video into pieces and edit any part of the video as you like. Truly a powerful and effective tool! File saving and export options are particularly praiseworthy.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use and efficient;
• Useful video editing functions.

Cons:

• The supported video formats are limited.

6. Free Video Cutter

Freemake video Cutter does exactly what its name suggests, and that is cut video. As well as MP4 it can deal with several other video formats, it uses a nice easy to follow interface and is a nice compact package that does the job well.

One of the easiest to use, a simple interface and good performance.

7. Freemake Video Converter

Whilst, as the name suggests, this package was designed for format conversion, it includes a wealth of other abilities, one of which is video cutting, it can also rejoin and merge clips too. As a video converter, it has the largest range of format compatibility in the list and can even burn your finished videos to DVD or Blu-ray for you. The cutting feature is nicely implemented into a clear interface and should be straightforward for anyone to use.

An easy to use interface and a comprehensive feature set far beyond just cutting make this a great general video utility package.

8. Movica

This package uses other open source scripting files as the mechanics of doing its job, and is in essence a user interface for those systems. That takes nothing away from it though, the tools it uses are very effective, but in their native form not something most people could take advantage of. In addition to MP4 there are several other video formats available as well as both .wma and .mp3 audio files.

A simple interface and a more technical outlook than many, but it works well.

9. Virtualdub

A fairly comprehensive editing package, VirtualDub has a nice selection of cutting tools enabling accurate cuts and edits with ease, covering the MP4 format as well as several others, it is a useful tool for those looking for additional features beyond just cutting. Due to the lengthy feature set the interface is a little cluttered and for those that want nothing but a cutter, is perhaps overkill, however, it does the job very well and for many presents a useful selection of video tools.

With plenty of video tools in addition to cutting, VirtualDub presents an attractive, video toolbox for the enthusiast.

10. Online Video Cutter

Our final offering is a slightly different take on the video cutter. This is an online offering that requires no downloads or installation, you simply go to the website, upload your video or select a video on the web, cut the video and save the output. It is very simple, although there is the obvious issue with larger files of upload and download time, but for many applications is perhaps the ideal solution.

Without the need to install anything, and with a very simple interface, for smaller files is perhaps the perfect solution.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

MP4 is a video format mostly used worldwide and it’s also the recommended video format if you want to upload a video to YouTube. There are times when you may need to cut your MP4 videos, for example, to cut out the unwanted parts, or to shorten the duration. The article will list top 11 free MP4 cutters for Windows, Mac and online.

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Want a fully-featured product? A commercial product like Wondershare Filmora is a good choice. Besides the video cutting function, this video editing tool also provides various video editing tools. Now you can seamlessly put together video clips, music & text, apply effects to make a professional-looking home movie in minutes. Download and try it out.

If you want to have an online solution, Filmora video trimmer is a free online tool that can help you trim video instantly. You can upload your video from computer and video link with drag-and-drop. It is easy to use with the slider or just input specific start and end times for precise trim. It also supports various importing and exporting video format, including .mp4, .mov, .wemb, .mpeg, .flv. More importantly, the exported video is free of watermark. It is definitely worth a try!

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Top 10 Best Free MP4 Video Cutters

2. Avidemux

Avidemux is a free open-source video editing program for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It comes with a well selected feature set to get your cutting, filtering and encoding tasks done. It also features a lot of interactive options and step by step guide for using this tool is there. Hence, using this tool is quite easy.

Pros:

• Lightweight and fairly simple;
• Useful video filters.

Cons:

• Outdated interface;
• May drop frames in certain formats;
• Can be complicated for beginning users.

3. Lightworks

This is one of the most advanced video editing or cutter tool. It features seamless options though a little complicated for the novice users. However, it is the coolest tool for serving professional purposes. It can handle large file sizes with ease.

Pros:

• Various video editing options;
• High video quality.

Cons:

• It crashes occasionally;
• Requires a long learning curve.

4. VSDC Free Video Editor

It’s a free video editing program which supports various video formats include MP4, AVI, MKV, MPG, WMV, FLV and more. It provides various video filters, transitions, audio effects as well as drawing and selection tools. With it, you can easily cut your MP4 files into different pieces. When the editing done, you can also select the optimized save outputs for a variety of devices, including smart phones and gaming consoles.

Pros:

• Provides various useful filters;
• Different output options.

Cons:

• Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level.

5. iMovie

The second position of the list will be clinched by iMovie as it is quite similar the Windows Movie Maker, compatible for MAC OS X only. In fact, this software offers a few amazing features which are absent in Windows Movie Maker. With it, you can easily cut video into pieces and edit any part of the video as you like. Truly a powerful and effective tool! File saving and export options are particularly praiseworthy.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use and efficient;
• Useful video editing functions.

Cons:

• The supported video formats are limited.

6. Free Video Cutter

Freemake video Cutter does exactly what its name suggests, and that is cut video. As well as MP4 it can deal with several other video formats, it uses a nice easy to follow interface and is a nice compact package that does the job well.

One of the easiest to use, a simple interface and good performance.

7. Freemake Video Converter

Whilst, as the name suggests, this package was designed for format conversion, it includes a wealth of other abilities, one of which is video cutting, it can also rejoin and merge clips too. As a video converter, it has the largest range of format compatibility in the list and can even burn your finished videos to DVD or Blu-ray for you. The cutting feature is nicely implemented into a clear interface and should be straightforward for anyone to use.

An easy to use interface and a comprehensive feature set far beyond just cutting make this a great general video utility package.

8. Movica

This package uses other open source scripting files as the mechanics of doing its job, and is in essence a user interface for those systems. That takes nothing away from it though, the tools it uses are very effective, but in their native form not something most people could take advantage of. In addition to MP4 there are several other video formats available as well as both .wma and .mp3 audio files.

A simple interface and a more technical outlook than many, but it works well.

9. Virtualdub

A fairly comprehensive editing package, VirtualDub has a nice selection of cutting tools enabling accurate cuts and edits with ease, covering the MP4 format as well as several others, it is a useful tool for those looking for additional features beyond just cutting. Due to the lengthy feature set the interface is a little cluttered and for those that want nothing but a cutter, is perhaps overkill, however, it does the job very well and for many presents a useful selection of video tools.

With plenty of video tools in addition to cutting, VirtualDub presents an attractive, video toolbox for the enthusiast.

10. Online Video Cutter

Our final offering is a slightly different take on the video cutter. This is an online offering that requires no downloads or installation, you simply go to the website, upload your video or select a video on the web, cut the video and save the output. It is very simple, although there is the obvious issue with larger files of upload and download time, but for many applications is perhaps the ideal solution.

Without the need to install anything, and with a very simple interface, for smaller files is perhaps the perfect solution.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

MP4 is a video format mostly used worldwide and it’s also the recommended video format if you want to upload a video to YouTube. There are times when you may need to cut your MP4 videos, for example, to cut out the unwanted parts, or to shorten the duration. The article will list top 11 free MP4 cutters for Windows, Mac and online.

---

Want a fully-featured product? A commercial product like Wondershare Filmora is a good choice. Besides the video cutting function, this video editing tool also provides various video editing tools. Now you can seamlessly put together video clips, music & text, apply effects to make a professional-looking home movie in minutes. Download and try it out.

If you want to have an online solution, Filmora video trimmer is a free online tool that can help you trim video instantly. You can upload your video from computer and video link with drag-and-drop. It is easy to use with the slider or just input specific start and end times for precise trim. It also supports various importing and exporting video format, including .mp4, .mov, .wemb, .mpeg, .flv. More importantly, the exported video is free of watermark. It is definitely worth a try!

---

Top 10 Best Free MP4 Video Cutters

2. Avidemux

Avidemux is a free open-source video editing program for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It comes with a well selected feature set to get your cutting, filtering and encoding tasks done. It also features a lot of interactive options and step by step guide for using this tool is there. Hence, using this tool is quite easy.

Pros:

• Lightweight and fairly simple;
• Useful video filters.

Cons:

• Outdated interface;
• May drop frames in certain formats;
• Can be complicated for beginning users.

3. Lightworks

This is one of the most advanced video editing or cutter tool. It features seamless options though a little complicated for the novice users. However, it is the coolest tool for serving professional purposes. It can handle large file sizes with ease.

Pros:

• Various video editing options;
• High video quality.

Cons:

• It crashes occasionally;
• Requires a long learning curve.

4. VSDC Free Video Editor

It’s a free video editing program which supports various video formats include MP4, AVI, MKV, MPG, WMV, FLV and more. It provides various video filters, transitions, audio effects as well as drawing and selection tools. With it, you can easily cut your MP4 files into different pieces. When the editing done, you can also select the optimized save outputs for a variety of devices, including smart phones and gaming consoles.

Pros:

• Provides various useful filters;
• Different output options.

Cons:

• Computer resources (CPU and RAM) are required at a high level.

5. iMovie

The second position of the list will be clinched by iMovie as it is quite similar the Windows Movie Maker, compatible for MAC OS X only. In fact, this software offers a few amazing features which are absent in Windows Movie Maker. With it, you can easily cut video into pieces and edit any part of the video as you like. Truly a powerful and effective tool! File saving and export options are particularly praiseworthy.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use and efficient;
• Useful video editing functions.

Cons:

• The supported video formats are limited.

6. Free Video Cutter

Freemake video Cutter does exactly what its name suggests, and that is cut video. As well as MP4 it can deal with several other video formats, it uses a nice easy to follow interface and is a nice compact package that does the job well.

One of the easiest to use, a simple interface and good performance.

7. Freemake Video Converter

Whilst, as the name suggests, this package was designed for format conversion, it includes a wealth of other abilities, one of which is video cutting, it can also rejoin and merge clips too. As a video converter, it has the largest range of format compatibility in the list and can even burn your finished videos to DVD or Blu-ray for you. The cutting feature is nicely implemented into a clear interface and should be straightforward for anyone to use.

An easy to use interface and a comprehensive feature set far beyond just cutting make this a great general video utility package.

8. Movica

This package uses other open source scripting files as the mechanics of doing its job, and is in essence a user interface for those systems. That takes nothing away from it though, the tools it uses are very effective, but in their native form not something most people could take advantage of. In addition to MP4 there are several other video formats available as well as both .wma and .mp3 audio files.

A simple interface and a more technical outlook than many, but it works well.

9. Virtualdub

A fairly comprehensive editing package, VirtualDub has a nice selection of cutting tools enabling accurate cuts and edits with ease, covering the MP4 format as well as several others, it is a useful tool for those looking for additional features beyond just cutting. Due to the lengthy feature set the interface is a little cluttered and for those that want nothing but a cutter, is perhaps overkill, however, it does the job very well and for many presents a useful selection of video tools.

With plenty of video tools in addition to cutting, VirtualDub presents an attractive, video toolbox for the enthusiast.

10. Online Video Cutter

Our final offering is a slightly different take on the video cutter. This is an online offering that requires no downloads or installation, you simply go to the website, upload your video or select a video on the web, cut the video and save the output. It is very simple, although there is the obvious issue with larger files of upload and download time, but for many applications is perhaps the ideal solution.

