Monday, September 29, 2008

welcome to linux

a few days ago, someone asked me about free open source video editor software.
a short look around revealed kdenlive, pitive, and cinelerra.
i haven'tbeen in linux for a few years, so i downloaded and installed the latest ubuntu.
i really like ubuntu... it just works. and it's very mac like.
so i installed kdenlive from the ubuntu software update application, and it immediately crashed with a cryptic error message. when i tracked the error down, someone said "if you are getting this error, you must be stupid".. further checking revealed that kdenlive "was stable until 6 months ago, and it hasn't worked since then".
well, i thought, onward and upward.
so i installed pitive from the ubuntu software update application, and it immediately crashed with a different cryptic error message. investigation revealed that maybe i would have better luck if i compiled it from source. forget that.... i'm just taking the tour.
cinelerra was not available from the ubuntu software update program... i would have to compile from source... :(
then i discovered that open source movie editor was blessed by ubuntu.
it worked, but it's pretty primitive. you can see the results above.
but i have to tell you, i've been spoiled by final cut express