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Is there a good open source alternative for Sony Vegas? I want to cut a video, add nice looking effects, edit the audio (with effects) and render it. I want to make animations done in Blender and include them in the video.

Edit: Thanks to Izzy for the tipp. I am adding more information:

  • Not Sony Vegas because of the high price.
  • I am doing a student project where a little part of it is to create a trailer. Therefore the software shouldn't cost anything (e.g. Gimp, Blender).
  • I want the software to run on Windows 10.
  • For those people who know about Vegas, I'd be happy if there is an alternative with same features. If there isn't an option that replicates the features of Vegas, I listed my needs above.
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  • We will need much more information to give good recommendations here – asking for "a tool like X" is never giving enough details, even if linked. You should always list your requirements explicitly. Please see How to ask for an alternative to some software and the questions linked to it for details. Especially missing: what OS should it run on, how much may it cost – and as you already have a solution, why should it not be Vegas (i.e. what to avoid). Thanks! // Meanwhile throwing names: KDEnlive, Shotcut…
    – Izzy
    Commented Nov 26, 2021 at 8:15
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    Blender which you are already using has a builtin video editor, why not use that?
    – Duarte Farrajota Ramos
    Commented Nov 26, 2021 at 11:33
  • @DuarteFarrajotaRamos I just started to learn Blender yesterday. It appeared to me that the Videoeditor is rather for Animation and didn't want to commit to that. Can you use the Editor to create transitions, audio and add good looking texts?
    – Paul Erlenmeyer
    Commented Nov 26, 2021 at 12:49
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    Blender video-sequence-editor is by far not at all the most full featured, but it can certainly make some transition effects and basic text overlays. For more complex text or effects you would generally make them as actual geometry object in a 3D scene then overlay that over any video footage seamlessly
    – Duarte Farrajota Ramos
    Commented Nov 26, 2021 at 15:02
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    I too looked for a long time for an open-source video editor I liked, but usually felt they are rather unstable or limited. Currently there are some interesting FOSS Video Editors, but I haven't tried those yet: kdenlive.org/en ; shotcut.org ; olivevideoeditor.org . Might take a few for a spin in a month, when I have a family video project
    – Lockszmith
    Commented Nov 26, 2021 at 17:36

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A somewhat less user friendly but possible more powerful option is MoviePy which is a Python wrapper around the command line FFMPEG it downloads and installs FFMPEG on first use - when used from within iPython it can be a pleasure to use and can do most of the things that you mention.

  • cut a video, You just need to know the point(s) in time that you want to cut at.
  • add nice looking effects, The effects are only limited by your imagination and mathematical abilities.
  • edit the audio (with effects) You can do simple audio effects from within moviepy or you can spit off the audio, edit it with external tools such as Audacity and then merge in the new audio.
  • and render it - I assume you mean save the final result yes in a huge number of formats

You can also do:

And much more.

The best bit

Python, iPython, MoviePy, FFMPEG, Audacity & ImageMagick are all 100% free both Gratis & Open Source and will run on a number of platforms ranging from Raspberry Pi, through Windows, Max & Linux and up to super computing platforms (if you happen to have one laying about).

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    Sounds awesome. Thanks for the suggestions, I ll check them out!
    – Paul Erlenmeyer
    Commented Nov 28, 2021 at 11:36
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    @SteveBarnes Thanks for this. One I've never encountered before, and looks very promising. Will try it out!
    – Lockszmith
    Commented Nov 29, 2021 at 17:52
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Reading the question, I wonder, as it happens very often, that you are confusing Open Source with free.

Open source is useful if you want to edit the code to make a variation of it, for example developing some new feature. Or it is useful if you want to check if the software does not contain some malware or something like it.

You probably just mean Free.

Another thing that is confusing, but for me is what "nice-looking effects" means. An "effect" could be a "look", but being specific that is called color grading. An effect could be a VFX or could be a transition.

The same with "edit the audio", do you mean cut and dissolve? or do you mean change the pitch, reverb, or manipulate the waveform node by node?

I think you are only referring to the normal stuff.

A real alternative to a "pro" video application like Sony Vegas, is another "pro" application. In this case, not only free but also "pro" is Davinci Resolve. If you want to see the features take a look at the website.

My second option, also free, but also not open source is HitFilm Free. Both can do a lot of things you might consider nice-looking effects, and a lot more. Again, look at their website.

A more lightweight video editor, but with a bit confusing "layering" logic is VSDC video editor.

If you really mean Open Source, the truth is that most editors are way behind Sony Vegas, Resolve, or HitFilm.

As a Blender user, you already have a video editor with a basic way to edit your audio. You could compliment it with audacity.

Kdenlive Is another open-source video editor. I think some versions are not very stable.

Open Shot is a well-known video editor, but it has only basic features. It helps you to edit videos. Period.

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