Free Video Grading Software Mac



Are there any free video editing software for Mac users that are really good? Many people ask this in forums. Here we compare some great Mac video editors, followed by the detailed information of each editor for your reference, and we also made a comparison table for Mac video editor in terms of video format, pros and cons of the 10 best free.

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Color grading doesn’t have to be a mystery. These programs and plugins make the process faster and easier than ever.

  • Part 1: Top 10 Best Free Video Editing Software for Mac. OpenShot is among the best free video editing software for Mac you should try if you’re at the novice level. The software is quite easy to use and includes many basic tools along with a variety of interesting templates, effects, and animations.
  • FilmoraPro is a video editing software that empowers you to create professional-looking videos easily with compositing, motion graphics, special effects, color correction tools, and more. It is both powerful and easy to make color grading.
  • Whether you’re an individual artist, or part of a large team, it’s easy to see why DaVinci Resolve is the standard for high end post production and finishing on more Hollywood feature films, television shows and commercials than any other software. This free version of DaVinci Resolve 16 includes all of the same high quality 32-bit float.
  • Best Video Editing Software (Free!) 2020 Review. If you’re looking to level up your video creation but don’t have the budget to splurge on more expensive video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X, the good news is – there’s a TON of powerful free Video Editors for PC and Mac. Movavi Video Editor For Mac.

Top image via Lee Campbell

If you aren’t a full-time colorist, odds are you won’t be diving into the likes of FilmLight’s Baselight, AutoDesk Flame’s Lustre, or specific programs like REDCINE-X. You’re probably just looking for a quick way to get results that make your client happy.

Here are some of the best programs and plugins for video editors to make a quick color grade.

DaVinci Resolve


Image via Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve is one of the industry standards for color work. The reason it makes the list for video editors — the latest version (12.5) includes a built-in NLE. Blackmagic wants to become the go-to place for all things post-production, and they are well on their way to making DaVinci Resolve a major program outside of color circles.

DaVinci Resolve can be intimidating, as the color work is node-based — but there are a ton of tutorials online, and the amount is growing. Diving into all the specific tools requires an article much more in-depth than this, but here are a few tools for basic color grading.

In the Color tab, you will be presented with a variety of tools. This includes Color Match, Color Wheels, RGB Mixer, Curves, Windows, and more. The Color Match tool works great with color charts to instantly match the environment the footage was shot in. It will give you true color results at the click of a button.

Next to the Color Match icon, you will see the traditional Color Wheels tab. There you will see three workspace options — Primaries Wheels, Primaries Bars, and Log.

The Primaries Wheels are the Color Wheels you will see in nearly every color grading program. DaVinci Resolve uses Lift (shadows), Gamma (midtones), Gain (highlights), and Offset. Offset is used to raise or lower everything in each channel. To control each wheel, just drag the circle toward the color you want. (You can reset the tool by double clicking on the circle.)

Quick note — DaVinci Resolve was designed to be used with a color grading surface. If you’re like me and don’t have $30,000 for the Advanced Panel, check out these more affordable color grading tools.

DaVinci Resolve 12.5 is available for free in the lite version of the software. The full Studio suite goes for $995.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC (Lumetri)

The Lumetri panel has grown tremendously in the past few iterations of Premiere Pro. Originally a drag-on effect, Premiere Pro CC 2017 has a full-on color grading tab. When entering the Color panel, you will be met with all the traditional Lumetri effects, as well as more traditional tools like color wheels.

The side panels are split into six default menus — Basic Correction, Creative, Curves, Color Wheels, HSL Secondary, and Vignette. Each tool works independently of each other, so changing the Creative color wheels is not the same as changing the actual Color Wheels.

The Basic Correction panel allows you to use an Input LUT (look up table), adjust White Balance, Tone (exposure, contrast, etc), and Saturation. These are each controlled with sliders. (If you don’t like an adjustment, just double-click the slider circle to reset.)