Without the need to install anything, and with a very simple interface, for smaller files is perhaps the perfect solution.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Free Split-Screen Video Maker: Online and Offline Options

Best Split Screen Video Editor [Online & Offline]

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The effect that comes up after adding two or more screens in a single frame is called split screen, and the tool that enables the users to do this is a split screen video editor. These split screens have significant importance in post-production tasks. That said, the following sections discuss about the tools that enable you to create split screen videos, and explain the process of doing so.

As mentioned above, the split screen effect lets you add two or more screens in a single frame. When multiple activities occur at the same time but at different locations, they all can be shown on one screen by placing their corresponding footages side-by-side or in any other arrangement that the split screen video maker allows.

Best Split Screen Video Editing Software for Windows and Mac [Free & Paid]

After understanding what split screen is, it becomes both obvious and mandatory to know about some of the most used split screen video editor applications, and how they help you in adding the effect to your movies. Following is a list of a couple of such programs:

1. iMovie

A proprietary of Apple, iMovie is available for both iOS and macOS, and is absolutely free of cost. Even though the tool lacks some advanced options for fine editing, it still offers a good platform to those planning their career in post-production industry. With simple UI, it is easy to learn iMovie.

The step-by-step instructions given below explain how to use iMovie to add split screen effect to your videos:

Step 1: Add Footages to iMovie

After importing the footages to the Media Bin in iMovie, drag the first one to the Timeline, and then drag the second one above the first layer.

Step 2: Select the Split Screen Effect

Select the top video layer in the Timeline, and choose Split Screen from the screen type drop-down list at the top.

Step 3: Select Split Screen Preset

Choose a position for the selected layer from the Position drop-down list at the top, and use the Slide slider to adjust the speed of the appearance of the footage.

Pros

• iMovie is free to download and use
• The program is available for both macOS and iOS

Cons

• Allows only up to two videos to be used in split screen

You can get iMovie from here: https://www.apple.com/in/imovie/

2. Wondershare Filmora Editor

One of the most robust apps that is compared with post-production applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X, Wondershare Filmora is also a video editor that helps split screen easily. The software is available for Windows and Mac computers, and provides prompt technical support to its consumers. Although Filmora that packed with more advanced tools is also available, most of the times Filmora serves the purpose pretty well.

You can learn how to add split screen effect in Wondershare Filmora by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Import Footages to Filmora

Launch Wondershare Filmora, click anywhere inside the Media window in the upper-left section, and import all the videos you want to use to create the split screen effect.

Step 2: Choose a Split Screen Preset

Click Split Screen from the standard toolbar at the top, click and drag your preferred preset to the Timeline, and then extend the duration of the effect in the Timeline by dragging its handle.

Step 3: Add Videos to Split Screen

Click ADVANCED from the bottom-right area of the Media pane, on the Advanced Split Screen Edit box, drag the first video from the left pane, and drop it on your preferred section in the right. Repeat the process to add all the other videos to their corresponding sections. Adjust their time of appearance by dragging their thumbnail in the Timeline of the box, and click OK.

Pros

• Wondershare Filmora is lightweight and is less resource intensive
• Allows as many as 6 videos to be added to create split screen effect
• Has 30+ split screen presets

Cons

• A couple of windows are required to be opened while working with split screen

3 . VSDC

VSDC is a free and efficient split screen video maker. In fact, the program is a full-fledged post-production application that can be used to edit the videos to prepare industry-standard clips for presentations, broadcasting, and commercial and private distribution. The best thing about VSDC is, it is absolutely free of cost, and doesn’t add any watermarks to the output files.

The instructions given below explain how to use the split screen feature in VSDC:

Step 1: Add Video Footages

Click Add object from the standard toolbar at the top, click Video, and select and add the first footage to the preview window. Repeat the process to add more video(s) as needed.

Step 2: Add Split Screen Effect

Grab any of the side handles of the video you added last, and drag it inward to reduce its size proportionally. Repeat the process to reduce the size of the other video(s) that is/are now revealed from beneath the one you just adjusted in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Absolutely free to use
• Allows practically unlimited number of footages to be added to create the split screen videos

Cons

• No presets for automatic video positioning are available for split screen effect

You can get VSDC free video editor from here: http://www.videosoftdev.com/

4. Shotcut

A free and opensource editing tool, Shotcut can also be used as a split screen video maker to produce industry-standard movies and documentaries. Shotcut is available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS, and comes in both x64 and x86 variants. Being a free program, Shotcut doesn’t require any activation or registration.

The procedure that follows explains how to use Shortcut as a free split screen video editor:

Step 1: Add Clips to the Timeline

Import the footages to the Shotcut’s media bin, drag one of the clips from the bin to the Timeline at the bottom, and then press Ctrl + I on your keyboard to add more video tracks. You can press this shortcut key for another couple of times depending on the number films you want to use for the split screen effect. Next, drag each film from the bin to their corresponding tracks. Note: Make sure NOT to place all the clips on the same track, and that each of them is on a different, its own, video layer.

Step 2: Adjust the First Video

Select the last video you added to the Timeline (it should be the topmost track), click Filters from above the Timeline, click the + button from the upper-left corner, click Size and Position from the list that appears next, and select the clip’s position from the Preset drop-down list.

Step 3: Adjust Other Videos

Select the second video in the Timeline and repeat the process to set its position, and do the same for all other footages that you added in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms
• If using presets, as many as 4 videos can be added for split screen effect

Cons

• Working with split screen manually may require practice and some calculations to position the clips on the screen correctly

You can get Shotcut from here: https://shotcut.org/

5. Lightworks

Used by the professionals to edit and prepare movies like Pulp Fiction, The Cure, L.A. Confidential, Bruce Almighty, The Wolf of Wall Street, etc., Lightworks is, in true means, a complete and full-fledged post-production application to create industry-standard outputs. The main reason for the app’s wide userbase is that it is a cross-platform software that is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows computers.

To use Lightworks as split screen video maker, you can follow the instructions given below:

Step 1: Add Tracks in Timeline

After importing the clips to Lightworks, leave them in the Media Bin for now, right-click anywhere in the Timeline at the bottom, go to Tracks, click Add multiple, and from the Number to add drop-down list, choose the number of tracks you want to add to the Timeline. Click Add to confirm the changes.

Step 2: Disable Auto Sync

Right-click anywhere in the Timeline, and click to deselect Auto track sync.

Step 3: Add Clips to Timeline

Drag the clips from the Media Bin to the Timeline. Make sure to place each footage on a different track, and that all the tracks are on top of each other. Optionally, right-click the audio that was added along with the clips, and click Remove from the context menu. Use this method to remove all the audios or leave the one you want to have. Note: Removing the audio tracks ensures that they do not overlap during the playback.

Step 4: Enable Split Screen

Click VFX from above the preview window, click the + (Add new effects) icon from the top of the left pane, select the DVE category from the upper-right corner of the left pane, scroll down the left pane to the Split-screen Presets section, and double-click your preferred split screen preset to add the effect to the participating clips.

Pros

• Even the free variant has split screen feature
• A complete post-production tool that doesn’t require any other program for finalizing the things

Cons

• Not many split screen presets are available

Download Lightworks free version from here: https://www.lwks.com/

6. Adobe Premiere Pro

One of the most appreciated and widely used post-production applications for Windows and Mac computers, Adobe Premiere Pro has been professionals’ first choice when it comes to video editing, irrespective of the fact that it has a steep learning curve, and is also a resource intensive software to work with.

The steps below explain how to use Adobe Premiere Pro as a split screen video maker:

Step 1: Add Videos to Timeline

After importing the clips to the Project window, drag each of them to the Timeline, and place them in their separate tracks one above the other.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the topmost video track in the Timeline, go to Effect Controls panel from the top of the upper-left pane, and use the Position slider to position the video to your preferred area of the screen. Repeat this process for all the clips in the Timeline you want to add to split screen.

Step 3: Crop the Clips

Search for the Crop effect in the Effects pane present at the lower-left corner, drag and drop the effect on each of the clips in the timeline, and use the Crop slider in the Effect Controls pane to crop the videos as needed. Optionally use the keyframes to add sliding animations to give more professional look to the split screen effect.

Pros

• Most robust and efficient video editing tool
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Requires subscription that needs to be renewed regularly

For more details about making split screen with Pr, check How to create a split screen in Premiere Pro

7. Final Cut Pro X

Available only for Mac computers at the time of this writing, Final Cut Pro X or FCPX gives tough competition to Adobe Premiere Pro. Since Apple devices are famous for their speedy processing, professionals any day prefer FCPX over Adobe Premiere Pro if they own a Mac PC running macOS.

You can use FCPX as split screen video maker by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Place Footages in the Timeline

As mentioned earlier, add the clips on top of each other on separate tracks in the Timeline of FCPX.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the first clip in the Timeline, from the Transform section of the Video Inspector pane in the right, use the Position slider to move the clip to your preferred side of the screen, and use the sliders from the Crop section to crop the footage to adjust the portion of interest. Repeat the process for the other video tracks as well to get your desired split screen effect in Final Cut Pro X.

Pros

• Offers quick and easy way to add split screen effect
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Doesn’t have any particular preset for split screen effect

You may also like: How to create a PIP video with Final Cut Pro X

Best Free Online Split Screen Video Editors

Apart from the desktop programs discussed above, there are a couple of web tools that can be used as split screen video maker online free. Two of the most used ones are introduced below:

1. Kapwing Collage Maker

Although Kapwing offers several other online tools like video resizer, meme generator, slideshow maker, etc., the solution that can be considered split screen video editor is Kapwing Collage Maker. This web app allows you to select a template to get started, and the rest of the process is simple.

The following steps explain how to create a split screen video with Kapwing:

Step 1: Add Clips to Preset

Go to the https://www.kapwing.com/collage link, click to select your preferred split screen preset, click REPLACE on one of the segments of the split screen on the next page, and select and upload the first video. Next, click REPLACE on the other segment(s), and select and upload the other videos as well.

Step 2: Reposition and Publish

Click and drag each of the added clips to reposition them on the screen, use the other tools to crop and adjust the videos as needed, and click Publish from the top-right corner. Note: Optionally you can click Timeline from the top of the preview window, adjust the timings and other settings as needed on the next page, and click Done. After this, you can go ahead and hit Publish to create the split screen effect out of the uploaded videos.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows as many as 4 videos to create split screen effect

Cons

• Requires you to register and sign in to remove the watermark from the output file

2. WeVideo

Yet another split screen video maker online free solution, WeVideo offers almost desktop program-like experience while creating split screen effects. Even though all the subscription plans that the vendor offers are chargeable, the Education plan can be tried for 30 days for free, post which the teachers are required to pay to continue using the web tool.

The following steps explain how to get split screen effect with WeVideo:

Step 1: Import Videos

Visit https://www.wevideo.com and on the main window, click Video from under the Create a new section at the top, select a layout on the Let’s get started box, and click START EDITING from the bottom right corner. Next, click ADD in the My media window in the upper-left section, click BROWSE TO SELECT on the Import media box, and add the videos you want to use in the split screen effect.

Step 2: Add Clips to Timeline

As explained earlier, drag the videos from the My media pane and drop them in the Timeline. Make sure to place every video in its separate layer, and that all the layers are on top of each other.

