There are a lot of solutions to edit your church sermon. This can be confusing as a pastor and church leader. That is why we have done the research for you so that you can choose the best editing software for your preaching & storytelling ministry.
If you are the pastor of a church, small group leader, or volunteer who leads a group that discusses the Bible and other topics, then you are probably familiar with the phrase “take notes.” The problem is that too many leaders in churches and small group settings either don’t take notes at all or they use methods of note taking that make it difficult to follow along when they review their notes later. I have come up with my own method for taking notes in such settings, which involves using free and paid software. My go-to software is a combination of Evernote and Smartsheet.
If you want to improve your videos, you’ll need to start by choosing the right equipment. But that doesn’t mean you need to spend more money. In fact, some of the best editing software is 100% free.
What Is the Best Church Video Editing Software?
Computer Articles / By Duke Taber
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Church Video Editing Software
What video editing software should you use for editing Church video? The software that you use depends on how you plan to distribute the video.
If you simply want to edit videos that you plan to post later, there are many free programs available on Windows and Mac computers. However, if you want professional-quality editing for live streaming, vMix, Ustream Producer, and Livestream Studio 5 are the top three options.Table Of Contentsshow
vMix Allows Input from Many Devices
Designed for live streaming and recording, the vMix software is one of the most-recommended video editing programs. It is a software-based video switcher and mixer with advanced editing features. It also encodes your video for live streams, eliminating the need for additional software.
What is the main benefit of choosing vMix? This software allows you to capture video, images, and audio from more sources than other editing software. Besides connecting cameras, microphones, and soundboards, you can connect DVDs, images, PowerPoint presentations, and many other sources.
vMix also provides a user-friendly interface. You can create professional live streams without any previous editing experience.
With vMix, you can also add video signals from remote locations through an internet connection. By adding the vMix Call feature, you can interview up to eight guests or include video feeds from eight different locations.
Editing the multiple cameras into one picture is simple. You can drag and drop cameras onto the screen or quickly switch between cameras.
If you experience any problems using the software, there are dozens of helpful tutorial videos and a large community forum. You can use the tutorials and forum to find answers to almost any issue or receive tips and advice for getting more out of this software.
In the end, vMix provides the greatest range of features and add-ons compared to other editing software. You get a robust set of tools for editing professional-style video for live streaming or recording.
And did we mention that vMix has a free version for churches?
Telestream Wirecast Is Easy to Use
Telestream Wirecast comes from the developers of Ustream Producer. It allows you to edit footage from multiple cameras in real-time and live stream your master mix to multiple sources.
You can stream video to Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitter, and any RTMP server. You may even stream to more than one source at the same time.
You can capture video and audio from a wide variety of sources. You can connect wireless cameras, IP cameras, webcams, HD camcorders, microphones, and your soundboard. You may even connect a live webpage. It is also possible to stream and record at the same time.
The software allows multi-channel audio input. You can mix up to eight different audio tracks. You may also add effects and process the audio. With these features, you can combine quality video and audio to create professional broadcasts from your church.
What are the main advantages of using Telestream Wirecast? It is easy to use. You can switch between cameras or swap video and audio shots using the mouse. The software also allows you to easily move and resize video feeds on the screen or add overlays.
The variety of streaming options is also an advantage. With this software, you can stream and record video or stream to multiple services at the same time. You may also add live captions for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
One of the drawbacks to this software is the cost. The standard version regularly costs just under $700, while the pro version costs just under $1000. You also need to pay extra for certain features, such as Facebook Live comments or social integration packages.
Overall, Telestream Wirecast is powerful, easy-to-use, and expensive. It is a great choice for those with the budget for state-of-the-art video editing and live streaming.
Livestream Studio 5 Includes a 16-Channel Audio Mixer
Livestream Studio 5 is another popular choice. It includes many of the features offered by vMix and UStream, such as switching between different camera feeds. However, it also provides a few unique features.
With Livestream Studio 5, you can create virtual cameras from one camera input. For example, you can crop a smaller screen out of a larger screen and use it for a picture in picture.
This software provides control for PTZ cameras. You can pan, tilt, and zoom without touching the camera. If you use multiple PTZ cameras, one person can control the entire production from the computer.
