Download and install the best free apps for Video Editing Software on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android from CNET Download.com, your trusted source for the top software picks.

Video production is a labor intensive activity, and extensive planning is required to get things right. Managing dates, shots, and equipment is just the beginning. This article reviews some iPhone apps that will aid you in every step of your production and help keep your project on track and looking great.

Save the Cat!

$19.99, app2.me/2593

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Based on the late Blake Snyder's screenwriting formula and books, Save the Cat guides you through the writing process. The app lets you manage multiple screenplays and create logical structures for your stories. If you need some help, you can tap on the cat icons on the right side of the screen to get tips and advice about what you need to do next and why it's important. Even if you're new to screenwriting, Save the Cat can help you create a fluid storyline.

Save the Cat guides you through the screenwriting process.

You can sync the iPhone version of Save the Cat with the Mac OS X and Windows versions of the program ($89.95, blakesnyder.com/zencart). This allows you to compose most of the screenplay using your desktop's larger keyboard, sync it, and use your iPhone to review and make minor edits to the screenplay.

Awesome Note (+Todo)

$3.99, app2.me/220

Writing and shooting a video can be a daunting project. There are so many little things to keep track of, including props lists, shooting locations, actors' schedules, and more. Fortunately, Awesome Note can help you stay on top of all the details. Awesome Note lets you do more than take notes. You can use it to create to-do lists, insert images and maps into the list, and more. You can even back up your notes by syncing Awesome Notes with Google Docs or Evernote.

Awesome Note lets you create and track items in a to-do list.

Awesome Note's gorgeous design makes it a treat to use. You can create notes and lists based on a number of slick visual themes. You can also modify the fonts and use your own photos as the background to notes. Awesome Note is a winner that will help you keep your production on track!

iStat – Sys Monitoring, Battery

$0.99, app2.me/121

Originating as a popular system monitoring tool for the Mac, the iPhone version of iStat was introduced last year. It not only allows you to monitor your iPhone's system, it lets you remotely monitor multiple Mac, Linux, and Solaris computers from your iPhone. iStat displays a dizzying amount of information about every aspect of your hardware, including free disk space, RAM, processor performance, and more. The app really comes in handy when you're rendering a video sequence on your Mac and need to keep track of it when you step out for a sandwich break.

iStat lets you monitor your iPhone's system (left) and remotely monitor other computers (right).

To remotely monitor other computers, you need to install the iStat Server software on each machine. This is available for free from the developer's website (bjango.com/apps/istat).

pCAM Film+Digital Calculator

$29.99, app2.me/2594

pCAM is the Swiss Army Knife of video production apps. This app lets cinematographers or photographers quickly calculate depth of field, light coverage, exposure, and a lot more. The interface is easy to use and includes visual aids that help the user understand how each calculation is applied. pCAM can be use with film, video, and still photography.

pCAM helps film and digital photographers calculate field depth, exposure, and much more.

This app was originally developed in 1998 for PalmOS handhelds and has been used widely in the industry since then. It can really help you capture stunning images.

Sunrise Sunset

$0.99, pro and lite versions available, app2.me/2595

This affordable app helps you precisely track the time of sunrise and sunset from wherever you are. In addition, it tracks 'Begin civil twilight' (dawn), solar noon, and 'End civil twilight' (dusk). The app uses GPS to determine your current location, but you can also manually enter another location using the app's location database or via latitude and longitude. The app will calculate sunrise, sunset, and other times based on the current or future date.

Sunrise Sunset helps you determine the precise time of sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, and noon.

Whether you need to shoot a high noon showdown in the Arizona desert or a romantic kiss on the beach at sunset, this app will help you find the best time to do it.

Apple didn’t get its reputation for performance and accuracy from nowhere.

Everything from phones to paper-thin notebooks are engineering to work efficiently, and this makes their MacBooks ideal for all levels of video editing.

Besides integrating extremely well with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and many other third-party photo/video editing software, they offer a streamlined experience that will work well in any freelance or industry position.

In this guide, we’ll point out some key points for choosing the best MacBook Pro that will most effectively work for video editing at various levels, and showcase some of our own recommendations as well.

Quick Summary

• For the casual creative, we recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro with 256GB SSD, which offers quality performance without unnecessarily bulking up the specs. It doesn’t offer touch bar, but it is portable and sturdy.
• If you certainly aren’t a hobbyist but not a pro either, 13-inch MacBook Pro with 512GB SSD is a better choice. The storage has been beefed up a bit, and the touch bar offers a new dimension of functionality.
• Lastly, the professional creative looking to max out their performance power would be best served with a 15-inch MacBook Pro with i9 Processor and 512GB SSD. This model offers insane amounts of processing power, though you’ll likely still want an external monitor for the sake of screen space.

