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I’ve tried so many mobile video editing apps that I’ve lost count, but this one takes the cake…
Video Star is packed with powerful features and gives you complete creative control, making it perfect for those who want to dive deep into video editing. Plus, it’s not riddled with AI features, which makes me love it even more.
Where to Get Video Star
Video Star is a mobile video editing app that is, at the time of writing, only available on iPhone and iPad. There is a free version, but to access the more advanced features such as layering and keyframing, you’ll have to pay for a subscription. You can also buy bundles of specific effects for a one-time cost, called “packs”.
I recommend getting the one-month subscription at $4.99 to give it a spin. This will allow you to get to know all the features that make this video editor such a powerhouse. If you like it, the three-month or annual plans will save you quite a bit of money.
Download:Video Star foriOS(Free, in-app purchases available)
My First Impressions of Video Star
I’ve beenediting videosusing Video Star since 2018 and have been paying for the all-access annual subscription since 2019. So I’ve spent a good amount of time getting to know the app.
Admittedly, I was a bit lost at first. This is mainly due to the app’s unconventional layout compared to most other mobile video editing apps. Normally, the playback screen is in the top-middle, with all the tools in a scrollable bottom panel.
Video Star looks more like a mobile version ofPremiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve(and it produces videos that look just as good) with buttons, windows, and icons all over the screen. I had no idea what to do and had to rely on YouTube tutorials to get started. But once I did, the user interface became second nature and every other video editing app looked dull in comparison.
The learning curve is what will make or break your decision to keep using Video Star. If you want to create videos using impressive effects that aren’t available on any other mobile app, it’s worth sticking it out. To help you get started, check out these YouTube channels:
The Features That Make Video Star Worth It
I’ll have to narrow down my favorite features, or we’ll be here all day. Video Star has a lot of “standard” creative effects, such as coloring, lens flare, mirroring, and motion blur—but those are far from the coolest things you can do with the app. Here’s what I think makes Video Star better than even some desktop video editors.
Multi-Layer Editing
While most photo andvideo editing appshave layers now, it feels like an afterthought. This is evident by the fact that other mobile video editors have only added multi-layer editing capabilities in the past year or so.
Video Star’s entire selling point has always been multi-layer editing—at least in the six years that I’ve used it—whereas other editors have now squeezed layer editing into their well-established layouts, making it awkward to use.
Not only does Video Star offer 30 layers for you to work with, but the app makes it incredibly easy to navigate. The Multi-Layer window is dedicated to editing layers, through which you can access most of the app’s other effects as well. Whenever I create something with this app, most of my time is spent in Multi-Layer.
One of the best things about multi-layer editing is how easy it makes green screen editing and keyframing. Speaking of which…
Keyframing
Some video editing apps are starting to add keyframes, but this is once again something that Video Star has boasted for years.Keyframe editingis something you associate with high-value production, usually created with the likes ofPremiere Pro or After Effects.
Video Star makes keyframing incredibly simple, you can learn it in 30 minutes, and this simplicity doesn’t come at the cost of quality. You can edit each layer’s keyframes with extreme precision, making the content move around however you please—there really are no limits, which is unheard of in mobile video editing.
For example, if your green screen didn’t apply correctly, you can manually erase/restore the frame to the millisecond thanks to keyframing.Alight Motion and perhaps CapCut Proare the only other apps that come close to this creative freedom.
Video Star also comes with keyframe presets if editing the graph manually is too daunting.
3D Editing
Perhaps the most impressive thing you’re able to do with Video Star is create and edit 3D elements. Using both multi-layer editing and keyframing, you can make a shape move around however you want. And of course, you can also aestheticize it however you want using the abundance of creative effects.
My go-to 3D shape is a square, which I’ve used in my video edit below. I had to replace the music with copyright-free audio and blur out some of the details, but as you can see, Video Star’s 3D effects look pretty cool.
More Hidden Gems in Video Star
It would be impossible for me to list everything I love about this app. But in case you’re still not 100% convinced, Video Star is capable of much more.
The Velocity tool lets you edit your clips in slow motion or fast motion (or both), and it lets you choose the interpolation style so you don’t end up with a choppy video. Some mobile apps offer this too since velocity editing started trending on TikTok, but Video Star offered this tool long before it was cool.
There are a ton of effects that let you warp your content in some way. This includes filters that create animated wave and wobble effects, stretch and squish filters, and a smear effect that you can apply in real-time.
Outside the editing window, Video Star offers a long menu of settings. You can customize the app icon, change the haptics, and even allow editing in landscape mode—I’ve never used another video editing app that offers this.
If you’re looking for a video editing app that offers more than splitting, trimming, and filters, I can’t recommend Video Star enough. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be amazed at what you can create with it.
