Olive stands out as a free and open-source video editor, accessible on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Despite receiving endorsements from YouTubers like Jack Cole, its practicality raises questions. To assess its suitability for video editing, read on.
Interface
Olive's interface is straightforward but lacks user-friendliness. Navigating tools for video editing can be challenging for newcomers. Essential tools are located on the left of the timeline, but understanding their functionalities requires some familiarity.
A separate effects tab facilitates audio and video effects editing, yet it presents an outdated appearance, demanding value inputs for video adjustments. The timeline appears cluttered, with the upper part designated for videos and the lower for audio, making differentiation challenging. Media is represented as a thin line without previews, only displaying the name of the video or audio. Overall, the user interface is antiquated and warrants improvement for enhanced usability. A recommended alternative is iMyFone Filme, offering a user-friendly interface for an effective video editing experience.
Basic Tools
Olive provides essential video editing tools, allowing users to cut, trim, rotate, scale, and make various changes seamlessly. Frame-by-frame editing is supported.
Text:
Users can incorporate text into videos, including captions, titles, or subtitles, with adjustable properties like shadow and padding. Text addition is a straightforward process.
Video Effects:
Various video effects, such as blur, color correction, keying, and distortion, are available for enhancing video appeal.
Transitions:
Simple transitions, including fading and cross-dissolve, are offered to enhance the flow between video clips.
Audio Editing:
Olive includes basic audio editing features, enabling users to add soundtracks, trim, split, adjust duration, and modify volume and panning. A voiceover tool for audio recording is also incorporated.
How to Use Olive Video Editor Easily
While Olive may pose initial difficulties, familiarity grows with use. Follow these steps for hassle-free video editing:
Open the video editor on your computer.
Navigate to the File menu, click on Import, and select the videos and media for editing.
In the Project panel, drag imported videos to the timeline.
Utilize tools on the left for trimming, splitting, and other edits.
Add titles or other elements by clicking the "+" button.
Apply video effects and transitions as needed.
After editing, click on the File menu and select Export to save the file in the desired format.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Supports multiple audio and video tracks, allowing versatile media mixing.
Notable precision in the timeline for detailed video editing.
Direct audio recording from the video editor.
Cons:
Two alpha software versions are in development, both with numerous bugs.
Limited improvements on version 1.0, rendering it unstable and challenging to use.
The latest version lacks stability and ease of use.