MiniTool MovieMaker 2
I had always associated MiniTool with their excellent Partition Wizard software, which I’ve been using for years and frankly, I had no idea they also made video editing software. Furthermore, MovieMaker 2 is free to use without any apparent limitations, which is good news for everybody. There are now hundreds of video editing programs available, some free, but most paid or at the very least, freemium. MovieMaker 2 doesn’t impose any kind of restrictions, so I was happy to jump in and start using the editor.
What struck me immediately was the clean and clutter-free interface (UI) which gets straight to the point as soon as you open the program. If you’re used to using video editors, then you should intuitively recognise the layout, so I set about adding video clips to make a very short video.
With the clips added, all I needed to do was drag them onto the storyboard and cut them where necessary, which is usually the case with raw footage.
MovieMaker is packed with transitions and effects but to be honest, I only ever use fade between clips because it’s cleaner and easier on the eyes. But for this exercise, I used two transitions and was disappointed to find that there is no option to fade individual clips without using the stock transitions. That’s a major omission on MiniTool’s part and should be considered for future software versions.
Adding caption text was easy, as was cutting clips. However, with most video editors you can move clips to overlap slightly thus producing an automatic transition, but the option to move clips in this manner in MovieMaker isn’t possible. When I had finished what limited editing options were available to me, I exported the project as MP4 and selected a bitrate of 30,000. My finished video is 14 seconds at 1080p and weighs in at 55MB.
https://youtu.be/vWxM-z4QNrc
Conclusion
MiniTool MovieMaker Free 2.3 is a simple video editor that does exactly what you would expect a basic editor to do and no more. It’s a little disappointing that clip transitions are limited and end of clips cannot be faded, but perhaps other features will be included in the future. However, it is free of charge and for assembling clips for a family video, the result should be exactly what is required for that medium.
*FURTHER READING: How To Build A Video With Photos
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