Consumer Editor Reviews - Titling Features

Titling Utility

Adobe Premiere Elements

Magix Movie Edit 10

Pinnacle Studio

Ulead VideoStudio

Feature Check:

Design over video?

No - you design in the black box on the right, and move it around your title using the scroll bars on the top and left side of the black screen. Definitely not as elegant as other products that let you simply drag the title where you want it.

Don't thinks so (couldn't find control, not listed in help or in manual)

There is one preset with a background, but you can't change the size of it, so it's not that useful.

Yes, but when you insert a background it goes across the entire frame, which is awkward (see screenshot above)

 Yes - click the font in the font box and MEP displays it.  No preview of multiple fonts.

Yes

Yes - decent motion capabilities.

Very limited - rolls and crawls, and only one animation per title (unlike VideoStudio).  Can apply many filters to title, but not pan and zoom (which would add motion). 

• Have to "save" title first, which stores it in the bin, then you drag it into the project. All other tools insert it directly into the timeline which is a better approach. It's not the extra work, it's that it may prove confusing to some beginners (like "hey - where'd my title go?")

• Can't undo during title design; have to either manually return to original parameters (e.g. change font size back from 12 to 10), cancel and start over (for new title) or accept the title, then once it's replaced the older title, undo then.

• Studio's title utility doesn't display chromakey video, even if you disable chromakey video (it just shows the video on the main track. This makes it tough to precisely place titles on subjects chroma keyed into video

Narrative

Adobe Premiere Elements

Magix Movie Edit 10

Pinnacle Studio

Ulead VideoStudio

This is the titling utility we all want to be when we grow up. Premiere Pro’s titling tool has always been a program strength (well, since 6.5 anyway), and Adobe passed virtually all of it on to Elements.

The presets are awesome and in many cases tie to DVD templates, but there are relatively few of them (like 1 birthday template), which is a drag. Adobe plans to release more as a registration incentive.

Other than the workflow, described above in other comments, it's a gem of a tool.

Magix has lots of useful presets (like credits, and fun motions) and we like that the program automatically inserts transitions at the beginning and end of each title. However, there are several critical design limitations and deficits.

First, I prefer titling utilities where you create your title directly over the background video and can drag your title to the desired location. In MEP, you create text in a separate window, with preview over the actual video, and move the title around with slider bars, rather than directly. Not a huge pain, but not as convenient.

You can't insert multiple independent text strings in the same title, but of course you can insert and layer multiple titles. Also, there are no design primitives, so you can't really design backgrounds for your titles, and the few titles with transparent background are simply too large for easy use.

Studio’s titling tool has always been strong, with great font presets, a huge palette, display over background video and design primitives, but it's slightly eclipsed by Premiere’s tool, which is pretty much the same tool as Premiere Pro. 

VideoStudio’s titling tool has improved significantly over the years, and offers some interesting features. For example, it’s one of the few tools that lets you animate multiple text strings, which is nice.

You compose directly over the background video which is nice, but there are very few templates or styles at your disposal, a disadvantage against Studio and particularly Premiere.

New in Version 9 are grid lines to assist your alignment, and the ability to create a text backdrop (full frame only, which is odd), though this isn’t as flexible as being able to create and position design primitives like boxes and ovals.

Summary

Adobe Premiere Elements

Magix Movie Edit 10

Pinnacle Studio

Ulead VideoStudio

Pluses:

• Very full feature set

• strong design primitives, styles and text templates

• Great precision

• Full motion control on timeline.

Negatives:

• Workflow might be a bit confusing

Pluses:

• Good animation controls

• Multiple tracks provide good flexibility for titling

Negatives:

• No direct manipulation of text

• No title safe zone

• No design primitives or sufficient titles with backgrounds

• No undo

Pluses:

• Solid tool with great text design palette

Negatives:

• Limited motion

• Doesn't display video on the overlay track when creating the title

Pluses:

• Multiple animation paths

Negatives:

• No design primitives

• Full frame background is awkward

• Few design templates, no text templates