Video editors score sheet

Here's my round up of the main video editors for Linux, their pros and cons, and how they scored with me.
I tested them all in Sept 2017 but haven't used any of them since then except for Cinelerra (which is why it's streaming ahead!)

See my Netinstall Step2 page for how to install most of them.

PROS	CONS
pitivi     10-5 =5
can set important shortcut keys easy to add clips tools are easy esp for beginners -easy to drag ends, cut, remove snapping clips is made clear by blue highlight line double click on a clip to allow control of audio/brightnes by dragging keyframe lines transform and effects window with good number of effects (searchable) render progress visual very beginner friendly gang-faders proxy files	tool buttons are at far right! selected clip turns shaded dark no RMB options on clips must enter render video quality by hand - no preset choices not many formats supported!
kino     3-5 =-2
very simple layout -good for the ultra beginner has clip edit/timeline/trim/FX windows cutting and joining clips makes "new" clips in storyboard -interesting idea, but...	edit mode buttons at far right, can't move them to top cut points are hardly visible have to select a clip in storyboard to delete the cut part on timeline couldn't open mp4 for exporting lack of export formats
openshot     12-7 =5
most important keyboard shortcuts can be set slicing is easy, remove left side, right side or keep both, with shortcut key +2 multiple options for adding clip to timeline transitions/effects can be dragged to a clip, easily adjusted -tns. by dragging length, , effect after click on the effect button on the clip many options with RMB on clip in timeline - easy to add fades, animation, speed and volume changes fast-motion apply to timeline edits with right click Transform allows moving, shrinking, stretching of picture many title templates to choose from export options are clear and easy to set encoding uses full cpu power good layout for beginners	moving up clips only by dragging, no tool to remove gaps! -3 too easy to add tracks can't set no. tracks in preferences -always starts on 0-4 (5 tracks) the seeker is lazy to move to the mouse the seeker looks hideous too
flowblade     14-8 =6
good clean layout - middle bar can be set buttons centered easy to add clips and zoom with scroll button or tool buttons clip in-out points can be set then dragged to the timeline tools are on numbers 1-7 cut is easy pressing X, parts easily spliced out by tool button cuts can be moved to new frame (roll tool) or cut clip can be start-end adjusted (slip tool) many filters available -with filter tab to make adjustments no. of tracks can be set render dialogue easy to set -presets or user defined, with bitrate selection list encoding fast -threading can be enabled useful settings like middle mouse button zoom or scroll easy to use for beginner clip length/io length shown on media icons	dragging to timeline makes a grey space at the front seek point with RMB is annoying (different) trim tool cuts off left or right of pointer - but how to know which? dragging a clip up a track auto-closes the gap tracks need selecting before cuts possible no shortcuts setting! needs a dark gtk3 theme in order for the interface to look good render in fast/slow motion caused auto-cropping with black sides and stretched narrow movie
shotcut     9-3 =6
nice dark layout easy to cut a clip with S I and O cut off to left and right -source clip or project clip. +2 clips move up when the Ripple-delete tool is used render: huge list of formats, can set constant bitrate or quality filters tab with plenty transition can be made while dragging a clip over another easy for beginner	opening media files immediately plays last one in the preview - if single file then must be added to playlist after, multiple files auto-add to playlist filters add button is greyed out
lives     3-24 =-21!
interface colours can be configured has crash recovery	slow to open the app difficult to open media -through file menu and long side menu, then not anywhere? Lives logo right in the middle initial layout looks slightly disastrous with gtk+ -dark layout mixed with system light theme looks like a child's game in many respects crashed on media import import asks how many frames of media to import -and what if total frames not known? -2 moving a clip it shows as a shorter blue block and it's uncertain where it will be dropped, at what position? play controls are far up at top -or play with P pause with Q cutting/delete is done by RMB option -3 no shortcut settings can't adjust preview size or position impossible to close gaps accurately -3 render takes a "render process" time only to open a clip editor and ask you to save the video -2 encoded media with wrong dimensions encoded without audio difficult to get back to the multitrack mode
kdenlive     18-5 =13
easy to add media clips and drop on timeline from clip bin or from preview in/out points overlap mode so that clips can move other clips up snapping of clip start/end to seek point by a single key +2 fully customizable shortcuts - makes work fast on the timeline fully customizable toolbars can set no. tracks, default profile and custom profiles can set project profile (vid format) from a clip many effects, transitions with effects panel clips can be grouped, copied, and effects copied and pasted easy proxy clip transcoding title clip composer many render presets and formats available, can save your preset can view/manually edit the encoder command render full project, by marker, or zone easy layout - v17 Qt version very nice auto backup and crash recovery, and bug reporter large kde community support	app crashes and rendering crashes -4 Appimage mlt/libmltgtk2.so conflicts with libpangoft2-1
blender     23-11 =12
