A View on the Open-Source Video Editing Landscape (lgm2025)

Whether it is stitching together some travel footage or producing high-quality film content, there are many ways people want to work with the medium "video". Their needs for video editing solutions are diverse, and so is their budget. Open-source video editing software seems great for beginners to get started at zero cost. What do you get and what do you have to give up on compared to the closed-source options? What does it even take to build software like this from scratch, technologically as well as mentally? This talk takes a brief look at the free-to-use options for video editing on a desktop computer before switching the perspective to that of the developers and maintainers of such software. It offers insights into the struggles with technology, fundraising, self-motivation, and community dynamics, while also highlighting the rewarding moments and intriguing current and future developments. Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ about this event: https://pretalx.c3voc.de/lgm25-upstream-2025/talk/504479317/