Intro: Since GR News is highlighting how-to videos for garden railroaders, Mick Spilsbury thinks that a section on how to make videos would be most helpful so that more videos will be produced. Mick, Dave Stone and I have been working on the new section in Garden Railroading News on how-to shoot educational videos. We are concentrating on helping newbies to make video shorts - those quick YouTube videos shot mostly with cell phones. This format is so easy to make and fast to watch that they are very popular now and have higher viewership than longer videos because most people have short attention spans. But Mick says that he’ll also include a section for more advanced videography and video editing
Related links:
Trains in the Garden with Dave: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV94sDj-5r2zOxMFAGurOzQ
Garden Railroading News: https://www.grnews.org/
Here is a preview of Dave Stone’s great new video on shooting tips that will hit social media tomorrow. Dave is an expert in making how to videos that are a wonderful source of tips. His video will be helpful for everybody. Following that is the paper Dave & I wrote with editing tips and recommended editing apps that we have used. This paper is for both beginners, intermediate and advanced editing. GR News will be publishing these and much more soon.
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide: How to Video Your Garden Railroad. by Dave Stone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GDa1y6n6ag
How to Make More Advanced Videos
By John Carmichael, Dave Stone & Mick Spilsbury - 10/20/2026
How-To Make Slideshow Videos and Short Videos
We hope this information inspires you to make your own videos using video editing apps that are inexpensive, easier to learn, and better than ever. With a little learning, patience, and practice, a simple slideshow video without extras is easy to make. Editing can be a lot of fun and produce rewarding results. Once you learn basic editing, it’s amazing how many neat things you can do to spice up your videos with different apps. The more videos you make, the better you’ll get at editing.
We have been discussing the growing popularity and need for more garden railroading how-to videos. I’m sure you’ve noticed most people prefer watching videos to reading. But how-to videos are scarce. We realize that filming most handmade projects during construction can be difficult, distracting, and sometimes impossible because builders’ hands are busy. Who has a videographer on call for filming? Nobody. So model builders usually prefer recording their work with still photos taken during their breaks. They share their construction photos with text comments on GR modeling forums, websites and in articles. Videos could greatly increase viewership. This is a proven fact.
To make a how-to video, you do not necessarily need to film it with a video camera. In a slideshow with added comments, you can easily create how-to videos using only still images. This is how I made my first how-to videos - with my old construction photographs, graphics and comments. These basic slideshows and short-form videos require only simple video editing software. Mick Spilsbury points out that if shot properly, shorter videos for social media need minimal editing, rarely more than clipping. Longer, content-heavy videos are a different story and require more editing. All this can be done with the apps we recommend below.
In addition to still images, you can add video clips, text, subtitles, music, voices, sound effects, arrows, circles, and other elements. Most of the apps listed are free for limited trial use, and most include helpful tutorials. You can upgrade for more content, but with some apps, you don’t need to buy a whole year – some offer a one-month if that’s all you need. So they’re not expensive. Here are editing apps we like and use, along with others that we haven’t tried, but that have good reviews. We also list specialized apps for music, sounds, and AI voice generation. Sometimes we use several different apps together to create a more professional video. Needless to say, these apps can be used for any video, long or short-form.
Video Editing Apps for Beginners
1) Wondershare Filmora: https://filmora.wondershare.com/
· Pros: Very beginner friendly. Easy learning curve. Particularly well-suited for short-form content. Dedicated short-video mode. Templates. Effects. AI long-to-short conversion. Useful AI features: auto captions, text-to-speech, object removal. Large creative library: effects, titles, transitions, music tracks. Flexible & affordable pricing. Good performance.
· Cons: Free version adds a prominent watermark. Some advanced AI tools consume limited monthly credits. Desktop-focused (no full browser version). Can feel heavy on lower-spec computers. Mixed feedback on customer support.
· Comments: If you mainly make simple chronological how-to or slideshow videos and want more creative polish and AI helpers than Clipchamp or basic Canva, Filmora is worth trying. More structured and timeline-based than pure mobile apps, but far easier than CapCut’s denser feature set or Canva’s design-first approach. The free version lets you test the workflow. Many beginners find it a comfortable long-term home once they upgrade. Mick and Dave use and recommend it.
2) ClipChamp: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/clipchamp
· Pros: Beginner-friendly. Solid AI tools: auto-captions, text-to-speech, silence removal, noise suppression, and background removal. Built-in screen + webcam recorder. Tight integration with Windows 11 and Microsoft 365. Works as app or in browser. Can be expanded with a small fee to add features.
· Cons: Only uses OneDrive for storage. Very limited advanced tools. Exports can be slow. Not suitable for professional or high-end editing.
· Comments: Solid, no-nonsense beginner tool, especially on Windows. One of the most approachable editors available for simple projects. You can drag photos into a timeline, arrange them chronologically, add text/comments, simple transitions, music, captions, and light effects without feeling overwhelmed. The interface is clean and modern, and the free plan is genuinely usable. Dave uses and recommends.
