Video Production

Video Editing Software Comparison – Which one the best?

Which Video Editing Software is right for you – A Comparison

There are three major video editing software platforms that rule the market. Let’s break down the pros and cons of each.

Video Editing Software for YOUR Content Type

Before you start looking to much into what video editing software you should use, you first need to think about the types of content you create and the types of content you plan on creating in the future. This factor has a large impact on which editing software is going to be the best for YOU. If you’re creating content mainly for website development, you might want a different software than one that’s used more for production video content.

With the three main video editing software being Adobe Premiere Pro, Black Magic Davinci Resolve, and Apple’s Final Cut Pro, you get a fairly decent amount of premium options as well as a few free ones that could suite your needs. In this article I’m going to go over the features each application brings to the table as well as some use cases for each one that makes it stand out from the others.

Your Experience with Video Editing Software

Whether you are a beginner in video editing or a professional video editor, picking one program to use and learn can be a daunting task. Thankfully, there are a ton of online resources to help you through the process.

At Missoula Media Company, with all of our combined experience in video and media creation, we want to use the video editing software that’s going to provide the best quality for our clients. With the constant changes to video editing software, sometimes the one you’ve been using for years just isn’t up to par anymore. That means we are always learning a new software that comes on the market, and even with all of our experience, it’s always a daunting task.

The Big Three – The Best Video Editing Software Platforms on the Market

Adobe Premiere Pro video editing software

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe with their Creative Cloud platform brings a lot to the table that you can use with Premiere Pro, like After Effects and Photoshop. Though this is behind a monthly subscription cost of $54.99 if you want access to their entire suite, or $20.99 if you’re just looking to pick up Premiere Pro. When you pick up Premiere Pro, though you’re paying monthly for it, you have access to all of it’s features so you won’t find yourself spending more to get more FX library’s or special plugins to get the work you need to do, done.

With great features like color matching, exporting directly to social channels, a large FX library, and a ton of premade transition effects and animations to choose from, Premiere Pro really does pack a lot into their software. Premier does a great job of delivering for both the classic film maker as well as the modern online content creator, picking up big points for versatility in the process.

So whether you’re a content creator that needs a great video editing software to publish your videos quickly and easily to popular platforms like YouTube, or a documentary filmmaker who is looking to create high-production value films, Premiere Pro might just be the choice for you. However, there are a couple of other options for filmmakers who are looking to provide the top-notch color corrections and post production edits – Davinci Resolve and Resolve Studio.

Davinci Resolve video editing software

Blackmagic Davinci Resolve – Studio

For Blackmagic’s Davinci Resolve you don’t need to worry about a monthly or annual cost but instead you can pick up Davinci Resolve for a one time fee of $295.00. Which if you look at the cost of just Premiere Pro for one year, you’re looking at $251.88 which you’ll continue to pay for as long as you’re using it. So in the long term you’re going to save a tremendous amount of money going with Davinci Resolve over Premiere Pro.

Though Davinci Resolve does have a free version that packs in a ton of great features. The main difference being Davinci Resolve Studio (Paid version) brings in the features mainly used by professional post production crews like noise reduction, lens correction, their entire FX library and much more. The main defining feature that Davinci Resolve Studio brings to the table is the immense increase in media quality & delivery.

When you go with the paid version of Davinci Resolve you are able to output video up to 32K at 120fps with HDR delivery. This feature is really geared towards film makers and post production crews, and it will certainly eat up disk space like it’s nobodies business. Lastly – let’s chat about Final Cut…

Final Cut Pro video editing software

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut, much like Davinci Resolve is a one time fee application, this one being $299.00. Though there is no free version of Final Cut you do get a ton of features packed into the software. From importing and editing up to 8K video INCLUDING most major professional camera formats like ProRes and ProRes RAW. You also get the option to edit 360 degree video, titles, and graphics, as well as having the ability to do virtual reality playback. You also have the ability to automatically balance your colors as well as match colors, making your work flow faster without compromising video quality.