Livestream Studio 5 also allows you to record up to four videos simultaneously. However, Telestream Wirecast allows unlimited recordings.
Why should you consider using Livestream Studio 5? This software includes audio mixer software with groups. You can connect and mix up to 16 channels using SDI inputs. You may even group these channels with camera feeds.
Another useful feature is real-time format conversion. You can use multiple cameras that record in different formats and edit them together seamlessly for high-quality video. For example, if you have a 1080p camcorder, SVGA camcorder, and a 4K camera recording at different resolutions and frame rates, the software automatically formats them for a single broadcast.
Livestream Studio 5 is also relatively expensive. However, it is a versatile software package that is designed to work with the Livestream streaming service. It includes more features than Wirecast, but it may require a little bit more practice to master.
Once your project is created it’s time to get acquainted with the project panels. Resolve has a dedicated panel for each stage of your edit. And there are seven panels in total.
#1. Media
We start with the Media panel. Here you can import the different files you’ll need for your edit.
Pro Tip: Get familiar with shortcuts (in this case CMD+I) to make your workflow as efficient as possible. Hitting that shortcut will open the import window automatically and save you a few clicks of the mouse! And if you’re coming from a previous editor, you can actually configure your shortcuts in Resolve to match those of another major NLE like Premiere Pro, Final Cut, Avid, etc.
#2. Cut
The Cut panel is where you can sync audio with video and prepare your media for editing. Admittedly, I don’t use this panel too often, but I spend a ton of time in the next one.
#3. Edit
The Edit panel is where you’ll find your video’s timeline and cut and piece together your edit. This is where you’ll spend most of your time editing and regardless of what video editor you’re migrating from, most of the elements here should be familiar.
#4. Fusion
Moving on we find the Fusion Panel. This entire panel is dedicated to motion graphics and visual effects. This is Resolve’s answer to After Effects – and it’s incredibly capable and advanced if you choose to use it.
#5. Color
Next up is the Color Panel. Here all of your color correction and color grading takes place. Coloring is Resolve’s original claim to fame. In fact, before you could ever edit full projects in Resolve, it was the go-to tool in many Hollywood productions for coloring.
Now, Resolve can do it all!
And if you’re interested in learning more about color grading and color correction in Resolve? Below I’ve got two deep-dive videos on how I color my projects:
#6. Fairlight
Once we’re done in the color panel we move to Fairlight. This is where all of your audio post-processing takes place.
#7. Deliver
Lastly, the Deliver panel is where you export your video.
Now, if you’re familiar with the process of editing and exporting a video, you may have experienced the dreaded color/saturation shift that sometimes happens when you export.
You know the feeling…
You’ve got your video where you want it, looking great on your monitor, and then you export the video to share online, but when you go to watch the exported version it’s nothing like what you saw on the timeline.
This problem is compounded by the fact that once you upload your video to an online platform (Example: YouTube) it’s going to be compressed even further.
How do we avoid this?
Below you’ll find my personal export settings I use in DaVinci Resolve to avoid this problem altogether.
The Best DaVinci Resolve Export Settings
In the Deliver panel, begin by making sure these settings are selected:
- Format – QuickTime ✅
- Codec – H.264 ✅
- Quality – Restrict to 80,000 Kb/s (for 4K); Restrict to 40,000 Kb/s (for 1080p) ✅
Next, open up the Advanced Settings dropdown menu and make the following adjustments:
- Color Space Tag – P3-D65 ✅
- Gamma Tag – sRGB ✅
- Force sizing to highest quality ✅
- Force debayer to highest quality ✅
And that’s it!
Now, I’d recommend saving these new settings as a preset by clicking the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the Render Settings window.
One last thing that sets Resolve apart…
With most video editors, you’ll need to pay for/download a number of different third-party plugins.
In Resolve, however, many of these tools are built into the platform with no additional purchase or installation required! Here are a few of my favorites.
NOTE: Some of these are only available in DaVinci Resolve Studio
Film Grain
In the Color panel, if you go to OpenFX in the top-right corner and type in Grain, you’ll find Resolve’s built-in Film Grain effect. You can drag this effect onto any clip you’d like and choose from a variety of film grain presets.
If you wanted to do something like this in Premiere Pro or Final Cut, you’d need to pay for a third-party plugin.
