Video editing for free. New OpenShot version adds screen recording and AI tools

Those looking for an alternative to paid editing programs have a reason to pay attention. OpenShot 4.0 is out, marking the first major version since April this year. The program remains free under the GPLv3 license and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux – but it has gained so many features that it’s approaching tools for which monthly subscriptions are paid elsewhere.

Colors like in a professional studio

The biggest new feature is Color View, a dedicated interface for color grading. It includes color wheels specifically for shadows, midtones, and highlights, four editable curves for the entire image and individual channels, and measuring instruments – waveform, histogram, RGB parade, and vectorscope. The latter also includes a reference line for skin tones, a detail that anyone who has ever graded interview colors will appreciate. The program also reads LUT files in .cube format and can set how strongly they should be applied.

Artificial intelligence that sends no data anywhere

Among the dozens of new effects, Object Mask stands out. You mark a few points in the image, and the tool creates an animated mask around the object, tracking it across the shot. The key is that all calculations happen directly on your computer – no cloud, no account, no subscription. Models are downloaded only once as needed. At a time when similar features are commonly hidden behind monthly fees, this is worth highlighting.

Recording and faster performance

Also added is Recording View for recording the screen, webcam, microphone, and system audio directly into the project, with each source remaining a separate track. Those who create tutorials will appreciate the automatic picture-in-picture composition of the screen and camera. Other effects include film grain, denoising, glow, or audio visualization. Developers have also rewritten the timeline to native Qt instead of the previous web components, which should result in smoother performance.

Do you use a paid program for video editing, or are free tools sufficient for you?

Source: Notebookcheck, OpenShot