Step 3: Create Split Screen Effect

Select any clip in the Timeline, and click the Open clip editor icon from the upper-left area of the track. On the next page, use the Scale slider to reduce the size of the selected clip, and from the preview window in the right, drag to reposition the video to your preferred location on the screen. Click SAVE CHANGES from the bottom of the left pane to confirm the settings. Repeat the process for the second clip in the Timeline to resize and reposition it on the screen. Click FINISH from the upper-right corner, on the next box, enter a name for the video in the available field, click SET, choose your preferred settings on the next page, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner to produce the split screen video.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows multiple videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Paid subscription is needed to remove watermark from the outputs

FAQs About Split Screen Video Editors

Why you should use split screen effect in video?

There are a couple of reasons you may want to use split screen effect in your video. Some of the most common uses include:

• Showing multiple actions by the same or different characters at the same time, without changing the screen
• Comparing multiple objects or picture quality. This can be done only when the entities in question are placed side-by-side
• Making your video look more professional
• Showing different effects on the same screen

Can I create a split screen video with Windows Movie Maker or Windows 10 Photos app?

No, you cannot. Although these tools enable you to resize the videos, since they don’t allow multi-tracked Timelines, no video clips can be placed one above the other which is an essential part for any split screen video maker to create the effect. However, as discussed above, there are several post-production tools, offline and online, that allow you to make split screen videos easily and without any cost.

Conclusion

Split screen video editor tools are both paid and free. Regardless of the program you use to create the effect, the output files always look more professional and informative. Furthermore, things become way simpler if the split screen video maker has simple UI, is less resource intensive, and is easy to use as it is the case with Wondershare Filmora.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The effect that comes up after adding two or more screens in a single frame is called split screen, and the tool that enables the users to do this is a split screen video editor. These split screens have significant importance in post-production tasks. That said, the following sections discuss about the tools that enable you to create split screen videos, and explain the process of doing so.

As mentioned above, the split screen effect lets you add two or more screens in a single frame. When multiple activities occur at the same time but at different locations, they all can be shown on one screen by placing their corresponding footages side-by-side or in any other arrangement that the split screen video maker allows.

Best Split Screen Video Editing Software for Windows and Mac [Free & Paid]

After understanding what split screen is, it becomes both obvious and mandatory to know about some of the most used split screen video editor applications, and how they help you in adding the effect to your movies. Following is a list of a couple of such programs:

1. iMovie

A proprietary of Apple, iMovie is available for both iOS and macOS, and is absolutely free of cost. Even though the tool lacks some advanced options for fine editing, it still offers a good platform to those planning their career in post-production industry. With simple UI, it is easy to learn iMovie.

The step-by-step instructions given below explain how to use iMovie to add split screen effect to your videos:

Step 1: Add Footages to iMovie

After importing the footages to the Media Bin in iMovie, drag the first one to the Timeline, and then drag the second one above the first layer.

Step 2: Select the Split Screen Effect

Select the top video layer in the Timeline, and choose Split Screen from the screen type drop-down list at the top.

Step 3: Select Split Screen Preset

Choose a position for the selected layer from the Position drop-down list at the top, and use the Slide slider to adjust the speed of the appearance of the footage.

Pros

• iMovie is free to download and use
• The program is available for both macOS and iOS

Cons

• Allows only up to two videos to be used in split screen

You can get iMovie from here: https://www.apple.com/in/imovie/

2. Wondershare Filmora Editor

One of the most robust apps that is compared with post-production applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X, Wondershare Filmora is also a video editor that helps split screen easily. The software is available for Windows and Mac computers, and provides prompt technical support to its consumers. Although Filmora that packed with more advanced tools is also available, most of the times Filmora serves the purpose pretty well.

You can learn how to add split screen effect in Wondershare Filmora by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Import Footages to Filmora

Launch Wondershare Filmora, click anywhere inside the Media window in the upper-left section, and import all the videos you want to use to create the split screen effect.

Step 2: Choose a Split Screen Preset

Click Split Screen from the standard toolbar at the top, click and drag your preferred preset to the Timeline, and then extend the duration of the effect in the Timeline by dragging its handle.

Step 3: Add Videos to Split Screen

Click ADVANCED from the bottom-right area of the Media pane, on the Advanced Split Screen Edit box, drag the first video from the left pane, and drop it on your preferred section in the right. Repeat the process to add all the other videos to their corresponding sections. Adjust their time of appearance by dragging their thumbnail in the Timeline of the box, and click OK.

Pros

• Wondershare Filmora is lightweight and is less resource intensive
• Allows as many as 6 videos to be added to create split screen effect
• Has 30+ split screen presets

Cons

• A couple of windows are required to be opened while working with split screen

3 . VSDC

VSDC is a free and efficient split screen video maker. In fact, the program is a full-fledged post-production application that can be used to edit the videos to prepare industry-standard clips for presentations, broadcasting, and commercial and private distribution. The best thing about VSDC is, it is absolutely free of cost, and doesn’t add any watermarks to the output files.

The instructions given below explain how to use the split screen feature in VSDC:

Step 1: Add Video Footages

Click Add object from the standard toolbar at the top, click Video, and select and add the first footage to the preview window. Repeat the process to add more video(s) as needed.

Step 2: Add Split Screen Effect

Grab any of the side handles of the video you added last, and drag it inward to reduce its size proportionally. Repeat the process to reduce the size of the other video(s) that is/are now revealed from beneath the one you just adjusted in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Absolutely free to use
• Allows practically unlimited number of footages to be added to create the split screen videos

Cons

• No presets for automatic video positioning are available for split screen effect

You can get VSDC free video editor from here: http://www.videosoftdev.com/

4. Shotcut

A free and opensource editing tool, Shotcut can also be used as a split screen video maker to produce industry-standard movies and documentaries. Shotcut is available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS, and comes in both x64 and x86 variants. Being a free program, Shotcut doesn’t require any activation or registration.

The procedure that follows explains how to use Shortcut as a free split screen video editor:

Step 1: Add Clips to the Timeline

Import the footages to the Shotcut’s media bin, drag one of the clips from the bin to the Timeline at the bottom, and then press Ctrl + I on your keyboard to add more video tracks. You can press this shortcut key for another couple of times depending on the number films you want to use for the split screen effect. Next, drag each film from the bin to their corresponding tracks. Note: Make sure NOT to place all the clips on the same track, and that each of them is on a different, its own, video layer.

Step 2: Adjust the First Video

Select the last video you added to the Timeline (it should be the topmost track), click Filters from above the Timeline, click the + button from the upper-left corner, click Size and Position from the list that appears next, and select the clip’s position from the Preset drop-down list.

Step 3: Adjust Other Videos

Select the second video in the Timeline and repeat the process to set its position, and do the same for all other footages that you added in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms
• If using presets, as many as 4 videos can be added for split screen effect

Cons

• Working with split screen manually may require practice and some calculations to position the clips on the screen correctly

You can get Shotcut from here: https://shotcut.org/

5. Lightworks

Used by the professionals to edit and prepare movies like Pulp Fiction, The Cure, L.A. Confidential, Bruce Almighty, The Wolf of Wall Street, etc., Lightworks is, in true means, a complete and full-fledged post-production application to create industry-standard outputs. The main reason for the app’s wide userbase is that it is a cross-platform software that is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows computers.

To use Lightworks as split screen video maker, you can follow the instructions given below:

Step 1: Add Tracks in Timeline

After importing the clips to Lightworks, leave them in the Media Bin for now, right-click anywhere in the Timeline at the bottom, go to Tracks, click Add multiple, and from the Number to add drop-down list, choose the number of tracks you want to add to the Timeline. Click Add to confirm the changes.

Step 2: Disable Auto Sync

Right-click anywhere in the Timeline, and click to deselect Auto track sync.

Step 3: Add Clips to Timeline

Drag the clips from the Media Bin to the Timeline. Make sure to place each footage on a different track, and that all the tracks are on top of each other. Optionally, right-click the audio that was added along with the clips, and click Remove from the context menu. Use this method to remove all the audios or leave the one you want to have. Note: Removing the audio tracks ensures that they do not overlap during the playback.

Step 4: Enable Split Screen

Click VFX from above the preview window, click the + (Add new effects) icon from the top of the left pane, select the DVE category from the upper-right corner of the left pane, scroll down the left pane to the Split-screen Presets section, and double-click your preferred split screen preset to add the effect to the participating clips.

Pros

• Even the free variant has split screen feature
• A complete post-production tool that doesn’t require any other program for finalizing the things

Cons

• Not many split screen presets are available

Download Lightworks free version from here: https://www.lwks.com/

6. Adobe Premiere Pro

One of the most appreciated and widely used post-production applications for Windows and Mac computers, Adobe Premiere Pro has been professionals’ first choice when it comes to video editing, irrespective of the fact that it has a steep learning curve, and is also a resource intensive software to work with.

The steps below explain how to use Adobe Premiere Pro as a split screen video maker:

Step 1: Add Videos to Timeline

After importing the clips to the Project window, drag each of them to the Timeline, and place them in their separate tracks one above the other.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the topmost video track in the Timeline, go to Effect Controls panel from the top of the upper-left pane, and use the Position slider to position the video to your preferred area of the screen. Repeat this process for all the clips in the Timeline you want to add to split screen.

Step 3: Crop the Clips

Search for the Crop effect in the Effects pane present at the lower-left corner, drag and drop the effect on each of the clips in the timeline, and use the Crop slider in the Effect Controls pane to crop the videos as needed. Optionally use the keyframes to add sliding animations to give more professional look to the split screen effect.

Pros

• Most robust and efficient video editing tool
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Requires subscription that needs to be renewed regularly

For more details about making split screen with Pr, check How to create a split screen in Premiere Pro

7. Final Cut Pro X

Available only for Mac computers at the time of this writing, Final Cut Pro X or FCPX gives tough competition to Adobe Premiere Pro. Since Apple devices are famous for their speedy processing, professionals any day prefer FCPX over Adobe Premiere Pro if they own a Mac PC running macOS.

You can use FCPX as split screen video maker by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Place Footages in the Timeline

As mentioned earlier, add the clips on top of each other on separate tracks in the Timeline of FCPX.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the first clip in the Timeline, from the Transform section of the Video Inspector pane in the right, use the Position slider to move the clip to your preferred side of the screen, and use the sliders from the Crop section to crop the footage to adjust the portion of interest. Repeat the process for the other video tracks as well to get your desired split screen effect in Final Cut Pro X.

Pros

• Offers quick and easy way to add split screen effect
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Doesn’t have any particular preset for split screen effect

You may also like: How to create a PIP video with Final Cut Pro X

Best Free Online Split Screen Video Editors

Apart from the desktop programs discussed above, there are a couple of web tools that can be used as split screen video maker online free. Two of the most used ones are introduced below:

1. Kapwing Collage Maker

Although Kapwing offers several other online tools like video resizer, meme generator, slideshow maker, etc., the solution that can be considered split screen video editor is Kapwing Collage Maker. This web app allows you to select a template to get started, and the rest of the process is simple.

The following steps explain how to create a split screen video with Kapwing:

Step 1: Add Clips to Preset

Go to the https://www.kapwing.com/collage link, click to select your preferred split screen preset, click REPLACE on one of the segments of the split screen on the next page, and select and upload the first video. Next, click REPLACE on the other segment(s), and select and upload the other videos as well.