The one really large drawback for some people is the fact that Final Cut Pro is the only video editing software on this list that is exclusive to Apple products. It also has some wonky saving features. Last we checked, they removed the “Save as” feature…which is a little stressful. So if you’re editing on a PC or looking for more control over your project files, Final Cut Pro isn’t an option. But, if you are using Apple products not only do you have the option of Final Cut Pro, but Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve are available for iOS as well.

Need a Video to be edited or want some help with a project?

At the end of the day, video editing takes much more than a computer and a program – you need to have extensive experience with timing, color correction, transitions, titles, etc if you want to produce a professional-looking video. If you need some help editing a video you’ve already shot or need help on another project, feel free to contact us below! We have over 2 decades worth of combined experience in professional video production, script writing, and video editing, and we are here to help you get started or finish that new video for your company or that new passion project you’ve been dreaming about.

Send us a message

Are you interested in working with Missoula Media Company on an upcoming project? Fill out the form to see portfolio samples or ask about our services! And don’t worry, we won’t share your email with anyone without your permission.

Or give us a call:

101 E. Broadway
STE 502
Missoula, Montana 59802

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Work with a Local Video Production Company

Ben Zeimet is our lead videographer at Missoula Media Company

Work with a Local Video Production Company

Video is the most engaging and important type of media that you can create to represent your brand. By working with a local video production company, you can have create high-quality, engaging videos for your brand’s social platforms and website without burning your budget on travel expenses.

Benefits of going with a local video production company

Your brand can change the world. But you don’t have to travel across the globe to find a media company that can help you do it!

Here at Missoula Media Company, we can work with you directly out of our office in downtown Missoula. You can work face to face with our production team on all aspects of pre-production, from scriptwriting to storyboarding. We can easily set up local video shoots and bring top-notch production efforts directly to you or to your desired location while keeping travel expenses to a minimum.

If desired, we can also help to highlight your brand’s connection to Montana, as our team’s deep history in the Big Sky state means that we understand what it means to be a Montana-based business. We have access to great local filming locations, and are always committed towards telling the unique story behind the brands we work with.

Your brand can change the world. A local video production company like MMCO can help you do it!

Local company + high-end production value = W’s for everyone

Let’s talk about our video production process. We start with a crash course on your brand/company and the story behind it. From there we discuss the core of your brand and how to best translate that into video content. Then we work directly with you in the writing process, from script writing to storyboarding, we are with you every step of the way. When moving into production, we record with premium film equipment including RED cameras, drones, and audio equipment. Above all else, we place an emphasis on capturing and highlighting the unique moments in each shoot. For a great example of our end product, check out our latest project, Blackfoot River Sessions!

As a side bonus, you get to support a local business! We are active members of the Missoula Downtown Association, are involved in local nonprofit efforts, and genuinely care about our weird little town. Its pretty quickly becoming a weird big town and we want to help Missoula grow the right way.

Being local Missoulians we know how important it is to stay true to who you are. When you choose to work with Missoula Media Company on your local video production project, you guarantee that you are hiring a media team that cares about telling your story, not someone else’s.

Want to stay local for your next video production project?

Regardless of whether you just have a few quick questions / shopping around, or you are ready to get started as soon as possible, we would love to connect over a quick call and learn more about your project.

Blackfoot River Sessions Gets Some Love from the Missoulian

Blackfoot River Sessions Gets Some Love from the Missoulian

Missoula Media Company’s live music project “Blackfoot River Sessions” was prominently featured on the frontpage of the Missoulian in June 2022.

“Thank you” to our community

First and foremost, it is an honor to be featured on the front page of the Missoulian, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to show off these local bands that deserve to be in the spotlight. Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been extremely hard for local bands to be able to play their music for a live audience to help them make a name for themselves in the local community. With Blackfoot River Sessions, our goal is to give these bands and musicians the attention they deserve, and to provide intimate interviews to learn more about each band and the stories behind their music.

“Thank you” to Junior, our first featured band

The article in the Missoulian by Cory Walsh is a wonderfully detailed and thorough look into Blackfoot River Sessions. It covers the origins of the project and also helps to tell the story of Junior – the first band to be featured on Blackfoot River Sessions.

Like many groups, Junior’s opportunities to perform live have been less frequent in the past two years.