The Creative menu allows to to use .Look files, which are specific to working in Lumetri. If you like a “look” you are working on, you can save the adjustments as a preset. You can also download free look files to apply. Additionally, you can adjust the Intensity of the applied look. Within the Adjustments drop-down, you will see options to, well, adjust things like Faded Film, Sharpness, Vibrance, Saturation, and Tint Balance. (Note that this is not the same Saturation slider mentioned in the Basic Correction panel.)

Video

For the sake of brevity, the rest of the panels are rather self explanatory. Curves allows you to adjust RGB Curves and Hue Saturation. The Color Wheels act as traditional controls for Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights. The HSL Secondary will allow you to select color ranges and adjust the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. You can also refine the image with the Denoise and Blur options. Under Correction, you will see the original color correction tool from Premiere, controlled by a single color wheel and basic color sliders. Finally, Vignette adjusts the vignette.

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Lumetri is included with Premiere Pro. You will need an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.

Final Cut Pro X (Color Board)

With the latest overhaul of Final Cut Pro 10.3, Apple made an overhaul to the entire face of the NLE — but the color grading remains similar. You will need to apply a Color Correction effect to a clip, and then use the Color Board to adjust the look of the footage. You will adjust four pucks on the board — one each for Shadows, Midtones, Highlights, and Global.

I’m personally not a fan of this, but I understand its theory of simple adjustments. I’d much rather use an FCPX plugin for color — which I’ll cover next.

The Color Board is included with FCPX.FCPX is available for $299.

Color Finale

What FCPX lacks in color grading, Color Finale makes up for. This plugin is specific to FCPX, so if you aren’t a Final Cut Pro X user — skip ahead. Color Finale is a product of Color Grading Central, which has a great community for all things color grading related.

Color Finale adds a free floating window to FCPX. Inside the window are Color Wheels, Color Sliders, Auto White Balance controls, and the Secondaries Vector tool. The Pro version of Color Finale features some workflow management tools for those working in ACES. Here’s a look at the plugin in action.

Color Finale requires FCPX 10.2.3 or higher. It’s available as a FREE 7-day trial, $99 Standard version, and $149 Pro version.

FilmConvert

FilmConvert is an emulation software that gives digital footage a film feel with grain and color effects. It works on a multitude of NLEs and platforms, including Premiere Pro, FCPX, Avid Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Sony Vegas Pro, and as a standalone platform. There are also camera profiles for a variety of cameras, likes ARRI, Canon, Sony, Blackmagic, GoPro, and DJI.

FilmConvert is compatible with Mac and PC workflows.The video plugins start at $149, and all versions can be had in a $219 bundle.

High

Red Giant Magic Bullet Suite (Colorista)


Image via Red Bullet

Colorista is a standalone color grading plugin for Premiere Pro and After Effects. By dragging the Colorista IV effect to your NLE timeline, you will gain access to a three-wheel color corrector, a guided workflow to balance shots, LUTs, RGB curves, color key tool, skin overlays, and hue control. It also integrates itself with Adobe’s masking and tracking features.

Free Video Grading Software Machine Learning

Odds are you have heard of Red Bullet Colorista, but Colorista is actually part of the much larger Magic Bullet Suite 13. All of the following can also be purchased individually or together as the Magic Bullet Suite.

Looks allows you to color correct and apply popular television looks in seconds. Mojo is similar to Looks in that it applies popular looks immediately, though Mojo delivers cinematic looks, sports videos, and fashion films. Film applies the look of twenty-two negative film stocks and four print stocks. Denoiser removes noise and grain, and Renoiser adds cinematic texture and film grain. Finally, Cosmo is a beauty tool, designed to apply digital makeup and cosmetic cleanup.

Colorista IV is available as a free trial, $99 for the Academic version, and $199 for the Full version. The entire Magic Bullet Suite is available for $899, which will save you $394.

Free Video Editing Software For Mac El Capitan

NewBlueFX Color Fixer Pro and Colorfast

Color Fixer Pro is a FREE color grading plugin for Premiere Pro, After Effects, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve, and Sony Vegas Pro. It has ten customizable presets, white balance tools, and film lighting curves.