Step 2: Reposition and Publish

Click and drag each of the added clips to reposition them on the screen, use the other tools to crop and adjust the videos as needed, and click Publish from the top-right corner. Note: Optionally you can click Timeline from the top of the preview window, adjust the timings and other settings as needed on the next page, and click Done. After this, you can go ahead and hit Publish to create the split screen effect out of the uploaded videos.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows as many as 4 videos to create split screen effect

Cons

• Requires you to register and sign in to remove the watermark from the output file

2. WeVideo

Yet another split screen video maker online free solution, WeVideo offers almost desktop program-like experience while creating split screen effects. Even though all the subscription plans that the vendor offers are chargeable, the Education plan can be tried for 30 days for free, post which the teachers are required to pay to continue using the web tool.

The following steps explain how to get split screen effect with WeVideo:

Step 1: Import Videos

Visit https://www.wevideo.com and on the main window, click Video from under the Create a new section at the top, select a layout on the Let’s get started box, and click START EDITING from the bottom right corner. Next, click ADD in the My media window in the upper-left section, click BROWSE TO SELECT on the Import media box, and add the videos you want to use in the split screen effect.

Step 2: Add Clips to Timeline

As explained earlier, drag the videos from the My media pane and drop them in the Timeline. Make sure to place every video in its separate layer, and that all the layers are on top of each other.

Step 3: Create Split Screen Effect

Select any clip in the Timeline, and click the Open clip editor icon from the upper-left area of the track. On the next page, use the Scale slider to reduce the size of the selected clip, and from the preview window in the right, drag to reposition the video to your preferred location on the screen. Click SAVE CHANGES from the bottom of the left pane to confirm the settings. Repeat the process for the second clip in the Timeline to resize and reposition it on the screen. Click FINISH from the upper-right corner, on the next box, enter a name for the video in the available field, click SET, choose your preferred settings on the next page, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner to produce the split screen video.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows multiple videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Paid subscription is needed to remove watermark from the outputs

FAQs About Split Screen Video Editors

Why you should use split screen effect in video?

There are a couple of reasons you may want to use split screen effect in your video. Some of the most common uses include:

• Showing multiple actions by the same or different characters at the same time, without changing the screen
• Comparing multiple objects or picture quality. This can be done only when the entities in question are placed side-by-side
• Making your video look more professional
• Showing different effects on the same screen

Can I create a split screen video with Windows Movie Maker or Windows 10 Photos app?

No, you cannot. Although these tools enable you to resize the videos, since they don’t allow multi-tracked Timelines, no video clips can be placed one above the other which is an essential part for any split screen video maker to create the effect. However, as discussed above, there are several post-production tools, offline and online, that allow you to make split screen videos easily and without any cost.

Conclusion

Split screen video editor tools are both paid and free. Regardless of the program you use to create the effect, the output files always look more professional and informative. Furthermore, things become way simpler if the split screen video maker has simple UI, is less resource intensive, and is easy to use as it is the case with Wondershare Filmora.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The effect that comes up after adding two or more screens in a single frame is called split screen, and the tool that enables the users to do this is a split screen video editor. These split screens have significant importance in post-production tasks. That said, the following sections discuss about the tools that enable you to create split screen videos, and explain the process of doing so.

As mentioned above, the split screen effect lets you add two or more screens in a single frame. When multiple activities occur at the same time but at different locations, they all can be shown on one screen by placing their corresponding footages side-by-side or in any other arrangement that the split screen video maker allows.

Best Split Screen Video Editing Software for Windows and Mac [Free & Paid]

After understanding what split screen is, it becomes both obvious and mandatory to know about some of the most used split screen video editor applications, and how they help you in adding the effect to your movies. Following is a list of a couple of such programs:

1. iMovie

A proprietary of Apple, iMovie is available for both iOS and macOS, and is absolutely free of cost. Even though the tool lacks some advanced options for fine editing, it still offers a good platform to those planning their career in post-production industry. With simple UI, it is easy to learn iMovie.

The step-by-step instructions given below explain how to use iMovie to add split screen effect to your videos:

Step 1: Add Footages to iMovie

After importing the footages to the Media Bin in iMovie, drag the first one to the Timeline, and then drag the second one above the first layer.

Step 2: Select the Split Screen Effect

Select the top video layer in the Timeline, and choose Split Screen from the screen type drop-down list at the top.

Step 3: Select Split Screen Preset

Choose a position for the selected layer from the Position drop-down list at the top, and use the Slide slider to adjust the speed of the appearance of the footage.

Pros

• iMovie is free to download and use
• The program is available for both macOS and iOS

Cons

• Allows only up to two videos to be used in split screen

You can get iMovie from here: https://www.apple.com/in/imovie/

2. Wondershare Filmora Editor

One of the most robust apps that is compared with post-production applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X, Wondershare Filmora is also a video editor that helps split screen easily. The software is available for Windows and Mac computers, and provides prompt technical support to its consumers. Although Filmora that packed with more advanced tools is also available, most of the times Filmora serves the purpose pretty well.

You can learn how to add split screen effect in Wondershare Filmora by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Import Footages to Filmora

Launch Wondershare Filmora, click anywhere inside the Media window in the upper-left section, and import all the videos you want to use to create the split screen effect.

Step 2: Choose a Split Screen Preset

Click Split Screen from the standard toolbar at the top, click and drag your preferred preset to the Timeline, and then extend the duration of the effect in the Timeline by dragging its handle.

Step 3: Add Videos to Split Screen

Click ADVANCED from the bottom-right area of the Media pane, on the Advanced Split Screen Edit box, drag the first video from the left pane, and drop it on your preferred section in the right. Repeat the process to add all the other videos to their corresponding sections. Adjust their time of appearance by dragging their thumbnail in the Timeline of the box, and click OK.

Pros

• Wondershare Filmora is lightweight and is less resource intensive
• Allows as many as 6 videos to be added to create split screen effect
• Has 30+ split screen presets

Cons

• A couple of windows are required to be opened while working with split screen

3 . VSDC

VSDC is a free and efficient split screen video maker. In fact, the program is a full-fledged post-production application that can be used to edit the videos to prepare industry-standard clips for presentations, broadcasting, and commercial and private distribution. The best thing about VSDC is, it is absolutely free of cost, and doesn’t add any watermarks to the output files.

The instructions given below explain how to use the split screen feature in VSDC:

Step 1: Add Video Footages

Click Add object from the standard toolbar at the top, click Video, and select and add the first footage to the preview window. Repeat the process to add more video(s) as needed.

Step 2: Add Split Screen Effect

Grab any of the side handles of the video you added last, and drag it inward to reduce its size proportionally. Repeat the process to reduce the size of the other video(s) that is/are now revealed from beneath the one you just adjusted in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Absolutely free to use
• Allows practically unlimited number of footages to be added to create the split screen videos

Cons

• No presets for automatic video positioning are available for split screen effect

You can get VSDC free video editor from here: http://www.videosoftdev.com/

4. Shotcut

A free and opensource editing tool, Shotcut can also be used as a split screen video maker to produce industry-standard movies and documentaries. Shotcut is available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS, and comes in both x64 and x86 variants. Being a free program, Shotcut doesn’t require any activation or registration.

The procedure that follows explains how to use Shortcut as a free split screen video editor:

Step 1: Add Clips to the Timeline

Import the footages to the Shotcut’s media bin, drag one of the clips from the bin to the Timeline at the bottom, and then press Ctrl + I on your keyboard to add more video tracks. You can press this shortcut key for another couple of times depending on the number films you want to use for the split screen effect. Next, drag each film from the bin to their corresponding tracks. Note: Make sure NOT to place all the clips on the same track, and that each of them is on a different, its own, video layer.

Step 2: Adjust the First Video

Select the last video you added to the Timeline (it should be the topmost track), click Filters from above the Timeline, click the + button from the upper-left corner, click Size and Position from the list that appears next, and select the clip’s position from the Preset drop-down list.

Step 3: Adjust Other Videos

Select the second video in the Timeline and repeat the process to set its position, and do the same for all other footages that you added in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms
• If using presets, as many as 4 videos can be added for split screen effect

Cons

• Working with split screen manually may require practice and some calculations to position the clips on the screen correctly

You can get Shotcut from here: https://shotcut.org/

5. Lightworks

Used by the professionals to edit and prepare movies like Pulp Fiction, The Cure, L.A. Confidential, Bruce Almighty, The Wolf of Wall Street, etc., Lightworks is, in true means, a complete and full-fledged post-production application to create industry-standard outputs. The main reason for the app’s wide userbase is that it is a cross-platform software that is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows computers.

To use Lightworks as split screen video maker, you can follow the instructions given below:

Step 1: Add Tracks in Timeline

After importing the clips to Lightworks, leave them in the Media Bin for now, right-click anywhere in the Timeline at the bottom, go to Tracks, click Add multiple, and from the Number to add drop-down list, choose the number of tracks you want to add to the Timeline. Click Add to confirm the changes.

Step 2: Disable Auto Sync

Right-click anywhere in the Timeline, and click to deselect Auto track sync.

Step 3: Add Clips to Timeline

Drag the clips from the Media Bin to the Timeline. Make sure to place each footage on a different track, and that all the tracks are on top of each other. Optionally, right-click the audio that was added along with the clips, and click Remove from the context menu. Use this method to remove all the audios or leave the one you want to have. Note: Removing the audio tracks ensures that they do not overlap during the playback.

Step 4: Enable Split Screen

Click VFX from above the preview window, click the + (Add new effects) icon from the top of the left pane, select the DVE category from the upper-right corner of the left pane, scroll down the left pane to the Split-screen Presets section, and double-click your preferred split screen preset to add the effect to the participating clips.

Pros

• Even the free variant has split screen feature
• A complete post-production tool that doesn’t require any other program for finalizing the things

Cons

• Not many split screen presets are available

Download Lightworks free version from here: https://www.lwks.com/

6. Adobe Premiere Pro

One of the most appreciated and widely used post-production applications for Windows and Mac computers, Adobe Premiere Pro has been professionals’ first choice when it comes to video editing, irrespective of the fact that it has a steep learning curve, and is also a resource intensive software to work with.

The steps below explain how to use Adobe Premiere Pro as a split screen video maker:

Step 1: Add Videos to Timeline

After importing the clips to the Project window, drag each of them to the Timeline, and place them in their separate tracks one above the other.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the topmost video track in the Timeline, go to Effect Controls panel from the top of the upper-left pane, and use the Position slider to position the video to your preferred area of the screen. Repeat this process for all the clips in the Timeline you want to add to split screen.

Step 3: Crop the Clips

Search for the Crop effect in the Effects pane present at the lower-left corner, drag and drop the effect on each of the clips in the timeline, and use the Crop slider in the Effect Controls pane to crop the videos as needed. Optionally use the keyframes to add sliding animations to give more professional look to the split screen effect.

Pros

• Most robust and efficient video editing tool
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Requires subscription that needs to be renewed regularly

For more details about making split screen with Pr, check How to create a split screen in Premiere Pro

7. Final Cut Pro X

Available only for Mac computers at the time of this writing, Final Cut Pro X or FCPX gives tough competition to Adobe Premiere Pro. Since Apple devices are famous for their speedy processing, professionals any day prefer FCPX over Adobe Premiere Pro if they own a Mac PC running macOS.

