Cyberlink Powerdirector 16 Ultra

An all-round video editor

This feature-packed video-editing program is one of those that tries to mimic high-end, professional-level software. Its depth of control and robustness is never going to satisfy those who earn a living doing this sort of thing, but every year it gains more options to ensure home users have all they need to get convincing results.

The latest industry innovation to get the Cyberlink treatment is 360-degree video, shot with dedicated cameras like the LG 360 (see our review, Issue 482) and Ricoh Theta S (see Issue 467). Stitching together the all-around view is left to your camera maker’s software, but Powerdirector now lets you stabilise the footage, edit it, and add titles that follow the viewer’s gaze. This is all pretty handy if you shoot 360-degree video, though it remains a niche interest. But there are also good tools for stabilising and fixing distortion in standard video from action cameras such as Gopros.

A new collage designer lets you drag and drop multiple clips into screen layouts that play them side by side in strips or segments. It’s a fun effect, but not very customisable. Of more interest to creative types is colour matching, which helps to give clips from different sources – your camcorder and phone, say – a similar tone when you cut between them.

You can also now import so-called colour look-up tables (LUTS) to instantly create a particular look. You can find plenty of LUTS online, but it’s strange that Cyberlink doesn’t include any. To create your own visual mood, there’s split toning, a classic technique that colours shadows and highlights differently.

Its audio-ducking tool automatically makes a music track quieter whenever there’s speech on an another track, useful for narration. The tool needed some tweaking before it sounded right, but it’s easier than doing it manually. More advanced audio editing is still reserved for the Audiodirector program supplied in the Ultimate Suite bundle (£210), which also includes Colordirector for full colour grading, now with 360-degree support.

Powerdirector isn’t the easiest program for beginners, but its Express Project tool is a reasonably simple way to get started with an editing job, and there’s lots of room to grow into the full set of features.

Not quite pro-level video editing, but not that far off