Granted, these effects aren't as advanced as After Effects, but on the plus side, HitFilm Pro is easier to use. If you work in 3D, you can import 3D models into your scene, have access to tracking features, and there’s even a dedicated 360 degree viewer for those with the right recording equipment. You have access to masks, blue/green screen keying, particle simulators, distortion effects, powerful colour correction tools - the list is impressive. This is this app’s biggest selling point, as it offers a myriad of effects and presets. Where HitFilm Pro truly shines however, is in the visual special effects department. Yes, you have the basic ones at your disposal, and can control a few of the parameters, but you’re offered little beyond that. It’s possible to manipulate the clips’ audio layers, and even apply some effects to them, but contrary to what HitFilm Pro offers in the way of visuals, your options there are pretty limited. The number of available transitions is disappointing for a professional video editor (Image credit: FXhome) There’s even a supplemental timeline section you can open up in the Controls panel to manually interact with all the keyframes you’ve created, allowing you to move them around, change their values, delete them, and even add new ones with ease. You can animate pretty much any clip’s value, be it its basic properties (like size, position, opacity), or any effect you apply to it (or to the layer as a whole). The editing side has everything you’d expect, from standard tools like blade, slip, slide and roll, to navigating along your timeline, either by mouse, or keyboard (thanks to JKL shortcuts).

Depending on your computer’s power, HitFilm has support for up to 8K video (by contrast, HitFilm Express, is limited to 4K). It’s easy to import your media, preview it, set in and out points, and insert clips into your project. This prepares it for all manner of alterations that will be applied to it, and is the only way to work with effects labeled “layer only”.

You can apply most effects directly onto a clip, or by creating a composite shot.

With HitFilm Pro, you’re able to edit and composite (ie add effects, titles, etc), all in one place.

Hitfilm express reviews