Is MacBook Pro Good for Video Editing?

In this case, it isn’t about whether or not a Mac will be effective for video editing, but a matter of how much power you really need.

If you just plan on doing minor work for youtube, you won’t be troubled by extensive renders or clamoring for screen restate, so it doesn’t make sense to pay for specs built for something ten times as processor-intensive.

However, if you plan on doing digital animation or working in 4K, it’s definitely time to look at higher-end machines that will be able to handle what you’re throwing at them.

If you’re not planning on editing videos in some way, you should not treat this article as a collection of the most powerful MacBooks overall.

Intensive computer work demands different specs depending on what you plan on doing, so you can’t assume the best for editing will be the best for say, gaming.

Best MacBook Pro for Video Editing: What to Consider in 2020?

Graphics

The key to a fast render is a high quality dedicated graphics card, and while lower-level work will likely be fine using an integrated card, you’ll want a dedicated one for anything beyond the casual home video or Youtube vlog. Dedicated graphics allow your computer to utilize RAM (Random Access Memory) specifically for the high-quality visuals you’ll be rendering as effectively as possible.

Processor

The processor is going to be handling every detail of your video as you build it, so you’re going to want to look towards the latest generations of the Intel i5 and i7 lines. Since video software can make use of multiple threads as well, these will benefit you while creating your project.

RAM

The final element that will make or break the performance of your MacBook while working on video editing is RAM. It’s used in every aspect of your computer’s execution of processes, and you’ll want a minimum of 8GB for amateur work, with a goal of 16GB if you’re editing professionally.

Best MacBook Pro for Video Editing in 2020: Our Picks

1. Casual Video Editing: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB)

If you’re going to be editing home videos and content for Youtube, you probably won’t be doing intensive 3D renders or completely utilizing heavy programs even if they are installed. This version of the 13″ MacBook Pro comes with the processing power to reach your goal without unnecessarily overcompensating.

Pros:

• The 13″ model is extremely portable, so you’ll have editing power at your fingertips wherever you go.
• RAM is the perfect amount for this type of user and should last several years.
• SSD drive means that renders and saves will be completed faster than with a physical HDD disk.

Cons:

• SSD is pricey, which is why this model only comes with 256 GB in disk space. You’ll definitely want to purchase an external drive to compensate for this when storing your videos.
• Additionally, this model uses an integrated graphics card which will be fine for this level of editing but doesn’t offer room for growth.

2. For Amateur Movie Making: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, Intel Core i5 processor, 512GB)

Whether college student or budding short-film director, you need power and a modern flair without the expense of a professional setup. This model of MacBook is a great compromise, offering Apple’s latest touch bar and touch ID technology packed into a 13″ body powered by an integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655.

Pros:

• Offering both portability and power, this modern masterpiece has all the specs to get you where you want to go without any unnecessary bulk.
• The brand-new touch bar is also included and known to have great integrations when working in Final Cut Pro or the Adobe Suite.

Cons:

• While offering more space than the aforementioned 256GB model, it’s still a bit on the small side for storing large video files.
• It also has an integrated graphics card, which is slightly less than ideal.

3. For Professional Creatives: 15-inch MacBook Pro (2.3GHz, Intel Core i9 processor, 512GB)

Truly a top of the line machine, this MacBook Pro model was built for precision and nothing less. The 8-core i9 processor can stand up to just about anything you throw at it, it has a powerful graphics card UHD Graphics 630. The 15″ screen offers some more real estate than the smaller 13″ models.

Pros:

• It has nearly unbeatable power between the mix of RAM, dGPU, and processor.
• The beautiful screen will produce accurate colors and the touch bar will allow you to work even more effectively in your favorite editing programs.
• You have the option to choose more storage space if needed.

Cons:

• When editing professionally, you need all the screen space you can get, and no size laptop is going to be able to offer that. If you don’t have an external monitor, check out our recommendations.

Useful Mac Video Editing Resources

Just getting started with editing your own videos? LifeWire offers a great tutorial on getting started, from which software will be the most useful to whether you’ll fare better with some peripherals. Also, check out this complete video editing tutorial for non-editors on Mac:

Top Video Production Apps For Mac Download

A fan of iMovie? MacWorld has made a fantastic list of best tips on how to get the most out of Apple’s video editing software for macOS.

You could also check out this list of free and paid Mac video editing apps (TechRadar), which will let you experiment before deciding exactly what you need in a paid program.

Final Words

Video editing is a prime example of technical work that eats RAM and CPU power like no other. Luckily, a MacBook Pro was made to stand up to these things and is sure to perform if you’ve picked an adequate model.

Top 10 Mac Apps

What set up do you currently use to edit videos? Let us know and share which specs you think are most important for productive work.