video editing programs

[molecularfire]

I have been downloading some tailor made music videos (the ones where they cut together scenes from anime and overlay a song on top of it) and thought that it would be kinda cool to make some of my own. Does anyone out there do this? Are there any good programs to recommend? I'm new at this, so I don't want to spend too much money on this just yet... so if someone has some advice on freeware or trial period programs, I'd really appreciate it. I have no problem spending money on the programs once I get the hang of it. Thanks in advance. :)

[spigidygak]

Not sure on freeware or shareware. . . but for windows users, best program out there is avid xpress dv then premiere. You could always use windows movie maker since it is free. Take a look at what pinnacle systems has availabe.

[Paymaster]

Windows movie maker is actually pretty good for simple, small movies. Get the update though! The version that comes with XP crashes a lot. I don't know why this new version isn't accesssible through windowsupdate, but here is the link.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsXP/moviemaker/downloads/moviemaker2.asp

This version will still crash if you try to do too much, too quickly, but since it's basically a freebie with the OS, I can't complain too much.