You can use FCPX as split screen video maker by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Place Footages in the Timeline

As mentioned earlier, add the clips on top of each other on separate tracks in the Timeline of FCPX.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the first clip in the Timeline, from the Transform section of the Video Inspector pane in the right, use the Position slider to move the clip to your preferred side of the screen, and use the sliders from the Crop section to crop the footage to adjust the portion of interest. Repeat the process for the other video tracks as well to get your desired split screen effect in Final Cut Pro X.

Pros

• Offers quick and easy way to add split screen effect
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Doesn’t have any particular preset for split screen effect

You may also like: How to create a PIP video with Final Cut Pro X

Best Free Online Split Screen Video Editors

Apart from the desktop programs discussed above, there are a couple of web tools that can be used as split screen video maker online free. Two of the most used ones are introduced below:

1. Kapwing Collage Maker

Although Kapwing offers several other online tools like video resizer, meme generator, slideshow maker, etc., the solution that can be considered split screen video editor is Kapwing Collage Maker. This web app allows you to select a template to get started, and the rest of the process is simple.

The following steps explain how to create a split screen video with Kapwing:

Step 1: Add Clips to Preset

Go to the https://www.kapwing.com/collage link, click to select your preferred split screen preset, click REPLACE on one of the segments of the split screen on the next page, and select and upload the first video. Next, click REPLACE on the other segment(s), and select and upload the other videos as well.

Step 2: Reposition and Publish

Click and drag each of the added clips to reposition them on the screen, use the other tools to crop and adjust the videos as needed, and click Publish from the top-right corner. Note: Optionally you can click Timeline from the top of the preview window, adjust the timings and other settings as needed on the next page, and click Done. After this, you can go ahead and hit Publish to create the split screen effect out of the uploaded videos.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows as many as 4 videos to create split screen effect

Cons

• Requires you to register and sign in to remove the watermark from the output file

2. WeVideo

Yet another split screen video maker online free solution, WeVideo offers almost desktop program-like experience while creating split screen effects. Even though all the subscription plans that the vendor offers are chargeable, the Education plan can be tried for 30 days for free, post which the teachers are required to pay to continue using the web tool.

The following steps explain how to get split screen effect with WeVideo:

Step 1: Import Videos

Visit https://www.wevideo.com and on the main window, click Video from under the Create a new section at the top, select a layout on the Let’s get started box, and click START EDITING from the bottom right corner. Next, click ADD in the My media window in the upper-left section, click BROWSE TO SELECT on the Import media box, and add the videos you want to use in the split screen effect.

Step 2: Add Clips to Timeline

As explained earlier, drag the videos from the My media pane and drop them in the Timeline. Make sure to place every video in its separate layer, and that all the layers are on top of each other.

Step 3: Create Split Screen Effect

Select any clip in the Timeline, and click the Open clip editor icon from the upper-left area of the track. On the next page, use the Scale slider to reduce the size of the selected clip, and from the preview window in the right, drag to reposition the video to your preferred location on the screen. Click SAVE CHANGES from the bottom of the left pane to confirm the settings. Repeat the process for the second clip in the Timeline to resize and reposition it on the screen. Click FINISH from the upper-right corner, on the next box, enter a name for the video in the available field, click SET, choose your preferred settings on the next page, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner to produce the split screen video.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows multiple videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Paid subscription is needed to remove watermark from the outputs

FAQs About Split Screen Video Editors

Why you should use split screen effect in video?

There are a couple of reasons you may want to use split screen effect in your video. Some of the most common uses include:

• Showing multiple actions by the same or different characters at the same time, without changing the screen
• Comparing multiple objects or picture quality. This can be done only when the entities in question are placed side-by-side
• Making your video look more professional
• Showing different effects on the same screen

Can I create a split screen video with Windows Movie Maker or Windows 10 Photos app?

No, you cannot. Although these tools enable you to resize the videos, since they don’t allow multi-tracked Timelines, no video clips can be placed one above the other which is an essential part for any split screen video maker to create the effect. However, as discussed above, there are several post-production tools, offline and online, that allow you to make split screen videos easily and without any cost.

Conclusion

Split screen video editor tools are both paid and free. Regardless of the program you use to create the effect, the output files always look more professional and informative. Furthermore, things become way simpler if the split screen video maker has simple UI, is less resource intensive, and is easy to use as it is the case with Wondershare Filmora.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The effect that comes up after adding two or more screens in a single frame is called split screen, and the tool that enables the users to do this is a split screen video editor. These split screens have significant importance in post-production tasks. That said, the following sections discuss about the tools that enable you to create split screen videos, and explain the process of doing so.

As mentioned above, the split screen effect lets you add two or more screens in a single frame. When multiple activities occur at the same time but at different locations, they all can be shown on one screen by placing their corresponding footages side-by-side or in any other arrangement that the split screen video maker allows.

Best Split Screen Video Editing Software for Windows and Mac [Free & Paid]

After understanding what split screen is, it becomes both obvious and mandatory to know about some of the most used split screen video editor applications, and how they help you in adding the effect to your movies. Following is a list of a couple of such programs:

1. iMovie

A proprietary of Apple, iMovie is available for both iOS and macOS, and is absolutely free of cost. Even though the tool lacks some advanced options for fine editing, it still offers a good platform to those planning their career in post-production industry. With simple UI, it is easy to learn iMovie.

The step-by-step instructions given below explain how to use iMovie to add split screen effect to your videos:

Step 1: Add Footages to iMovie

After importing the footages to the Media Bin in iMovie, drag the first one to the Timeline, and then drag the second one above the first layer.

Step 2: Select the Split Screen Effect

Select the top video layer in the Timeline, and choose Split Screen from the screen type drop-down list at the top.

Step 3: Select Split Screen Preset

Choose a position for the selected layer from the Position drop-down list at the top, and use the Slide slider to adjust the speed of the appearance of the footage.

Pros

• iMovie is free to download and use
• The program is available for both macOS and iOS

Cons

• Allows only up to two videos to be used in split screen

You can get iMovie from here: https://www.apple.com/in/imovie/

2. Wondershare Filmora Editor

One of the most robust apps that is compared with post-production applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X, Wondershare Filmora is also a video editor that helps split screen easily. The software is available for Windows and Mac computers, and provides prompt technical support to its consumers. Although Filmora that packed with more advanced tools is also available, most of the times Filmora serves the purpose pretty well.

You can learn how to add split screen effect in Wondershare Filmora by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Import Footages to Filmora

Launch Wondershare Filmora, click anywhere inside the Media window in the upper-left section, and import all the videos you want to use to create the split screen effect.

Step 2: Choose a Split Screen Preset

Click Split Screen from the standard toolbar at the top, click and drag your preferred preset to the Timeline, and then extend the duration of the effect in the Timeline by dragging its handle.

Step 3: Add Videos to Split Screen

Click ADVANCED from the bottom-right area of the Media pane, on the Advanced Split Screen Edit box, drag the first video from the left pane, and drop it on your preferred section in the right. Repeat the process to add all the other videos to their corresponding sections. Adjust their time of appearance by dragging their thumbnail in the Timeline of the box, and click OK.

Pros

• Wondershare Filmora is lightweight and is less resource intensive
• Allows as many as 6 videos to be added to create split screen effect
• Has 30+ split screen presets

Cons

• A couple of windows are required to be opened while working with split screen

3 . VSDC

VSDC is a free and efficient split screen video maker. In fact, the program is a full-fledged post-production application that can be used to edit the videos to prepare industry-standard clips for presentations, broadcasting, and commercial and private distribution. The best thing about VSDC is, it is absolutely free of cost, and doesn’t add any watermarks to the output files.

The instructions given below explain how to use the split screen feature in VSDC:

Step 1: Add Video Footages

Click Add object from the standard toolbar at the top, click Video, and select and add the first footage to the preview window. Repeat the process to add more video(s) as needed.

Step 2: Add Split Screen Effect

Grab any of the side handles of the video you added last, and drag it inward to reduce its size proportionally. Repeat the process to reduce the size of the other video(s) that is/are now revealed from beneath the one you just adjusted in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Absolutely free to use
• Allows practically unlimited number of footages to be added to create the split screen videos

Cons

• No presets for automatic video positioning are available for split screen effect

You can get VSDC free video editor from here: http://www.videosoftdev.com/

4. Shotcut

A free and opensource editing tool, Shotcut can also be used as a split screen video maker to produce industry-standard movies and documentaries. Shotcut is available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS, and comes in both x64 and x86 variants. Being a free program, Shotcut doesn’t require any activation or registration.

The procedure that follows explains how to use Shortcut as a free split screen video editor:

Step 1: Add Clips to the Timeline

Import the footages to the Shotcut’s media bin, drag one of the clips from the bin to the Timeline at the bottom, and then press Ctrl + I on your keyboard to add more video tracks. You can press this shortcut key for another couple of times depending on the number films you want to use for the split screen effect. Next, drag each film from the bin to their corresponding tracks. Note: Make sure NOT to place all the clips on the same track, and that each of them is on a different, its own, video layer.

Step 2: Adjust the First Video

Select the last video you added to the Timeline (it should be the topmost track), click Filters from above the Timeline, click the + button from the upper-left corner, click Size and Position from the list that appears next, and select the clip’s position from the Preset drop-down list.

Step 3: Adjust Other Videos

Select the second video in the Timeline and repeat the process to set its position, and do the same for all other footages that you added in order to create the split screen effect.

Pros

• Available for FreeBSD, Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms
• If using presets, as many as 4 videos can be added for split screen effect

Cons

• Working with split screen manually may require practice and some calculations to position the clips on the screen correctly

You can get Shotcut from here: https://shotcut.org/

5. Lightworks

Used by the professionals to edit and prepare movies like Pulp Fiction, The Cure, L.A. Confidential, Bruce Almighty, The Wolf of Wall Street, etc., Lightworks is, in true means, a complete and full-fledged post-production application to create industry-standard outputs. The main reason for the app’s wide userbase is that it is a cross-platform software that is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows computers.

To use Lightworks as split screen video maker, you can follow the instructions given below:

Step 1: Add Tracks in Timeline

After importing the clips to Lightworks, leave them in the Media Bin for now, right-click anywhere in the Timeline at the bottom, go to Tracks, click Add multiple, and from the Number to add drop-down list, choose the number of tracks you want to add to the Timeline. Click Add to confirm the changes.

Step 2: Disable Auto Sync

Right-click anywhere in the Timeline, and click to deselect Auto track sync.

Step 3: Add Clips to Timeline

Drag the clips from the Media Bin to the Timeline. Make sure to place each footage on a different track, and that all the tracks are on top of each other. Optionally, right-click the audio that was added along with the clips, and click Remove from the context menu. Use this method to remove all the audios or leave the one you want to have. Note: Removing the audio tracks ensures that they do not overlap during the playback.

Step 4: Enable Split Screen

Click VFX from above the preview window, click the + (Add new effects) icon from the top of the left pane, select the DVE category from the upper-right corner of the left pane, scroll down the left pane to the Split-screen Presets section, and double-click your preferred split screen preset to add the effect to the participating clips.