Here are my preferred grain settings:
- Film Grain Preset – 35mm 400T
- Grain size – between 0.2 and 0.3
- Gain strength – between 0.2 and 0.3
Noise Reduction
The noise reduction in Resolve Studio is also outstanding. A good starting point for getting rid of a ton of the digital noise you’ll find in most cameras is to use these settings 👇
- Frames – 3
- Temporal Threshold – 5
- Spatial Threshold – click on chain to unlink and then set Chroma to 6
At the risk of repeating myself, remember this:
Compared to another platform like Premiere Pro or Final Cut, a plugin like Neat Video – which has been the standard for noise reduction for years – costs around $100. You don’t need that third-party tool with Resolve though, because Resolve’s noise reduction is baked right in.
LUTs
Let’s talk about LUTs. Resolve has baked-in film emulation LUTs that will take your digital footage and translate the colors to be closer to film. If you navigate to the LUTs tab in the upper left while in the Color panel, you can choose the folder that says Film Looks to see every LUT available right within Resolve. These can serve as an excellent starting point (or finishing touch) for a ton of creative looks.
Can my computer handle this?
Now, at this point you might be thinking, “Well, Resolve looks like it can do a lot – I don’t know if my computer can handle this.”
That’s a very important consideration for me, too.
In fact, the main reason I decided to leave Adobe Premiere Pro this year was that I had lost the joy of editing videos because of Premiere’s lagging and constant crashing – even with a number of different capable computers.
What I love most about Resolve in regards to performance is that there are a number of different steps you can take to allow Resolve to run smoothly on your computer, even if your computer is older or not especially powerful.
The first thing you can do is go to your project settings by clicking the gear icon in the bottom right corner of your screen and then in the Master Settings tab find the Optimized Media and Render Cache section.
Here, you’ll want to make sure that your media format and cache format are both set to ProRes LT if you’re on a Mac or to DNxHR SQ if you’re on a PC.
You’ll also want to change your background caching from five seconds to one second and then press save.
Then under the Playback dropdown menu, make sure ‘Use optimized media if available’ is checked and active. Under that same dropdown, go to Render Cache and then activate the ‘Smart’ setting.
Finally, under that same Playback dropdown, you can also go to Proxy Mode and then choose ‘Half Resolution’ or ‘Quarter Resolution.’
Has your computer fan calmed down yet? 😅
All of these adjustments should make a considerable difference for you. If, however, you still aren’t getting smooth playback as you want, you’re going to need to take more control yourself.
Remember, when we selected ‘Smart’ under the ‘Render Cache’ setting? Basically, that gives Resolve the control of optimizing what it thinks needs to be optimized to ensure a smooth editing experience. And usually, that works for me.
But, if you’re still not getting the smooth playback you want, you’ll need to instead select the ‘User’ option and this gives you the control.
Now all that’s left to do is to go to the clip on your timeline that’s giving you trouble and not playing back smoothly, right-click it, and select ‘Generate Optimized Media’.
This Generate Optimized Media process may take a few moments. But after the process is complete, you should get smooth playback of that individual clip. Now, simply repeat that step for all of the clips that are giving you trouble.
One more tip…
There’s one more step to smooth playback to consider. If you have added a number of coloring effects, stabilization, grain, noise reduction, etc. you’re going to find your playback smoothness is compromised no matter how powerful your machine may be.
In this case, go back to your clip in the Edit panel after you’ve added all of those effects and follow this process:
- Right-click on the clip
- Select ‘Render Cache Color Output’
NOTE: Keep in mind, if you go and tweak the settings again you’ll need to repeat this process.
I know that’s a lot of steps, but what I love about this is that Resolve has made it possible to do heavy edits on so many different machines regardless of their hardware or operating systems. And for me, this brought so much of the joy back into editing.
CONCLUSION
Just about anyone who works on events for their church relies heavily on video. Whether you are editing a video to be shown during your worship service or creating video as part of your children’s ministry program, editing software is a crucial part of the process. This post will look at two of the top software options when it comes to editing videos for churches.
When deciding the best editing software, you should consider its price, interface, and compatibility with other video making software. A 30-day trial version will also enable you to make sure it is appropriate for your video projects before you pull the trigger.