Sony Movie Studio 13 Platinum review

It’s also possible to switch between proxy and original footage during editing, which can be handy when performing precise edits where detail is more important than playback smoothness. However, this is done using the existing preview quality controls, which haven’t been renamed to reflect their new proxy-related functions. There’s also a right-click command to create proxy files for any other footage, which provides a welcome boost to preview performance when editing 1080p footage on lower-specified PCs.

This update is rounded out with some new effects. Color Match is designed to clone the colour palette of one clip onto another. It’s a relatively hands-on process, whereby the user must specify source and target images by capturing frames from the preview window, clipboard or a bitmap file. However, this manual approach allows the effect to be used for more experimental colour mapping by capturing two radically different sources and applying to a third. Overall it’s a great addition, but we’re baffled by the decision to arrange the effect’s controls as a single column, because it doesn’t fit on the screen without lots of scrolling.

The new HitFilm effects raise the bar for creative treatments, and complement Movie Studio’s sophisticated colour correction

The Movie Studio Platinum installer also includes seven effects taken from the fantastic FXHome HitFilm video effects software. Color Temperature makes simple white balance adjustments and Drop Shadow does as its name implies, but the others are more sophisticated. Leave Colour converts footage to black and white, except for a colour range that retains its colour information. Bleach Bypass gives punchy contrast to clips, while Gleam, Glow and Light Flares apply light rays, hazy glows and lens flare effects. Together, this collection brings charisma and drama to Movie Studio’s sophisticated but somewhat utilitarian effects library.

We have mixed feelings about the interface changes, which could have gone further to simplify things for casual users. We’re also still waiting for an overhaul of the Pan/Crop editor for animating graphical elements, which falls short of the standard offered by Premiere Elements. Ultimately, though, Movie Studio 13 Platinum isn’t radically different to its predecessor, and that can only be a good thing. While some people will prefer Premiere Elements for its greater breadth of features, Movie Studio’s no-nonsense approach and its precise, responsive timeline editing let users concentrate on presenting footage at its best rather than editing for its own sake. In our experience, that invariably leads to superior results.