Shotcut

Shotcut is a video editor that has a lot of very useful functions and is able to handle a large number of video formats. It's also capable of exporting video files with various extension and everything is made possible by using the FFmpeg media framework.

Installation

The developers provide a source package for whomever is interested in compiling the software, but it's also available in binary form. Users can just extract the files from the provided archive and run the application. No installation is necessary and all the major dependencies are present in the folders.

Some more specific dependencies might be required, like SDL, libexif, and JACK, but it varies from one distribution to another and users will need to check this if the application refuses to start.

Usage

The Shotcut video editor works pretty much like any other, meaning that you drop the video file and you get some basic editing functions out of the box. The difference is made by the tools that are implemented by default and that let users to do more than just simple editing. It's a steep learning curve, but the possibilities are there.

Shotcut has support for functions like multi-format timeline, screen capture, webcam capture, audio capture, support for frei0r video generator plugins, deinterlacing, audio scopes, volume control, transcoding, batch encoding, OpenGL GPU-based image processing, HTML5 video source, video zoom control, trimming, 3-point editing, and more. This is just scratching the surface of what's possible.

Conclusion

Even if Shotcut hasn't been around for very long it's already shaping up to be a very powerful alternative to the applications that are already present on Linux. Good video editors are always welcome on the open source platform and all of them have their specific niche. In fact, users will notice that some quivalent apps that can be installed, even on Linux, cost a lot of money. With Shotcut you can get everything you want and more.

What is new in this release:

• Added a Greek translation (thank you, firewalker).
• Added a Ripple All Tracks option to the Timeline menu (default is off).
• In version 15.06, we changed insert and delete operations to ripple (move following clips) across all unlocked tracks. It turns out that enough new and casual users found that disorienting and did not realize there is track locking to control it. Therefore, we added a toggle option in the timeline menu (see button on timeline toolbar). More advanced users who want this behavior will have to turn it on.
• 5 new audio dynamics filters (thank you, Lauren):
• Compressor
• Delay
• Expander
• Limiter
• Reverb

What is new in version 15.07:

• 4K UHD support
• 5 new video filters:
• Old Film: Dust
• Old Film: Grain
• Old Film: Projector
• Old Film: Scratches
• Old Film: Technocolor
• 5 new audio filters:
• Bass & Treble (3-band graphic equalizer)
• Band Pass
• High Pass
• Low Pass
• Notch
• Added Insert Track and Remove Track
• New default Encode settings produce a better quality H.264 MP4 file
• Composite now defaults to on/enabled for new video tracks

What is new in version 15.06.01:

• Added Audio Spectrum analyzer.
• Audio Spectrum screen snapshot
• Changed audio Gain filter to use dB and log scale.
• Added a toggle button to Lock a track.
• Track Lock screen snapshot
• Changed Insert and Ripple Delete to ripple across all unlocked tracks.
• Changed keyboard shortcuts to adjust track height to Ctrl+- and Ctrl+=.
• Added keyboard shortcuts to toggle track: