Adobe has always responded brilliantly to professional designers and editors, with industry-standard tools like Premiere Pro and Photoshop that define modern creative workflows.
Adobe Creative Cloud Express, on the other hand, is opening up the company to beginners (or those who just don't have time to tweak every little detail).
The cloud-based design platform offers free video editing software, a free logo maker, a basic photo editor, and a simple graphic design tool.
Everything is set up to be as simple and accessible as possible. When we reviewed the other areas of the service, we found it "smooth and powerful whether you're using a computer, tablet, or phone," recommending it to those looking for "a simple design tool to create anything from posters even social networks. media publications".
But what does Adobe, the masters of cinema, offer modern creatives with their best free video editing software?
- Adobe Creative Cloud Express subscription options:
- 1 month plan - €0 per month (total cost €0) (opens in a new tab)
Adobe Express pricing and plans
- Free for basic use
- Premium features require a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud Express
Adobe promises that videos edited in Express are "free forever," and that extends to any design, in any medium, you create on the cloud-based design platform.
If that sounds generous from a company renowned for its Creative Cloud subscription plans, you're right. While there are plenty of freebies available, such as templates and pre-made elements, there are many more hidden behind, what else? - a subscription to Creative Cloud Express.
The plan is priced at €9.99 / €9.98 per month, or €99.99 / €99.98 per year, provides access to Adobe Premiere Rush, Photoshop Express, Adobe Spark, plus unlocks additional design resources and features in the video editor . It's also available in Adobe's extensive Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.
Get started with Adobe Express
- easy to start
- Includes themed templates
When you first launch the free online video editor, you're not met with the familiar timeline and media viewer you'll find in almost any other video editing software (and that includes Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, and Adobe Premiere Pro). Elements).
Instead, you start by giving your project a title or story, then select a template that matches the type of video you're producing, such as "Promoting an Idea," "A Hero's Journey," and "Teaching una lección ". Cada plantilla completes the line of tiempo con tables that explain qué debe representar cada clip y en qué orden.
It's a paint-by-numbers trick, as easy as 1-2-3, and great for anyone who doesn't have much experience with video editing or narration software in general. Or marketing teams that need a streamlined factory-like process to make it easy to create and regularly publish video content.
Once you've decided on your template or decided to start from scratch, you can start cutting clips together. From there, the video editing process becomes much more recognizable.
Adobe Express interface and experience
- Basic editing functionality
- Accessible interface
If you've ever tried Canva Video, the popular design platform's free video editing app, you'll be instantly familiar with Adobe Express video editor (and that goes for its graphic design offerings too, Adobe embraced the same experience user interface that helped Canva grow in popularity during the pandemic).
In our Canva Video review, we called it "a simple, simplistic program that's great for short videos and social media assets." However, we did note that its lack of power, basic workflow, and lack of effects meant it wouldn't satisfy professional video editors.
Adobe Express Video Editor is designed for much the same purposes: short, simple videos suitable for social sharing.
The interface reflects this accessible approach. A timeline sits at the bottom of the screen, with style controls to the right, allowing you to choose a layout, like full screen or split screen, and add a theme (essentially filtered overlay).
Stealing the show is the viewer. Unlike most video editing apps, here you don't just preview media; By clicking on the + button, you have the possibility to add your videos, texts, photos or icons. At the bottom of the viewfinder is a microphone button. Press and hold to record narration over the highlighted clip.
As you'd expect from the providers of Photoshop and Lightroom, you can upload photos directly from your Adobe Creative Cloud storage. But there's also cloud photo storage support for Dropbox, Google Photos, and Google Drive.
Everything professionals and students need to create an engaging slideshow.
Oddly enough, there is no such option for videos. When you hit the video button, you need to make sure it's accessible from File Explorer or Finder. It gets unnecessarily complicated from there. The best video editing software tends to allow you to load multiple files at once, place them on the timeline, and trim them at will. Adobe Express is following a different path.
Download only one video at a time (unfortunately, dragging and dropping multiple from the file browser to the viewer only opens the first selected video). Be careful here. If you don't select the correct image on the timeline before downloading, each new video will overwrite the previous one.
Then trim your clip using the trim controls, before saving. You can always go back and make more changes by tapping on the pencil icon. This is where you can adjust a clip's volume, zoom, and use the opaque "Continue Clip" name, a way to split a clip at the last cut and continue it on a new frame.
At this point, as the editing application processes the video and adds it to its timeline, it realizes that perhaps Express is a misnomer. Because it is slow. But once the video is in place, you can hit the + again and add it to your masterpiece.
- User experience rating: 3/5
Download and design resources for Adobe Express
- Includes free images, music, and graphic design resources.
- Limited to MP4 downloads
To give your clips a more professional touch, the Adobe Express video editor offers a range of pre-made design elements and royalty-free music - the library isn't extensive, but there's enough "d'mood" music to find the right music. . Mood for your video. Alternatively, if you find the selection limited or not customized enough, you can upload your own music samples.
If you've used the Canva design app, you'll be instantly familiar with icons: simple graphics, like shapes, symbols, and even people. However, unlike its rival, Adobe Express doesn't offer any way to customize icon colors (it's monochrome from start to finish) or even move the icon away from the center of the screen. It's a disconcerting move from a sleek, design-driven company.
Elsewhere, you can access stock photos. And this is where Adobe Express drifts towards the freemium model. While we found the free selection to be quite generous, many images are locked behind the Creative Cloud Express paywall, indicated by the gold crown in the corner of these 'premium' shots.
Unlike Canva, Adobe won't let you try premium photos with a watermark. So you can't even see what they would look like in the final video to see if it's worth a subscription.
When you're happy with the cut, press download. Don't worry about extra controls and options here. There is not. Your video is in MP4 format - it's up to you to convert the videos to your preferred format (or use Adobe Express to convert to GIF). In our tests, videos typically took about three times as long to render and download.
Adobe Express Video Editor Dashboard
FeaturesNotesRatingValueFree, with Creative Cloud Express subscription upgrade4/5Easy to get startedAccessible and simple to start editing videos5/5User ExperienceClean and fairly intuitive, but with some frustrating interface options3/5FeaturesLots of free design elements, images and music4/5Should I give it a try?
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First review July 22, 2022
Pricing - Adobe Creative Cloud Express:▼