Free Operating System
Start with a free operating system! I use Linux Ubuntu, but other popular distributions can be seen at DistroWatch.
Why choose Linux over Windows?
Do you really want to use an operating system that is continuously spying on you?
- Windows 10 will keep spying on you no matter how hard you try to stop it.
- Microsoft’s Software is Malware
Also see the video: Linux Does What Win Don’t
Do you really want to support an evil man (Forbes’ richest in the world – not counting the bankers who are never included) who diabolically thinks he is a part of a “good club” and uses your “software money” to depopulate by vaccines (which was exposed by India), promote a One World Government to fight the global warming fraud and advocates the GMO myth that it will feed the world (like the vaccines GMOs are Seeds of Depopulation), while at the same time saving Non-GMO seeds in his Seed Vault in Norway?
Seriously, why would you ever buy or even use anything by Microsoft? The good news is that now you don’t have to!
Free Video Editor
The best free and open source video editor is Kdenlive – a multi-track, nonlinear video-editing suite with the most recent technologies.
Review: Kdenlive Delivers Near-Pro Video Editing - If You Have the Right Stuff
Kdenlive (Linux, Mac, Win) does have a glitch in that sometimes it will crash when complex transitions are being created. Just regularly save your project and you will be fine. Compare this to Apple’s Final Cut Pro X for $299 (Mac) or the industry standard - Adobe’s Premiere Pro CC (Win, Mac) with a prepaid subscription of $239 per year (which apparently has its share of bugs too).
Install Kdenlive through Ubuntu’s built-in software repository or the Synaptic Package Manager.
Additionally, you can use the Terminal with the following commands on Ubuntu:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:kdenlive/kdenlive-stable && sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install kdenlive A great manual to help you get started editing is available from FLOSS (Free, Libre and Open Source Software) Manuals titled How to Use Video Editing Software (Highly Recommended!).
FLOSS also has a course created for the School of Open called the Open Video Production Workbook.
There are plenty of YouTube videos on kdenlive like Spatry’s Kdenlive Workshop and his GET OUT of the BOX! tutorial on Green Screening.
An essential skill to master is the “Pan and Zoom Effect.”
Other documentation is available at Kdenlive Tutorials.
Free Image Editor
An image editor is needed to add photos and slides to your video. A free “Photoshop style” editor is called GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program).
To install GIMP (Linux, Win) through the Terminal on Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install gimp gimp-data gimp-plugin-registry gimp-data-extras
sudo apt-get install gimp-help-en
The GIMP Manual is integrated within the program. Additionally, you can download the GIMP manual.pdf or access the Online User Manual.
Free Sound Editor
It is often best to create an audio track first and then sync the pictures in your video. Audacity (Linux, Mac, Win) is an excellent, free, open-source, multi-track, audio recorder and editor.
Download Source or use the Synaptic Package Manager, Ubuntu Software repository or the Terminal:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/audacity
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install audacity
View Audacity’s Online Manual or download the Audacity Manual HTML.
Free Music
You will want to incorporate sound effects and music into your video. Be sure to check which permissions the artists are withholding. Most of the artists in the links below allow the use of their music in your videos as long as you don’t sell it and you give them proper attribution.
The best free sources are:
- FreeSound (also available within the Kdenlive pulldown menu)
- Free Music Archive
- CCTrax
Another source for high-quality music is Jamendo Licensing where you can pay about $5.00 for a Personal License to use a song for non-commercial, non-monetized videos (ex. YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and Podcasts). For $50 you can get a Standard License for commercial and monetized videos. The price goes up to $100 for a Large License with radio and large audiences and $300 for a Full Scale License with unlimited permission to use the song on DVDs and Television.
Free License - Creative Commons
If you want your video to travel far and wide, the best thing to do is use a Creative Commons License to help build a vibrant, collaborative global community. There are six Creative Commons Licenses. Giving your video an Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) is the least restrictive, giving anyone the permissions to Share and Adapt with the only requirement being that they give appropriate credit indicating if any changes were made. You can now choose to use a Creative Commons License on YouTube in place of the Standard YouTube License as well as on Vimeo.
Additionally, you can Search the Commons for material that you can freely share, use and remix.
I created the following Documentary/Drama using Kdenlive, GIMP, Audacity and of course – Linux!
Note: The first 15 second clip is an IntroMaker animation.
The Final Warning - The Beasts Are Revealed! by David Blanton Ford is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Additional Resources
Video4change Resources for video activists.
- Planning Your Video
- Before Filming
- Filming
- Saving and Storing
- Editing
- Distribution
- Safety and Security
- Mobile Video
Eight Resources for Video Storytelling, a package of materials to help filmmakers safely and ethically document human rights abuse.
- How to Make Videos For Change
- How to Film with a Mobile Phone
- Filming Protests and Police Abuse
- Mastering Depth of Field with your DSLR
- How to Film a Protest
- Video as Evidence – Basic Practices
- Using Videos in Human Rights Reporting and Advocacy
- How to Preserve your Videos
Additional Manuals on Video Editing
- Video For Change:A Guide for Advocacy and Activism
- Insights into Participatory Video: A Handbook for the Field
Stabilize Your Videos
Keep your smartphone facing you as you move and smooth out any camera shaking using Gimbal stabilization. See the OSMO Mobile Gimbal in action here: Was The Moon Landing Fake? Of Course It Was!