Pros

• Even the free variant has split screen feature
• A complete post-production tool that doesn’t require any other program for finalizing the things

Cons

• Not many split screen presets are available

Download Lightworks free version from here: https://www.lwks.com/

6. Adobe Premiere Pro

One of the most appreciated and widely used post-production applications for Windows and Mac computers, Adobe Premiere Pro has been professionals’ first choice when it comes to video editing, irrespective of the fact that it has a steep learning curve, and is also a resource intensive software to work with.

The steps below explain how to use Adobe Premiere Pro as a split screen video maker:

Step 1: Add Videos to Timeline

After importing the clips to the Project window, drag each of them to the Timeline, and place them in their separate tracks one above the other.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the topmost video track in the Timeline, go to Effect Controls panel from the top of the upper-left pane, and use the Position slider to position the video to your preferred area of the screen. Repeat this process for all the clips in the Timeline you want to add to split screen.

Step 3: Crop the Clips

Search for the Crop effect in the Effects pane present at the lower-left corner, drag and drop the effect on each of the clips in the timeline, and use the Crop slider in the Effect Controls pane to crop the videos as needed. Optionally use the keyframes to add sliding animations to give more professional look to the split screen effect.

Pros

• Most robust and efficient video editing tool
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Requires subscription that needs to be renewed regularly

For more details about making split screen with Pr, check How to create a split screen in Premiere Pro

7. Final Cut Pro X

Available only for Mac computers at the time of this writing, Final Cut Pro X or FCPX gives tough competition to Adobe Premiere Pro. Since Apple devices are famous for their speedy processing, professionals any day prefer FCPX over Adobe Premiere Pro if they own a Mac PC running macOS.

You can use FCPX as split screen video maker by following the steps given below:

Step 1: Place Footages in the Timeline

As mentioned earlier, add the clips on top of each other on separate tracks in the Timeline of FCPX.

Step 2: Position and Crop

Select the first clip in the Timeline, from the Transform section of the Video Inspector pane in the right, use the Position slider to move the clip to your preferred side of the screen, and use the sliders from the Crop section to crop the footage to adjust the portion of interest. Repeat the process for the other video tracks as well to get your desired split screen effect in Final Cut Pro X.

Pros

• Offers quick and easy way to add split screen effect
• Allows practically unlimited number of videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Doesn’t have any particular preset for split screen effect

You may also like: How to create a PIP video with Final Cut Pro X

Best Free Online Split Screen Video Editors

Apart from the desktop programs discussed above, there are a couple of web tools that can be used as split screen video maker online free. Two of the most used ones are introduced below:

1. Kapwing Collage Maker

Although Kapwing offers several other online tools like video resizer, meme generator, slideshow maker, etc., the solution that can be considered split screen video editor is Kapwing Collage Maker. This web app allows you to select a template to get started, and the rest of the process is simple.

The following steps explain how to create a split screen video with Kapwing:

Step 1: Add Clips to Preset

Go to the https://www.kapwing.com/collage link, click to select your preferred split screen preset, click REPLACE on one of the segments of the split screen on the next page, and select and upload the first video. Next, click REPLACE on the other segment(s), and select and upload the other videos as well.

Step 2: Reposition and Publish

Click and drag each of the added clips to reposition them on the screen, use the other tools to crop and adjust the videos as needed, and click Publish from the top-right corner. Note: Optionally you can click Timeline from the top of the preview window, adjust the timings and other settings as needed on the next page, and click Done. After this, you can go ahead and hit Publish to create the split screen effect out of the uploaded videos.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows as many as 4 videos to create split screen effect

Cons

• Requires you to register and sign in to remove the watermark from the output file

2. WeVideo

Yet another split screen video maker online free solution, WeVideo offers almost desktop program-like experience while creating split screen effects. Even though all the subscription plans that the vendor offers are chargeable, the Education plan can be tried for 30 days for free, post which the teachers are required to pay to continue using the web tool.

The following steps explain how to get split screen effect with WeVideo:

Step 1: Import Videos

Visit https://www.wevideo.com and on the main window, click Video from under the Create a new section at the top, select a layout on the Let’s get started box, and click START EDITING from the bottom right corner. Next, click ADD in the My media window in the upper-left section, click BROWSE TO SELECT on the Import media box, and add the videos you want to use in the split screen effect.

Step 2: Add Clips to Timeline

As explained earlier, drag the videos from the My media pane and drop them in the Timeline. Make sure to place every video in its separate layer, and that all the layers are on top of each other.

Step 3: Create Split Screen Effect

Select any clip in the Timeline, and click the Open clip editor icon from the upper-left area of the track. On the next page, use the Scale slider to reduce the size of the selected clip, and from the preview window in the right, drag to reposition the video to your preferred location on the screen. Click SAVE CHANGES from the bottom of the left pane to confirm the settings. Repeat the process for the second clip in the Timeline to resize and reposition it on the screen. Click FINISH from the upper-right corner, on the next box, enter a name for the video in the available field, click SET, choose your preferred settings on the next page, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner to produce the split screen video.

Pros

• Free to use
• Allows multiple videos to be used for split screen

Cons

• Paid subscription is needed to remove watermark from the outputs

FAQs About Split Screen Video Editors

Why you should use split screen effect in video?

There are a couple of reasons you may want to use split screen effect in your video. Some of the most common uses include:

• Showing multiple actions by the same or different characters at the same time, without changing the screen
• Comparing multiple objects or picture quality. This can be done only when the entities in question are placed side-by-side
• Making your video look more professional
• Showing different effects on the same screen

Can I create a split screen video with Windows Movie Maker or Windows 10 Photos app?

No, you cannot. Although these tools enable you to resize the videos, since they don’t allow multi-tracked Timelines, no video clips can be placed one above the other which is an essential part for any split screen video maker to create the effect. However, as discussed above, there are several post-production tools, offline and online, that allow you to make split screen videos easily and without any cost.

Conclusion

Split screen video editor tools are both paid and free. Regardless of the program you use to create the effect, the output files always look more professional and informative. Furthermore, things become way simpler if the split screen video maker has simple UI, is less resource intensive, and is easy to use as it is the case with Wondershare Filmora.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

Get Ready to Edit: Configuring Your Computer for Premiere Pro

System Requirements for Running Premiere Pro: How to Set Up Computer

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

We all know that Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the best professional video editing software, while to run such a powerful video editing software, you may need a powerful windows PC or Mac as well. Though most modern computer systems can run Adobe Premiere out of the box, there are some steps to take, and potential decisions to make, before installing the software, or if you are building or buying a new computer to make sure you get the best experience possible with the software.

You may also like:Best Adobe Premiere Alternatives >>

---

Minimum system requirement to run Premiere Pro on Windows and Mac in 2019

Your computer should at least to meet the minimum specification below to run Premiere Pro, and if you need to edit some VR videos, your computer configuration should be higher according to the minimum specifications list on their website .

• Intel 6th or newer CPU
• Windows 10 (64-bit) 1703 or later/ MacOS V10.12 later
• 16GB RAM; 4GB GPU VRAM
• Fast internal SSD
• 1920*1080 Display resolution
• 32-bit video card
• Internet connection

However, it is important to remember this is the minimum specification, and will not necessarily give a satisfactory user experience. The recommended specifications are far more likely to provide the kind of performance expected of the software and those would be the ones to use as a guide for the minimum spec for a new computer or any upgrades being planned prior to installation.

---

How to check Computer Specifications

Since Premiere Pro CC only works on Windows 10 system after 2018 13.0 release, we will show you how to check if your PC meets the requirements to run Premiere Pro on Windows 10

• Press Windows Key+ E on the keyboard to bring up Windows Explorer.
• Right click the This PC option in the sidebar and then select Properties from the context menu.

• The system specification window will show up which you see the Processor, RAM, system type and other system information.

Checking the specification on your Mac is easy, just click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your Mac, and then select About This Mac option. In the pop-up window you will see the information including Processor speed, memory and graphic card etc.

---

How to Set Up Computer for Premiere

1. Processor

Whilst the software will run on a Core2Duo intel or Phenom II AMD processor, it is worth noting that rendering can be highly intensive work for the processor and the fastest possible processor within your budget will pay dividends in speed of editing. In general, even a Core I3, the cheapest of the current Intel range, will be significantly faster than older processors, but because Premiere happily uses multi cored processors to their full, if the budget can reach to a quad core or more processor then do so, Premiere is a piece of software that benefits from the computational power increase more than most.

2. Memory

The next consideration is memory. The minimum specification suggests 4GB of RAM with 8GB recommended, for reliable and smooth running consider 8GB minimum, and go for as much as you can. For a computer that is used for other activities as well, multitasking can see even 24GB of Ram being fully utilized, especially if you are working on HD content. Speaking of content, this is the other aspect of memory to look at. Whilst you can use a storage drive that contains everything else on your computer to keep the media you are working on, for HD content especially, and for trouble free and the fastest possible operation it is advisable to reserve a single drive, preferably a 7200 RPM or faster one, exclusively for your media. Bandwidth and access times means Premiere will be significantly faster in operation with its media on a dedicated drive.

3. Graphic

The final aspect of specification to consider is graphics. Adobe Premiere uses a feature called the Mercury Playback Engine that allows much faster and smoother playback of video without rendering, it has two modes, software only and GPU acceleration mode (Using either CUDA or OpenCL). The GPU acceleration mode offers significant performance increases and is therefore highly desirable. However, not all GPU’s are compatible with the Mercury Playback Engine, the list of those that are is found on the previously linked specification page, so if a new computer is being built or purchased, or upgrades are being considered prior to install, it is highly desirable to utilize a compatible GPU where possible.

5. Settings

Having covered the basic specifications of a computer that will enhance the operation of Premiere, it is now time to look at the computer settings and how this can affect Premiere’s performance and usability.

The first thing to understand is that video editing, especially HD video, is bandwidth intensive, in effect, it fills up the lanes between the CPU, RAM, GPU and Hard Drive during operation. Spreading the use of that bandwidth over several devices can see huge performance gains, so one of the best ways to optimize the computer for Premier is to adjust how the hard drives are used. How effective this can be depends on the computer you are using, so we will try to cover a few different possibilities here.

6. Drive

If your computer contains a single drive, simply install Premiere and start using it, there are no options available here. If there are two drives, keep one for the operating system, programs and cache files. Use the second drive exclusively for video project files, exported projects and previews.

If the computer has three drives then keep one for the operating system and programs, the second one for the video project files, and use the third for previews, cache files and exported projects.

If you have access to even more drives, then split the cache from the previews, and ultimately have one drive each for previews, exports and cache. Spreading the files across as many drives as possible enhances performance by enabling the different read/write operations to occur without interference from each other.

That is the theory, but how do you achieve this? This is done within Premiere itself, there are two parts, accessing where the media cache files are placed is done though the edit menu, following the path edit > preferences > media.

Changing where the project files, previews and exports are stored is just as easy, and is accessed via the project menu by taking the path project > project settings > scratchdisks.

7. Sequence Setting

When working with Premiere it is important to have the correct settings for the type of media you are using and the nature of the final output. This is done within Premiere by a function known as a Sequence.

After creating a new project you are presented with the sequence dialogue box. You can have as many sequences in a single project as you like, but Premiere always assumes you require at least one and so needs the first one to be created to allow work on a project. Any media, both audio and video, placed into a sequence is automatically adapted to the settings of that sequence, so you will want to choose settings that match the original media as closely as possible. Each sequence in a project can have different settings if required, as this lessens the workload on the CPU and makes the process faster and smoother.

