As video editors go, iMyFone Filme looks like your average run-of-the-mill application for Mac and Windows. But what lies beneath the surface is a very user-friendly experience that takes all the pain out of video editing. The best part is, whether you’re a novice to the game or an aspiring professional, you’ll be able to jump into the deep end of the pool right away.
I’ll give you my ratings outright, then talk about the various capabilities of this amazing video editor. Finally, I will justify my ratings so you know where I’m coming from.
So, here goes…
On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest/best rating, this is what I scored Filme:
Effectiveness: 4.5 stars
Price: 5 stars
Ease of Use: 5 stars
Support: 4 stars
Quick Summary
The first thing I noticed about Filme was the website itself. The clear and no-nonsense tutorials give you just what you need to get started, from what I saw at a glance. For that matter, I didn’t even go through the tutorials until after I played around with it because I wanted to see how intuitive the software was. It was very much so, to be honest – right from the sign up to the registration and launching the app on my MacBook Pro and playing around with the slick interface and different functions, it was clear that a lot of effort has gone into creating the UI and UX for this software.
The only thing I didn’t like was the dark theme of the interface. I’m not a big fan of dark mode so I’m probably not the best judge, but it seems to be a little too dark for my taste. That said, most people who love dark themes will love the UI right away.
To encapsulate my experience:
| Things I liked about Filme | Things I disliked about Filme |
| ● Ease of use
● Price point ● Richness and diversity of features ● Lack of any complexity for any task ● The UI and overall layout ● The user experience ● Slo-motion effect ● Easy slideshow creation |
● The dark theme
● Lack of control over default audio in fast video mode ● The lag/stutter I experienced at times when previewing video clips, but that went away as I kept using the software ● The fact that the free audio tracks and sound effects files have to be downloaded separately; however, that’s probably a good idea or it would have slowed down the application to have everything preloaded. |
Now, I would like to take you on a stroll through this versatile and powerful video editing software so you can see for yourself how it matches up against any of the other video editors you’re familiar with.
Frequently Asked Questions about Filme
What is Filme?
Filme is a video editor for Mac and PC. It is ideal for new users, amateur video editors, and seasoned professionals alike. It offers a full range of features that includes fast video creation, easy video editing, layered video support, adding music to video clips, working with effects, filters, image editing, and much more. It is a lightweight utility but the speed of the software will depend on what kind of videos you’re editing, their size, their resolution, and other factors. It will also depend on your RAM capacity and the age of your system. On average, however, it is much faster than many bulky desktop video editors.
Is it Filme free to use?
Yes, you can use Filme for free for personal use but with a few limitations. However, the paid subscription is very affordable at $19.95 a year and the lifetime license is a steal at $59.95. You’re not likely to find a comprehensive video editing tool at that price no matter how hard you look. Besides, there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee on both license types. The subscription license can be canceled at any time and you can continue to use the software until the end of that billing cycle. Like Netflix!
Can I export finished videos without a watermark?
If you are a registered user, there will be no watermark on exported videos. The watermark is only for unregistered copies of the software. To avoid malware risks, I recommend that you only download Filme from the official iMyFone website, and registering gives you the added benefits of lifetime free updates and free premium customer support.
What Can Filme Do For You?
That’s the big question I tried to answer as I perused the software on my Mac – what can it do for me? To get to the answer, I put it through some typical hoops that I use when reviewing any video editor. Essentially, I want to check four things:
- How the UI was able to interact with the user
- What kind of file formats it supported for import and export
- What kind of video effects I could add to my clips
- How fast video mode worked
I was really curious about that last one because nearly every video editor boasts a slideshow feature, but most of them are extremely hard to use. Fast video mode in Filme, on the other hand, promised a one-click solution to create a slideshow using uploaded media. That wasn’t literally true, but it accurately expresses the ease with which a video slideshow (with music, no less) can be created with Filme.
First, let me talk about the initial experience until I actually launched the software on my Mac. The download was very straightforward: I downloaded the .zip file, opened it, and double-clicked the installer file. It only took a few seconds before the software was up and running. I had to authenticate the source on my Mac’s notification window but, other than that, nothing exciting happened… until I saw the interface.
The User Interface and Experience
Right off the bat, I had some screen tips to show me what’s what and what goes where. That gave me the gist of the layout, how to upload media, where the timeline editing happened, and how to preview my edits. That’s basically all a user needs to know in the beginning so I like the fact that it was not overly confusing or full of tips and tricks that I wouldn’t use until later on.
