An Introduction to Kdenlive

YOU’LL NEED THIS

KDENLIVE

The open-source, multiplatform video editor is available for free from https://kdenlive.org.

KDENLIVE HAS BEEN THE PRIMARY VIDEO EDITOR on Linux for several years now, but any videos on the topic consist either of torrents of loving adulation, or venom-infused rants about it being the worst thing since sliced Ebola. More recent versions have been ported to Windows, so it’s time we let all PC users in on the fun.

Part of the reason some people may hate Kdenlive is that they can’t figure out its workflow, so let’s at least cover that, so you can hit the ground running. We can’t show you all of Kdenlive, but we can show enough for you to get comfortable.

Along the way, we can show you what recent changes have taken place with the GUI, how to add some basic effects, where to find stock footage, and how to polish your audio. We’ll even throw in a section on green screen effects and how to make them work properly.

Maybe after the journey, you’ll even have become one of Kdenlive’s loyal fans, but before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s start with the basics, and get it installed.

1 GETTING STARTED WITH KDENLIVE

From the Kdenlive download), Windows users are given a choice of an installer version, or a self-extracting standalone version that doesn’t need admin rights (but requires manually opening Kdenlive.exe in the “bin” folder). Both come in .exe format.