I use Blackmagic Studio’s DaVinci Resolve to edit most of my videos, but sometimes if it’s a simple enough task I’ll use Windows’ native video editor. And yes, it’s free! I highly recommend it if your system can handle it. Resolve is very resource intensive and at the very least I firmly believe you need to have a dedicated graphics card to run it. I don’t advise running it on a laptop unless you have a gaming laptop. I actually run an old version of Resolve because it seems there is a compatibility issue with the latest version of Windows and their program. That being said, I’ve used Resolve 16 for about 2 years and am very happy with it. Some of the more advanced features are for the paid version only, but the basic version is super versatile and feature-rich.
For audio editing I use Audacity, which is free and open-source. I will often edit my audio for my videos outside of Resolve because I find the controls are more fine-tuned. Either that or I’m just not as accustomed to the audio editing interface in Resolve now that I have a computer that can actually handle it!
In terms of my livestreams, I really like using OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). It’s open-source and allows me to switch inputs effortlessly. In fact, I love using it for my webinars and classes as well. I teach over Zoom and I find switching shares in the Zoom app to be time-consuming and obtrusive. OBS enables me to create a virtual second camera and rapidly select different inputs, so I can switch between my PowerPoint, my camera, and even my browser with ease. Bit by bit I’m actually using OBS more and more to limit how much editing I’m doing.
