Ask HN: What would you like in a simple video editor?
I've created a video editor, and I'm looking for ways to improve it. My focus has been on simplicity for you (not looking to compete with Adobe or anything).
With that in mind, I'd like to know what you guys would like in a simple video editor, to see if/when I could actually implement it.
6 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 9.1 ms ] threadTurn the beta into 1.0 and start charging. It will validate that a market exists. Or that one doesn't exist. Get that answer now and find people who are willing to pay. Don't build a product for people who will never pay.
The way I validated the idea (at least, that was my train of thought) - was by publishing videos created with my app on twitter.
While a lot of people liked the videos (market validation), I've had to work a lot on making the app user friendly. And making it fast - that was an insane amount of time.
I can finally say that I've more or less achieved both - and I'm waiting to see what people trying it will think (I do have a feedback form)
As I understand it the plan is selling a tool for making videos not selling videos. Many tools produce likable videos that might be tweeted. Which tool made a likable video does not matter to the viewer.
Good luck.
> Which tool made a likable video does not matter to the viewer.
Agreed, what I want to provide is a way for people to build those likeable videos, very fast and easy.
From the article:
> Surprisingly, launching a mediocre product as soon as possible, and then talking to customers and iterating, is much better than waiting to build the “perfect” product.
Agreed. I've been gathering feedback for a while - that's basically why I worked on speed improvements / and better UI. Unfortunately that meant a looot of time. Basically, I had to change the underlying rendering technology which took me roughly 5 months. Revamping the UI - another 3 months. Needless to say, a LOT more than I expected.
> Do things that don't scale
I have a few emails for some small businesses that I'd like to offer this to try. The idea is for them to create really cool videos - really fast - for their social media.
I'm also thinking instagram / tiktok - this basically means vertical video - which is kinda' next on my todo list.
> growth is not always the right choice. If you have not yet made something your customers want ... it makes little sense to grow
This is what I need to figure out - if people want my product. And I'd like to focus on small businesses that want to improve their social media presence.
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I used to read asmartbear.com, but then I ended up having no free time whatsoever. That is probably my biggest problem - working too much, and focusing too little on the business part.