# Recommend me some movie-making software? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-movie-making-software/560714 "2010-11-15T08:05:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-movie-making-software/560714/1 "2010-11-15T08:05:52Z")
I have a large collection of still pics and HD video clips from a vacation. I would like to put some of them together into a movie that’s maybe 10 minutes long, and I’m looking for some software that will do the job. I used Windows Movie Maker a few months ago for a simple movie that involved a single clip set to music, with a title screen. WMM is free, and you get what you pay for; it’s pretty basic. I’m looking for something PC-based with all the bells and whistles, something that will give me lots of options for assembling a more complicated video/still montage. Transitions, title screens, captions in any font, and so on. Maybe also recommend a book or a few websites that give suggestions on how to create a movie that is likely to be interesting/entertaining for viewers? I have some ideas on how I want to put things together, but I’m an admitted novice, so advice is welcome. Thanks… (Mods, I figured this was about art/creativity, so I put it here in Cafe society. Feel free to move to IMHO if you think it’s a better fit there…) ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-movie-making-software/560714/2 "2010-11-15T18:40:53Z")
My standing answer for just about any video editing is Sony Vegas. A good program with a lot of powerful features, but not so complex that someone with general familiarity with editing software can’t figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-movie-making-software/560714/3 "2010-11-15T19:30:19Z")
Yep. Sony Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-movie-making-software/560714/4 "2010-11-15T19:47:54Z")
You can download a [free trial](http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials/vegaspro) to see if you like it. I don’t see the regular Sony Vegas on there. I have 8.0, and it’s worked fine for me, so I never upgraded. Maybe someone with a newer version can say if they’ve just discontinued the base “vegas” version, or if I’m just mis-remembering.