The sequence dialogue has three tabs, Sequence Presets, Settings and Tracks

The Preset Tab makes setting up a new sequence much simpler. Choosing a preset enables Premiere to choose the settings that best match the chosen video and audio format. There are a wide range of presets available to suit the most commonly used media types, they are organized based on camera formats. Within each group there are numerous settings and configurations to choose from based around frame sizes and interlacing. Whilst choosing the correct preset can be a little daunting to the uninitiated, ensuring the number of frames per second, the frame size and codec are correct is all that is required.

Once the preset is chosen you can move to the settings tab to adjust the preset manually. Some settings will not be adjustable in this tab due to the specific optimization required for the input media.

Because the presets do such a good job it is not really necessary to adjust anything in the settings tab, and unless you are trying to do something very specific.

While the standard presets are usually suitable, on occasion you may desire a custom setting. To do this, choose a sequence preset that is close to your media, and then make custom selections in the Settings tab. By selecting the Save Preset option on the Settings tab you can then create a custom setting with those parameters. Give the preset a suitable name in the Save Settings dialog and add any notes that are needed. The preset can be found in the Custom folder under Available Presets.

Those with the Apple Prores Codec on their computers can use this as the preview codec if required. By choosing Quicktime as the preview format in a custom editing mode, and lastly Apple Prores as the required codec.

Conclusion

If your computer failed to meet the requirement to run Premiere Pro, you may need to spend some money to buy a powerful computer or choose another professional video editing software similar to Premiere Pro, or choose a video editing software. If your computer isn’t powerful enough to run Premiere Pro, you will get awful experience at editing footage because of the long loading time and stuck playback.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

We all know that Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the best professional video editing software, while to run such a powerful video editing software, you may need a powerful windows PC or Mac as well. Though most modern computer systems can run Adobe Premiere out of the box, there are some steps to take, and potential decisions to make, before installing the software, or if you are building or buying a new computer to make sure you get the best experience possible with the software.

You may also like:Best Adobe Premiere Alternatives >>

---

Minimum system requirement to run Premiere Pro on Windows and Mac in 2019

Your computer should at least to meet the minimum specification below to run Premiere Pro, and if you need to edit some VR videos, your computer configuration should be higher according to the minimum specifications list on their website .

• Intel 6th or newer CPU
• Windows 10 (64-bit) 1703 or later/ MacOS V10.12 later
• 16GB RAM; 4GB GPU VRAM
• Fast internal SSD
• 1920*1080 Display resolution
• 32-bit video card
• Internet connection

However, it is important to remember this is the minimum specification, and will not necessarily give a satisfactory user experience. The recommended specifications are far more likely to provide the kind of performance expected of the software and those would be the ones to use as a guide for the minimum spec for a new computer or any upgrades being planned prior to installation.

---

How to check Computer Specifications

Since Premiere Pro CC only works on Windows 10 system after 2018 13.0 release, we will show you how to check if your PC meets the requirements to run Premiere Pro on Windows 10

• Press Windows Key+ E on the keyboard to bring up Windows Explorer.
• Right click the This PC option in the sidebar and then select Properties from the context menu.

• The system specification window will show up which you see the Processor, RAM, system type and other system information.

Checking the specification on your Mac is easy, just click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your Mac, and then select About This Mac option. In the pop-up window you will see the information including Processor speed, memory and graphic card etc.

---

How to Set Up Computer for Premiere

1. Processor

Whilst the software will run on a Core2Duo intel or Phenom II AMD processor, it is worth noting that rendering can be highly intensive work for the processor and the fastest possible processor within your budget will pay dividends in speed of editing. In general, even a Core I3, the cheapest of the current Intel range, will be significantly faster than older processors, but because Premiere happily uses multi cored processors to their full, if the budget can reach to a quad core or more processor then do so, Premiere is a piece of software that benefits from the computational power increase more than most.

2. Memory

The next consideration is memory. The minimum specification suggests 4GB of RAM with 8GB recommended, for reliable and smooth running consider 8GB minimum, and go for as much as you can. For a computer that is used for other activities as well, multitasking can see even 24GB of Ram being fully utilized, especially if you are working on HD content. Speaking of content, this is the other aspect of memory to look at. Whilst you can use a storage drive that contains everything else on your computer to keep the media you are working on, for HD content especially, and for trouble free and the fastest possible operation it is advisable to reserve a single drive, preferably a 7200 RPM or faster one, exclusively for your media. Bandwidth and access times means Premiere will be significantly faster in operation with its media on a dedicated drive.

3. Graphic

The final aspect of specification to consider is graphics. Adobe Premiere uses a feature called the Mercury Playback Engine that allows much faster and smoother playback of video without rendering, it has two modes, software only and GPU acceleration mode (Using either CUDA or OpenCL). The GPU acceleration mode offers significant performance increases and is therefore highly desirable. However, not all GPU’s are compatible with the Mercury Playback Engine, the list of those that are is found on the previously linked specification page, so if a new computer is being built or purchased, or upgrades are being considered prior to install, it is highly desirable to utilize a compatible GPU where possible.

5. Settings

Having covered the basic specifications of a computer that will enhance the operation of Premiere, it is now time to look at the computer settings and how this can affect Premiere’s performance and usability.

The first thing to understand is that video editing, especially HD video, is bandwidth intensive, in effect, it fills up the lanes between the CPU, RAM, GPU and Hard Drive during operation. Spreading the use of that bandwidth over several devices can see huge performance gains, so one of the best ways to optimize the computer for Premier is to adjust how the hard drives are used. How effective this can be depends on the computer you are using, so we will try to cover a few different possibilities here.

6. Drive

If your computer contains a single drive, simply install Premiere and start using it, there are no options available here. If there are two drives, keep one for the operating system, programs and cache files. Use the second drive exclusively for video project files, exported projects and previews.

If the computer has three drives then keep one for the operating system and programs, the second one for the video project files, and use the third for previews, cache files and exported projects.

If you have access to even more drives, then split the cache from the previews, and ultimately have one drive each for previews, exports and cache. Spreading the files across as many drives as possible enhances performance by enabling the different read/write operations to occur without interference from each other.

That is the theory, but how do you achieve this? This is done within Premiere itself, there are two parts, accessing where the media cache files are placed is done though the edit menu, following the path edit > preferences > media.

Changing where the project files, previews and exports are stored is just as easy, and is accessed via the project menu by taking the path project > project settings > scratchdisks.

7. Sequence Setting

When working with Premiere it is important to have the correct settings for the type of media you are using and the nature of the final output. This is done within Premiere by a function known as a Sequence.

After creating a new project you are presented with the sequence dialogue box. You can have as many sequences in a single project as you like, but Premiere always assumes you require at least one and so needs the first one to be created to allow work on a project. Any media, both audio and video, placed into a sequence is automatically adapted to the settings of that sequence, so you will want to choose settings that match the original media as closely as possible. Each sequence in a project can have different settings if required, as this lessens the workload on the CPU and makes the process faster and smoother.

The sequence dialogue has three tabs, Sequence Presets, Settings and Tracks

The Preset Tab makes setting up a new sequence much simpler. Choosing a preset enables Premiere to choose the settings that best match the chosen video and audio format. There are a wide range of presets available to suit the most commonly used media types, they are organized based on camera formats. Within each group there are numerous settings and configurations to choose from based around frame sizes and interlacing. Whilst choosing the correct preset can be a little daunting to the uninitiated, ensuring the number of frames per second, the frame size and codec are correct is all that is required.

Once the preset is chosen you can move to the settings tab to adjust the preset manually. Some settings will not be adjustable in this tab due to the specific optimization required for the input media.

Because the presets do such a good job it is not really necessary to adjust anything in the settings tab, and unless you are trying to do something very specific.

While the standard presets are usually suitable, on occasion you may desire a custom setting. To do this, choose a sequence preset that is close to your media, and then make custom selections in the Settings tab. By selecting the Save Preset option on the Settings tab you can then create a custom setting with those parameters. Give the preset a suitable name in the Save Settings dialog and add any notes that are needed. The preset can be found in the Custom folder under Available Presets.

Those with the Apple Prores Codec on their computers can use this as the preview codec if required. By choosing Quicktime as the preview format in a custom editing mode, and lastly Apple Prores as the required codec.

Conclusion

If your computer failed to meet the requirement to run Premiere Pro, you may need to spend some money to buy a powerful computer or choose another professional video editing software similar to Premiere Pro, or choose a video editing software. If your computer isn’t powerful enough to run Premiere Pro, you will get awful experience at editing footage because of the long loading time and stuck playback.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

We all know that Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the best professional video editing software, while to run such a powerful video editing software, you may need a powerful windows PC or Mac as well. Though most modern computer systems can run Adobe Premiere out of the box, there are some steps to take, and potential decisions to make, before installing the software, or if you are building or buying a new computer to make sure you get the best experience possible with the software.

You may also like:Best Adobe Premiere Alternatives >>

---

Minimum system requirement to run Premiere Pro on Windows and Mac in 2019

Your computer should at least to meet the minimum specification below to run Premiere Pro, and if you need to edit some VR videos, your computer configuration should be higher according to the minimum specifications list on their website .

• Intel 6th or newer CPU
• Windows 10 (64-bit) 1703 or later/ MacOS V10.12 later
• 16GB RAM; 4GB GPU VRAM
• Fast internal SSD
• 1920*1080 Display resolution
• 32-bit video card
• Internet connection

However, it is important to remember this is the minimum specification, and will not necessarily give a satisfactory user experience. The recommended specifications are far more likely to provide the kind of performance expected of the software and those would be the ones to use as a guide for the minimum spec for a new computer or any upgrades being planned prior to installation.

---

How to check Computer Specifications

Since Premiere Pro CC only works on Windows 10 system after 2018 13.0 release, we will show you how to check if your PC meets the requirements to run Premiere Pro on Windows 10

• Press Windows Key+ E on the keyboard to bring up Windows Explorer.
• Right click the This PC option in the sidebar and then select Properties from the context menu.

• The system specification window will show up which you see the Processor, RAM, system type and other system information.

Checking the specification on your Mac is easy, just click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your Mac, and then select About This Mac option. In the pop-up window you will see the information including Processor speed, memory and graphic card etc.

---

How to Set Up Computer for Premiere

1. Processor

Whilst the software will run on a Core2Duo intel or Phenom II AMD processor, it is worth noting that rendering can be highly intensive work for the processor and the fastest possible processor within your budget will pay dividends in speed of editing. In general, even a Core I3, the cheapest of the current Intel range, will be significantly faster than older processors, but because Premiere happily uses multi cored processors to their full, if the budget can reach to a quad core or more processor then do so, Premiere is a piece of software that benefits from the computational power increase more than most.

2. Memory

The next consideration is memory. The minimum specification suggests 4GB of RAM with 8GB recommended, for reliable and smooth running consider 8GB minimum, and go for as much as you can. For a computer that is used for other activities as well, multitasking can see even 24GB of Ram being fully utilized, especially if you are working on HD content. Speaking of content, this is the other aspect of memory to look at. Whilst you can use a storage drive that contains everything else on your computer to keep the media you are working on, for HD content especially, and for trouble free and the fastest possible operation it is advisable to reserve a single drive, preferably a 7200 RPM or faster one, exclusively for your media. Bandwidth and access times means Premiere will be significantly faster in operation with its media on a dedicated drive.