Junior formed before COVID, when Caroline Keys (banjo, guitar, bass), “Hermina Jean” Harold (drums, guitar) and “Jenny Lynn” Fawcett (violin), began playing together. All three sing harmony and take turns on lead.

Cory Walsh, Missoulian

“Thank you” to the turquoise waters of the mighty Blackfoot River

It was important to choose the perfect location to film the sessions, so we chose to film the series right here in our backyard along the shores of the Blackfoot River. We hope that the setting gives the series a sense of home and personal connection for Missoula locals. We wanted to really emphasize the local aspect of the bands and how engrained they are in the local community, and what ties us together more than our beloved rivers and streams?

The future of Blackfoot River Sessions

Missoula Media Company is currently planning out the first full season of Blackfoot River Sessions, and getting the support of the Missoulian helps us get the word out there to attract additional bands and sponsors. We are stoked that our friends at the Missoulian were on board to If you’re a local artist or even a larger band please feel free to contact us to get on the next installment of the Blackfoot River Sessions.

Where is Yellowstone Filmed? – How to Mildly Annoy a Montanan

Where is Yellowstone filmed? Not in Missoula, but close.

“Where is Yellowstone Filmed?”

Yes we know where Yellowstone is filmed. No, being a video production company in Montana doesn’t mean that we are living that Kevin Costner ranch life.

But still, it’s a fair question to which we have the answer…

Yellowstone Film Locations in Montana

We hear the question, “where is Yellowstone filmed,” all the time. The Dutton’s family ranch is primarily filmed at the now-famous Chief Joseph Ranch near Darby, Montana, which is just a short drive from Missoula Media Company’s headquarters. There, we said it. Out here in the Big Sky State we measure distances in hours (usually driven at 75+ MPH), and by those regional standards the Dutton’s family ranch is only an hour away from our downtown office. Yep, that’s considered a short drive when you live in a state that takes nearly 11 hours to drive from west border to east. However, Yellowstone is filmed in many places around Montana.

Where is Yellowstone filmed? The short answer is Darby, Montana.

Where is Yellowstone filmed?

According to our sources, Season 4 of Yellowstone was filmed almost exclusively in Montana. However, the show fails to depict the way regions of Montana differ from one-another, usually defaulting into massively over-dramatized version of reality. Often times, that version of reality doesn’t agree with perspective of what our state is and what it stands for. But at the end of the day, its a TV show, a beloved one at that, and it does make us happy to see such high quality production values originating out of our beautiful state. At the end of the day, we share the goal of seeing top-notch videos created in Montana, and perhaps this romanticized focus on our state will help to bring in funding for video projects created by local Montana video production companies like ours. We like seeing the Big Sky State get some love. But that’s not why we brought you to this page 😉

Filming in Montana – “Blackfoot River Sessions”

If you love Yellowstone for it’s breathtaking scenery and western backdrop, then you will surely appreciate the way Blackfoot River Sessions juxtaposes unique musical talent next to visually captivating locations like the banks of the great Blackfoot River. Blackfoot River Sessions is a multi-part video series, produced by Missoula Media Company, showcasing local musicians playing in unique outdoor locations around Missoula, Montana. It offers a unique glimpse of the unique, quirky character that big productions like Yellowstone tend to gloss over.

Support Montana musicians by subscribing to Blackfoot River Sessions:

As the actors and crew on Yellowstone know, filming outside in Montana isn’t easy. Even with the right crew, Montana Video production often leaves you at the mercy of rapid weather changes. For Blackfoot River Sessions Episode One, we filmed in the late fall of 2020. The air was crisp and cold and the days were short, so we really needed to nail the timing on the weather and lighting to get this one right. Junior (the band featured in Episode One) did an amazing job in their performance and interviews.

If you are a fan of film projects based out of Montana, be sure to check out Blackfoot River Sessions!

Send us a message

Are you interested in working with Missoula Media Company on an upcoming project? Fill out the form to see portfolio samples or ask about our services! And don’t worry, we won’t share your email with anyone without your permission.

Or give us a call:

101 E. Broadway
STE 502
Missoula, Montana 59802

Contact Us

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Or give us a call:

101 E. Broadway
STE 502
Missoula, Montana 59802