If you like the plugin, you can consider upgrading to Colorfast — a color correction and color grading plugin that includes sixty-five presets and the tools to create your own looks.

Color Fixer Pro is available for FREE. Colorfast 2 is available as a free trial and a $99 purchase.

What are your go-to color grading tools as a video editor? Share your opinions in the comments below!

iMovie > Choose The Best iMovie Alternatives for Mac (Mojave Supported)

iMovie was created by the great company Apple Inc. It's originally designed for Mac, but now it also compatible with iOS. iMovie is free yet powerful video editing application. iMovie usually does good jobs. But still there are many people are searching for iMovie alternative for Mac everyday. The reason might be that iMovie doestn't import video recorded by camcorder, iMovie doesn't have the features I need, iMovie keep crashing, and more.

Forget the reason why you give up iMovie. Sometimes, you just need a new and different video app. This article will introduce my best choice of 5 iMovie alternatives for Mac (Mojave included), among which some are free video editors, while some are paid video editors. Just get the best alternative to iMovie for Mac. If you've switched to the PC platform, download iMovie for Windows alternative here.

> iMovie Alternative 1: Movavi Video Editor for Mac - CLOSEST iMovie Alternative
> iMovie Alternative 2: Wondershare Filmora for Mac - SIMILAR FEATURES
> iMovie Alternative 3: Shotcut for Mac - FREE Video Editor
> iMovie Alternative 4: Final Cut Pro X for Mac - UPGRADE Version of iMovie from Apple
> iMovie Alternative 5: Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac - PROFESSIONAL Video Editor

iMovie Alternative 1: Movavi Video Editor for Mac - BEST iMovie Alternative

Free
  • Movavi Video Editor for Mac is an ideal iMovie for Mac substitute because its inteface and features are very similar to iMovie. Like iMovie, it's extremely easy to use Movavi Video Editor. No prior video editing experience required. Since you're switched from iMovie. You can instantly use this iMovie alternative to create professional movies. The switch is almost seamlessly. Get it free now!
  • Love iMovie's powerful features like Green Screen, Ken Burns Effect, animated titles? All these tools and more others are included in Movavi Video Editor. Plus, they are easy to use. With a few clicks, you're done with high quality video. Then, you can directly upload your movie to YouTube, or export for playing on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, etc. All in all, this is the best iMovie for Mac equivalent (Mojave compatible).

iMovie Alternative 2: Wondershare Filmora - SIMILAR Features

  • Wondershare pays much attention to the video editing field these years. Now it's video editing product Filmora has become an important role in this industry. Wondershare Filmora makes it incredibly easy to edit videos and add special effects. They even comes with an Effects Store to add more value to the product. It's semi-professional video editor close to Adobe Premiere Pro.
  • Using iMovie, even the first-timers could make a good-looking movie, so does Wondershare Filmora. Its intuitive interface and easy workflow will appeal to users who have no prior video editing experience.
  • However, for those who continue using it, they will find out that Filmora comes with a fully stacked feature set. It also provides the features and styles that are previously only available to professional film makers, like Split Screen, Green Screen, Picture in Picture, masks, and so on.

iMovie Alternative 3: Shotcut for Mac - FREE iMovie Alternative

  • I don't think there is anyone who doesn't like freebies, especially iMovie is a free video editor. If you're searching for a free iMovie alternative, Shotcut is the right choice. In fact, it's not only free, but also open-source and cross-platform, which means you can also use it on PC as an iMovie for Windows alternative.
  • Shotcut is well-known as its broad media format support, high qualiy media input and output support, and sleek user interface. Like iMovie, Shotcut is compatible with 4K resolutions. So you're able to edit 4K videos recorded with your iPhone using this iMovie alternative for Mac, Windows and Linux. Besides, Shotcut requires no import which means your video won't be converted and native timeline editing is applied. In all, as a free iMovie alternative, Shotcut is beyond expectation in features and support for media formats and platforms.
Free Video Grading Software Mac

