OpenShot 3.4: A Boost for Video Editing in North East India
The latest update to the free video editing software, OpenShot, brings significant improvements that make it an attractive choice for creatives in North East India and beyond. While the software has faced criticism for its crash-prone reputation, OpenShot 3.4 addresses these concerns with performance enhancements and bug fixes.
Performance Boosts and Core Tune-ups
Developer Jonathan Thomas claims that OpenShot 3.4 delivers an overall 32% speed up in performance, along with lower memory utilization. Improvements to the libopenshotcore are said to deliver improvements across the app, with masking performance over 60% faster than the previous version. Crop and render clip performance in the preview also see boosts, while exporting video is faster with a 23% boost following low-level tweaks to make better use of caching.
New Effects and LUT Support
OpenShot 3.4 introduces new effects, including Sharpen, Lens Flare, Outline, and Spherical Protection, making it more suitable for working with 360/180 footage or creating a fake fisheye lens style. The update also adds a new Colour Map effect, which allows users to colour grade using LUT (.cube) files, a significant addition for those who want to use the software for more creative workflows.
Other Improvements and Future Directions
Other changes in OpenShot 3.4 include on-canvas cropping using handles in the video preview, a new retime toggle on the timeline, draggable keyframes on the timeline, keyframe snapping, loop/boomerang options, the ability to apply transforms to multiple clips if selected, clipboard integration, animated GIF import via FFmpeg, better handling of Final Cut Pro XML importing, and AppImage improvements for better compatibility.
Who is OpenShot for?
OpenShot leans more towards the Windows Movie Maker-esque side, ideal for simple UI, basic cuts, and applying unfussy transitions. However, as video editing workflows have shifted, OpenShot may find itself awkwardly positioned. Linux users wanting to cut a basic slideshow, trim some clips, or add music to something will find OpenShot ideal. For doing anything longer, creative, or more complex, other open-source options such as Kdenlive or Shotcut may be more suitable.
In the North East region of India, OpenShot's user-friendly interface and basic editing features make it an attractive choice for amateur video editors. As the region continues to produce a wealth of creative talent, tools like OpenShot can help nurture and showcase this creativity.
Conclusion
OpenShot 3.4 is a significant update that addresses the software's performance issues and adds new features that make it more appealing to a wider audience. For creatives in the North East region of India, OpenShot offers a free, user-friendly video editing solution that can help nurture and showcase their creativity. As the software continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how it compares to other open-source video editing options and how it adapts to the changing landscape of video editing.