3) CapCut https://www.capcut.com/
· Pros: Good reviews. Highly recommended for beginners: Strong market presence, especially on mobile for social media and short-form editing. (TikTok, Reels, Shorts). Powerful free version packed with tools - trendy templates, effects, and music. Strong AI features: auto-captions, background removal, voice effects, and text-to-speech.
· Cons: Aggressive paywall. Pro subscription required to unlock many features. Can lag or crash with longer/complex projects. Privacy concerns.
· Comments: Highly capable and approachable. One of the strongest free options for making short-form social media videos. We have not tried it. Seems promising.
4) CyberLink PowerDirector 365: https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software/overview
· Pros: Free version available. Fast and responsive performance. Clear, usable interface. Rich feature set. Strong AI tools. Excellent for mixed media. Good music, subtitle, and utility tools. Content libraries and extras. Similar to Canva but easier to learn and use. Imports many MOV files and export to MP4. Voice-to-text and text-to-voice. Nice zoom feature. Compresses and exports MP4 files. Regular updates.
· Cons: Sheer number of features can feel overwhelming at first. Content-heavy projects may cause stability issues. Requires modern operating systems. Windows version is more complete than the Mac version. Not fully professional-grade. Free version has limitations.
· Comments: More powerful and timeline-oriented than Canva while remaining easier than professional suites. Excels at arranging stills in chronological order, adding narration/subtitles, music, simple motion (zooms/pans), and light video clips. Many users specifically like its music tools, subtitle options, format conversion, and compression. John & Dave use and recommend.
5) Canva: https://www.canva.com/
· Pros: Beginner-semi-friendly. AI video and photo editor with many extra features. One of the best tools for creating polished visuals quickly. Has AI voice and YouTube-approved music. You can use it with a small monthly subscription if you won’t be using it frequently. Has templates for YouTube shorts and landscape videos.
· Cons: Has a rather steep learning curve and limited music selection of variable quality - Music stuttering on some tracks is distracting. Limited advanced design control. Free plan is restricted - many of the best assets, tools, and export options require Pro. Partly internet-dependent with some offline capability. Not ideal for deep professional design or high-end video editing. May crash under heavy content load, so frequent backup copies are recommended.
· Comments: Popular all-in-one design + video platform. Strong for quick, polished, template-driven or slideshow-style videos made from still photos, graphics, and light clips. John & Dave use and recommend (after we learned how to use it).
Note: VN, iMovie, InShot, and Filmora are suitable or beginners but are not among Grok’s top editing app choices.
Comment: We have not tried them. They require more investigation.
Music and Sound Effects Apps
Tip: Be careful not to use copyrighted music. YouTube may prohibit it and might ban your video. Royalty-free music is usually safe.
1) YouTube Audio Library: https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music
· Pros: Beginner-friendly and reliable. Free collection of royalty-free music and sound effects. Safely add audio without copyright claims or strikes. Clear licensing info. Better selection and higher quality music than Canva. Filters by genre, mood, duration, etc. Exports MP3 audio files for use in your video editing app.
· Cons: Limited catalog. Music can sound generic or familiar to viewers. Some tracks need attribution. Not ideal for high-end or branded work.
· Comments: John & Dave use and recommend this.
2) Bensound: https://www.bensound.com/
· Pros: Safe for YouTube when used correctly. Budget-friendly. Great entry-level option. High-quality, production-ready royalty-free music—much better than Canva. Easy to browse by mood or genre. Simple, clear licensing. Free tracks available. Affordable paid options. Paid tracks give a perpetual license.
· Cons: Free tracks can still trigger temporary Content ID claims if the required attribution code is missing. Free tracks require credit + unique code per video. Restricted or prohibited for most pure audio-only projects. Smaller catalog than larger libraries. Some tracks can feel generic or overused.
· Comments: A practical, low-cost, low-risk choice for video background music. Solid, long-running royalty-free music library that’s especially well-suited for YouTube creators, small video projects, and simple how-to videos. Dave uses it but does not recommend.
Voice Generator App
1) ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io/
· Pros: Beginner-friendly. Free plan available for testing. Currently one of the best AI voice platforms available for realistic, high-quality speech. Creates custom voices, has stock voices, or even duplicates your own voice! Typed text generates the voice you want. Best-in-class for emotion, pacing, and breath. Better quality and selection than Canva AI voice. Has sound effects. Strong multilingual support. Quick & easy. Makes .mp3 speech files for export.
· Cons: Credit-based pricing can become expensive quickly. Free plan is limited (low monthly credits) and does not allow commercial use. Not a complete audio post-production suite (you’ll still need to export and finish .mp3 audio files in editing apps).
· Comments: This is the best AI voice generator we’ve found. It’s better than those included in the editing apps we listed. It’s amazing and wonderful. John & Dave use and highly recommend this. And it’s so easy and fun to use!
By
John Carmichael ·