3. Graphic

The final aspect of specification to consider is graphics. Adobe Premiere uses a feature called the Mercury Playback Engine that allows much faster and smoother playback of video without rendering, it has two modes, software only and GPU acceleration mode (Using either CUDA or OpenCL). The GPU acceleration mode offers significant performance increases and is therefore highly desirable. However, not all GPU’s are compatible with the Mercury Playback Engine, the list of those that are is found on the previously linked specification page, so if a new computer is being built or purchased, or upgrades are being considered prior to install, it is highly desirable to utilize a compatible GPU where possible.

5. Settings

Having covered the basic specifications of a computer that will enhance the operation of Premiere, it is now time to look at the computer settings and how this can affect Premiere’s performance and usability.

The first thing to understand is that video editing, especially HD video, is bandwidth intensive, in effect, it fills up the lanes between the CPU, RAM, GPU and Hard Drive during operation. Spreading the use of that bandwidth over several devices can see huge performance gains, so one of the best ways to optimize the computer for Premier is to adjust how the hard drives are used. How effective this can be depends on the computer you are using, so we will try to cover a few different possibilities here.

6. Drive

If your computer contains a single drive, simply install Premiere and start using it, there are no options available here. If there are two drives, keep one for the operating system, programs and cache files. Use the second drive exclusively for video project files, exported projects and previews.

If the computer has three drives then keep one for the operating system and programs, the second one for the video project files, and use the third for previews, cache files and exported projects.

If you have access to even more drives, then split the cache from the previews, and ultimately have one drive each for previews, exports and cache. Spreading the files across as many drives as possible enhances performance by enabling the different read/write operations to occur without interference from each other.

That is the theory, but how do you achieve this? This is done within Premiere itself, there are two parts, accessing where the media cache files are placed is done though the edit menu, following the path edit > preferences > media.

Changing where the project files, previews and exports are stored is just as easy, and is accessed via the project menu by taking the path project > project settings > scratchdisks.

7. Sequence Setting

When working with Premiere it is important to have the correct settings for the type of media you are using and the nature of the final output. This is done within Premiere by a function known as a Sequence.

After creating a new project you are presented with the sequence dialogue box. You can have as many sequences in a single project as you like, but Premiere always assumes you require at least one and so needs the first one to be created to allow work on a project. Any media, both audio and video, placed into a sequence is automatically adapted to the settings of that sequence, so you will want to choose settings that match the original media as closely as possible. Each sequence in a project can have different settings if required, as this lessens the workload on the CPU and makes the process faster and smoother.

The sequence dialogue has three tabs, Sequence Presets, Settings and Tracks

The Preset Tab makes setting up a new sequence much simpler. Choosing a preset enables Premiere to choose the settings that best match the chosen video and audio format. There are a wide range of presets available to suit the most commonly used media types, they are organized based on camera formats. Within each group there are numerous settings and configurations to choose from based around frame sizes and interlacing. Whilst choosing the correct preset can be a little daunting to the uninitiated, ensuring the number of frames per second, the frame size and codec are correct is all that is required.

Once the preset is chosen you can move to the settings tab to adjust the preset manually. Some settings will not be adjustable in this tab due to the specific optimization required for the input media.

Because the presets do such a good job it is not really necessary to adjust anything in the settings tab, and unless you are trying to do something very specific.

While the standard presets are usually suitable, on occasion you may desire a custom setting. To do this, choose a sequence preset that is close to your media, and then make custom selections in the Settings tab. By selecting the Save Preset option on the Settings tab you can then create a custom setting with those parameters. Give the preset a suitable name in the Save Settings dialog and add any notes that are needed. The preset can be found in the Custom folder under Available Presets.

Those with the Apple Prores Codec on their computers can use this as the preview codec if required. By choosing Quicktime as the preview format in a custom editing mode, and lastly Apple Prores as the required codec.

Conclusion

If your computer failed to meet the requirement to run Premiere Pro, you may need to spend some money to buy a powerful computer or choose another professional video editing software similar to Premiere Pro, or choose a video editing software. If your computer isn’t powerful enough to run Premiere Pro, you will get awful experience at editing footage because of the long loading time and stuck playback.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

We all know that Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the best professional video editing software, while to run such a powerful video editing software, you may need a powerful windows PC or Mac as well. Though most modern computer systems can run Adobe Premiere out of the box, there are some steps to take, and potential decisions to make, before installing the software, or if you are building or buying a new computer to make sure you get the best experience possible with the software.

You may also like:Best Adobe Premiere Alternatives >>

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Minimum system requirement to run Premiere Pro on Windows and Mac in 2019

Your computer should at least to meet the minimum specification below to run Premiere Pro, and if you need to edit some VR videos, your computer configuration should be higher according to the minimum specifications list on their website .

• Intel 6th or newer CPU
• Windows 10 (64-bit) 1703 or later/ MacOS V10.12 later
• 16GB RAM; 4GB GPU VRAM
• Fast internal SSD
• 1920*1080 Display resolution
• 32-bit video card
• Internet connection

However, it is important to remember this is the minimum specification, and will not necessarily give a satisfactory user experience. The recommended specifications are far more likely to provide the kind of performance expected of the software and those would be the ones to use as a guide for the minimum spec for a new computer or any upgrades being planned prior to installation.

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How to check Computer Specifications

Since Premiere Pro CC only works on Windows 10 system after 2018 13.0 release, we will show you how to check if your PC meets the requirements to run Premiere Pro on Windows 10

• Press Windows Key+ E on the keyboard to bring up Windows Explorer.
• Right click the This PC option in the sidebar and then select Properties from the context menu.

• The system specification window will show up which you see the Processor, RAM, system type and other system information.

Checking the specification on your Mac is easy, just click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your Mac, and then select About This Mac option. In the pop-up window you will see the information including Processor speed, memory and graphic card etc.

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How to Set Up Computer for Premiere

1. Processor

Whilst the software will run on a Core2Duo intel or Phenom II AMD processor, it is worth noting that rendering can be highly intensive work for the processor and the fastest possible processor within your budget will pay dividends in speed of editing. In general, even a Core I3, the cheapest of the current Intel range, will be significantly faster than older processors, but because Premiere happily uses multi cored processors to their full, if the budget can reach to a quad core or more processor then do so, Premiere is a piece of software that benefits from the computational power increase more than most.

2. Memory

The next consideration is memory. The minimum specification suggests 4GB of RAM with 8GB recommended, for reliable and smooth running consider 8GB minimum, and go for as much as you can. For a computer that is used for other activities as well, multitasking can see even 24GB of Ram being fully utilized, especially if you are working on HD content. Speaking of content, this is the other aspect of memory to look at. Whilst you can use a storage drive that contains everything else on your computer to keep the media you are working on, for HD content especially, and for trouble free and the fastest possible operation it is advisable to reserve a single drive, preferably a 7200 RPM or faster one, exclusively for your media. Bandwidth and access times means Premiere will be significantly faster in operation with its media on a dedicated drive.

3. Graphic

The final aspect of specification to consider is graphics. Adobe Premiere uses a feature called the Mercury Playback Engine that allows much faster and smoother playback of video without rendering, it has two modes, software only and GPU acceleration mode (Using either CUDA or OpenCL). The GPU acceleration mode offers significant performance increases and is therefore highly desirable. However, not all GPU’s are compatible with the Mercury Playback Engine, the list of those that are is found on the previously linked specification page, so if a new computer is being built or purchased, or upgrades are being considered prior to install, it is highly desirable to utilize a compatible GPU where possible.

5. Settings

Having covered the basic specifications of a computer that will enhance the operation of Premiere, it is now time to look at the computer settings and how this can affect Premiere’s performance and usability.

The first thing to understand is that video editing, especially HD video, is bandwidth intensive, in effect, it fills up the lanes between the CPU, RAM, GPU and Hard Drive during operation. Spreading the use of that bandwidth over several devices can see huge performance gains, so one of the best ways to optimize the computer for Premier is to adjust how the hard drives are used. How effective this can be depends on the computer you are using, so we will try to cover a few different possibilities here.

6. Drive

If your computer contains a single drive, simply install Premiere and start using it, there are no options available here. If there are two drives, keep one for the operating system, programs and cache files. Use the second drive exclusively for video project files, exported projects and previews.

If the computer has three drives then keep one for the operating system and programs, the second one for the video project files, and use the third for previews, cache files and exported projects.

If you have access to even more drives, then split the cache from the previews, and ultimately have one drive each for previews, exports and cache. Spreading the files across as many drives as possible enhances performance by enabling the different read/write operations to occur without interference from each other.

That is the theory, but how do you achieve this? This is done within Premiere itself, there are two parts, accessing where the media cache files are placed is done though the edit menu, following the path edit > preferences > media.

Changing where the project files, previews and exports are stored is just as easy, and is accessed via the project menu by taking the path project > project settings > scratchdisks.

7. Sequence Setting

When working with Premiere it is important to have the correct settings for the type of media you are using and the nature of the final output. This is done within Premiere by a function known as a Sequence.

After creating a new project you are presented with the sequence dialogue box. You can have as many sequences in a single project as you like, but Premiere always assumes you require at least one and so needs the first one to be created to allow work on a project. Any media, both audio and video, placed into a sequence is automatically adapted to the settings of that sequence, so you will want to choose settings that match the original media as closely as possible. Each sequence in a project can have different settings if required, as this lessens the workload on the CPU and makes the process faster and smoother.

The sequence dialogue has three tabs, Sequence Presets, Settings and Tracks

The Preset Tab makes setting up a new sequence much simpler. Choosing a preset enables Premiere to choose the settings that best match the chosen video and audio format. There are a wide range of presets available to suit the most commonly used media types, they are organized based on camera formats. Within each group there are numerous settings and configurations to choose from based around frame sizes and interlacing. Whilst choosing the correct preset can be a little daunting to the uninitiated, ensuring the number of frames per second, the frame size and codec are correct is all that is required.

Once the preset is chosen you can move to the settings tab to adjust the preset manually. Some settings will not be adjustable in this tab due to the specific optimization required for the input media.

Because the presets do such a good job it is not really necessary to adjust anything in the settings tab, and unless you are trying to do something very specific.

While the standard presets are usually suitable, on occasion you may desire a custom setting. To do this, choose a sequence preset that is close to your media, and then make custom selections in the Settings tab. By selecting the Save Preset option on the Settings tab you can then create a custom setting with those parameters. Give the preset a suitable name in the Save Settings dialog and add any notes that are needed. The preset can be found in the Custom folder under Available Presets.

Those with the Apple Prores Codec on their computers can use this as the preview codec if required. By choosing Quicktime as the preview format in a custom editing mode, and lastly Apple Prores as the required codec.

Conclusion

If your computer failed to meet the requirement to run Premiere Pro, you may need to spend some money to buy a powerful computer or choose another professional video editing software similar to Premiere Pro, or choose a video editing software. If your computer isn’t powerful enough to run Premiere Pro, you will get awful experience at editing footage because of the long loading time and stuck playback.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

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