The editing interface is neatly organized – The entire bottom half is for timeline editing, and I can stretch that section to about 60% of vertical space if I need it. Alternatively, I can keep more space for the top half, which has the navigation panel on the left, the list of uploaded media next to it, then the preview section, and, finally, the editing controls. I found this layout to be natural and intuitive because it gives me a snapshot of everything that’s going on while keeping the editing part in focus at the top. I also had the option of previewing the edited video in full-screen mode at the click of an icon.
Overall, it provides the right balance of control and visibility when working on complicated video clips or adding numerous effects to a clip.
Import and Export File Type Support
The next important aspect for me was the kind of files it supported when importing and exporting videos, audio files, and images. This is really crucial to me because I believe users should have freedom in the devices they choose to capture their videos, and that choice must not be limited by what the video editor can support. Filme excels in that regard. Here’s a snapshot of the file types that can be imported:
On the export side, the following three images show you the formats and output devices that are supported:
I found the supported formats and devices list to be more than adequate except for very special cases where a video has to be exported into another program for special effects. However, since it covers all the latest formats, you can always use a specialized conversion tool for that purpose.
Video Effects – What Types and How Easy?
The next feature I was keen on testing out was the video effects capability. In that area, Filme really delivered strong results. One particular feature I was really impressed with was slo-mo, or slow motion. Most video editors only give you preset options to speed up and slow down your video clips, and those are typically limited. In stark contrast, I can slow down a video by 100 times using Filme! Basically, I tried setting the slo-mo parameter to 0.01, and it worked like a charm! The upper limit is 16x, which is also a lot more than what most other video editors offer.
I actually loved the slow-mo feature best of all. Technically, I should be able to see the up and down motion of the fastest-flying hummingbird, which has a wing-beating frequency of 80 times a second. Slowing that down by 100 times would allow me to see each wing beat clearly – as long as the video capture was appropriately sharp, of course. But that really blew my mind – imagine using that edit feature on an action photo taken on an action camera like the GoPro Hero9! The possibilities are endless.
Other effects were pretty much in line with what most premium video editors can do, but I did notice that it took me far fewer clicks to get a particular task done. For instance, if I wanted to split a clip into multiple parts, I just had to bring the timeline bar to a spot and click the split icon. Do that as many times as you need to and you’ll have several clips of your video, each of which can be edited separately, moved to a new video track, or exported. To edit a clip, I just had to double-click it and it’ll appear in the preview, ready to be edited.
The effects you can use on Filme include adding transitions like fade-in and fade-out, adding music tracks (yes, multiple audio tracks are possible along with multiple video tracks), layering your video clips, editing white balance, contrast, brightness, scale, and other parameters, using picture-in-picture effects, adding text, getting the right style, and a whole lot more.
But the effect I was really looking forward to was fast video mode, which helps you quickly create a slideshow of photos and videos with audio to match. Filme has a lot of themes you can choose from, such as events, travel, business, education, and more. All I had to do was pick a theme, add my media files (you can even import a whole folder), reorder them if needed, hit preview, change the timing of each media, and export the slideshow. It was super easy and fun to play around with.
Why Did I Give Those Ratings?
To refresh your memory, here are the ratings I gave at the top of this article:
Effectiveness: 4.5 stars
Price: 5 stars
Ease of Use: 5 stars
Support: 4 stars
I marked it down slightly for effectiveness because, after all, you can’t compare it with something like Final Cut Pro, which is a super-premium tool. However, it comes very close to being a comprehensive editor for budding amateurs who have their eye on the big leagues.
The support was also not totally perfect but only because the Filme website lacks a live chat support service, which would have been very useful if someone got stuck in the middle of editing a video and needed a quick solution. I think they should at least consider deploying a chatbot to answer basic questions. Not all users have the patience to go through tutorials to find what they need in a hurry. I’m a perfect example of that!
The price rating of 5 stars was a no-brainer. It beats other video editors with similar capabilities hands down, and the perpetual license makes it easy for you to own the software for life.
The ease-of-use score was equally straightforward. I did not get hopelessly stuck at any point no matter what feature I wanted to find. The only time I was a little frustrated was when I realized that in order to change the default music track on the slideshow I made using fast video mode, I had to export the slideshow, import it into a new project, mute the existing audio by editing the file, import another audio file (one was available as a stock file but I had to download it), add it to a new audio track, and then export the file all over again. It would be really useful if there were an audio swap button in fast video mode so you can simply switch one track for another of your choosing. But I guess I can’t get everything I want!
My Verdict
You’ve already seen my ratings, so I’ll just leave you with these final thoughts: Unless you’re editing a motion picture or a really large project, Filme has everything you need to create a stunning video, an engaging slideshow, or even a professional-looking home video project. And that this price, you’re not going to find any other video editor that comes even close in terms of features, usability, and overall performance.