iMovie Alternative 4: Final Cut Pro X - UPGRADE Version of iMovie from Apple

  • If you're searching for a full video production solution instead of movie editing software, you may learn more about Final Cut Pro X which also comes from Apple Inc and costs you $299.99.
  • Generally speaking, FCP is the upgrade version of iMovie. The former is created for post-production film makers, while the latter is for family use. That's why iMovie is free and FCP is being sold for a high price.
  • But Final Cut Pro deserves the price. It enables you to control the video production from start to end. FCP delivers advanced color grading, HDR support, ProRes RAW, VR headset playback and full-featured closed captions. iMovie makes it easy to begin making movies. When you’re ready to go further, it’s effortless to switch to Final Cut Pro from iMovie for Mac or iMovie for iOS.

iMovie Alternative 5: Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac - PROFESSIONAL Video Editor

  • Adobe Premiere Pro is similar to Final Cut Pro. They are the main competitors in the post-production field. I recommend Final Cut Pro first because a) the effortless switch from iMovie to FCP, and FCP also work seamlessly with other Apple production like Motion and Compresso. b) FCP has built in a full set of sound effects, caption tools and effect editing tools.
  • But Adobe Premiere Pro is also widely used in post production, especially for making film and TV. It provides you with almost all editing tools for color, audio, and graphics. The integrated workflows let you polish your work even without leaving your timeline. Adobe is a leading company in the media creation field. PRE is fully integrated with other Adobe apps and services, so you can craft footage into polished films and videos in one seamless workflow. Dislike FCP's one-time payment and life-time upgrade, Adobe Premiere Pro requires you a subscription plan for $20.99 per month. Adobe also provides different subscription plans on their official website.

Free Video Editing Software For Mac High Sierra


Comparison of iMovie Alternatives to iMovie

Check out the following table for the detailed differences between iMovie and its alternatives for Mac.

ProgramsOSDescriptionPrice
Movavi
Video Editor
Mac, WindowsSupported input formats: All popular video formats like MP4, MOV, AVCHD, MTS, AVI, MPEG, etc.
Supported output profiles: iPhone/iPad/iPod/Android/ YouTube/Google Drive/Apple TV/ Video formats/audio formats
Key features: easy to use video editing tools, multiple tracks, green screen, PiP, royalty-free music library, 4K support, etc.
From
$39.99
Wondershare FilmoraMac, Windows,
iOS,
Android
Supported input formats: All regular video formats like MP4, MOV, AVCHD, MTS, AVI, MPEG, etc.
Supported output profiles: iPhone/iPad/iPod/Android/ YouTube/Google Drive/Apple TV/ Video formats/audio formats
Key features: basic video editing tools, multiple tracks, green screen, PiP, split screen, Effects store, 4K support, etc.
From
$39.99
ShotcutMac,
Windows,
Linux
Supported input formats: All the latest audio and video formats and popular image formats. 4K, ProRes, DNxHD compatible.
Supported output profiles: Wide video/audio capture and import support and an array of video filters provided.
Key features: support for broad media formats, native timeline editing without lossing quality. Blackmagic Design support for input and preview monitoring, powerful audio editing and mixing features, 4K supported, cross-platform and so on.
Free
Final Cut Pro XMac OnlySupported input formats: Almost import everything from standard definition video to ProRes RAW files.
Key features: Create studio-quality videos by controlling every detail in post-production. Easy to use yet powerful color grading, HDR support and ProRes RAW, closed caption making tools, 360 video editing and VR headset playback, and many many more.
$299.99
Adobe Premiere ProMac, WindowsSupported input formats: Almost import everything from SD video to ProRes RAW files.
Supported output profiles: Almost any format you want. Publish your videos in the Google VR180 format on YouTube.
Key features: Apart from FCP, another leading video editing software for film, TV, and the web. Precise and simple color grading, end-to-end VR 180 editing, and working seamlessly with other Adobe apps and services. You need a subscription plan to use Premiere, with obvious advantages and disadvantages compared to Final Cut Pro X for Mac.
From $20.99

iMovie for Mac Tips