app layout fully customizable, unlimited windows, set window to any mode extensive themes/colours extensive shortcuts customization +2 can make use of extra mouse buttons user settings and key configuration can be exported easy to adjust project settings such as dimensions and frame rate on-the-fly via properties window can set video dimensions from a clip via Strip menu adjustable clip properties available at right media opens straight onto the sequencer dragging strips over another snaps the strip to the end, meaning precise positioning precise application of effects using keyframes and graph editor meta strips are used to apply effects without touching the original strips strips can be grouped, grabbed, moved anywhere or locked in place frame range decides how much of the movie to render preview range can be set which will play over and over easy render controls, full format options (missing webm) program has a lot more potential than video editing (3D animation) can run renders from the commandline can run multiple blender processes -render one project while working on a new one compact and detailed workspace opens up fast and is very stable +2	audio/video strips automatically split on import to the sequencer and must be both selected to make edits no snapping by single key, must select strip ends then snap (select time-linked strips, highlight handles, snap handles, remove gaps =4 actions) -2 no media bin to store clips from the timeline can't set frame range to max strip extent automatically, must always set start and end manually can't create custom render presets, can't edit the encoder command -2 limited to single thread cpu rendering, shared between cpu cores (slow) -3 not a program for movie editing beginners -ui is perhaps more confusing
cinelerra GG     70-3 =67
multiple media loading methods called insert strategies - can replace project or insert or append to current, or create media only media added with simple drag to main window or loaded into Viewer to set I/O points, then spliced to main inserted media sets project format (if insert and replace project) can set format by right click on media clip and select Match > Match All align frames tool corrects extra fames on audio that some cameras produce numberpad keys for single frame advance, slow mo, play, fast mo - in either direction easy editing tools: cutting made by placing in/out points and then delete or cut -then remaining content closes up the gap, muted to remove and leave a blank, or hard cut without I/O points anything, edits or selection, including blank time can be copied and pasted elswhere snapping clip ends to the insert point with Ctrl-Alt- or Ctrl-Alt-clicking on edit ends +2 vid/audio select together by double click, or an effect time area different mouse modes 1. drag n drop -to drag clips, 2. cut/paste -select area by dragging, or drag/drop clip by its corner different mouse button modes for dragging clip ends edits can be mult-selected and grouped so they stay together can select from label or to next label can split the canvas on x or y axis - edit two areas simultaneously resource window is very easy to use, keeps media, clips from viewer or timeline (with to-clip button), effects and transitions can set up user folders in resources window, with media inclusion filters any area can be muted (made blank space) silent frames added with Shift-Space many options on the track patchbay, such as toggle render, toggle disarm from edits, gang fader and track nudge pink/yellow markers shows last played from and paused points can play back only area between in/out points with Ctrl-Space or toggle loopback play on a selection hundreds of effects and transitions can be applied to areas, edits or whole tracks -drag the effect onto an edit, a selected area, in/out points or right click on track +2 effects easily turned off or detached from timeline pro standard colour correction tools+2 keyframes made by clicking on the white band running through the track, then dragging the band up/down to create fader curves - numbers 3-0 show keyframe lines +4 automatic keyframing - keyframes will be added as adjustments are made to effects or motion in compositor through time clip speed adjustable by dragging the speed auto band up or down with keyframes set and guide lines show where the edits will contract or expand to afterward+2 pro level picture adjustments made with the Compositor, easy zoom and camera pan, to create motion with auto keyframing +3 camera and projector tools to allow cropping from input and positioning onto output masks added of simple shapes which can be reshaped with endless nodes, made fadable to cover anything on output full format/quality settings in render options via spanner icons can use custom pipes, external programs and scripts to render rendering is made fast with ffmpeg, full cpu core threading, no crashes +2 options to render timeline, in/out points, or selection render option to start new file at each label batch rendering can render one/multiple projects to one/multiple formats, and executing from command line +3 can open concurrent instance to work on a project while another renders can insert saved projects (sequences) by loading their xml files onto timeline or into resource window as a clips imported sequences can be focused alone on the timeline so that the project's original tracks and effects can be looked into, adjusted, and packed up again +2 Inter-view mode opened with middle click on a media icon - the enlarged thumb shows how much of and where the clip is used on the timeline multi-cam audio sync and mixers to compile a track from multiple camera sources +2 DVD render, using labels for chapters, and Blueray render live video/audio capture from various sources including screen capture subtitles editor (for DVD) and Title effect for burning in subtitles +2 layout is clear and uncluttered, good toolbar can set selection area colour inversion colour of clip bars on timeline can be set saving the project does not interrupt playback or cause a crash an automatic backup is saved all the time during work perpetual session option means that restarting the project it opens with all the edits and undo history from where you left off fast shortcuts for saving (S), undo (Z), copy, cut and paste (C,X,V), mute (M), show full timeline (F) multiple options for playback and recording such as video/audio driver UI can be scaled, ie buttons and font size can edit up to 8K movie size There are actually more positives than what are on this list as there are many technical features that I haven't grasped yet or needed myself - the score would go over 100 easily.	multiple windows needed not just one -annoying for Tab paging or multiple instances opened no shortcuts settings only one backup file is kept