Understanding what equipment professional video editors use isn't just interesting trivia — it affects the quality of your final video, the speed of delivery, and the types of effects and colour work your editor can achieve. Here's what the Perth video editing industry is actually running in 2025.
Editing Software
Adobe Premiere Pro
The industry standard for commercial video editing. Premiere Pro's deep integration with Adobe After Effects, Audition, and Photoshop makes it the go-to for complex projects requiring motion graphics, sound design, and multi-format delivery. Most Perth corporate and social media editors use Premiere Pro.
DaVinci Resolve
Blackmagic Design's Resolve has become the gold standard for colour grading — and increasingly, for full editing workflows. Its free version is genuinely professional-grade. Editors working on cinematic content, documentary, or high-end corporate video often prefer Resolve for its colour tools.
Final Cut Pro
Apple's professional editor is popular among Mac-based freelancers for its speed and efficiency on Apple Silicon machines. Not as widely used for agency work (no Windows version), but excellent for solo editors with a high-volume social media workflow.
CapCut Pro
Increasingly used for social-first content — particularly TikTok and Instagram Reels. Its AI-powered auto-captions, trending effects, and direct social publishing make it fast for high-volume social content, though it lacks the depth for complex productions.
Hardware
Apple MacBook Pro (M2/M3/M4)
The most popular editing machine among Perth freelancers and boutique studios. Apple Silicon's performance per watt is extraordinary — editing 4K footage in real-time with minimal proxy workflow. The M3 Max and M4 Max chips handle even 6K and 8K footage smoothly.
Custom Windows PC
Preferred by many studio editors for maximum RAM and GPU headroom. A high-end Windows workstation with an NVIDIA RTX 4090, 128GB RAM, and fast NVMe storage handles any render demand. Also easier to upgrade over time than a laptop.
Wacom Tablet
Used for precise colour grading and mask drawing. Most professional colourists prefer a stylus to a mouse for detailed work in DaVinci Resolve's colour panel.
Calibrated Monitor
Colour-accurate output requires a calibrated display. Professional editors use monitors like the LG UltraFine, ASUS ProArt, or Sony BVM series — displays that accurately reproduce colour space so what you see matches what your audience sees across devices.
Storage and Backup
- NVMe SSD: For active project files — fast enough for real-time 4K editing without proxies.
- NAS (Network Attached Storage): For archiving and team collaboration. Common in agency environments.
- Cloud backup: Dropbox, Google Drive, or Backblaze for disaster recovery. Reputable editors always maintain off-site backups of client footage.
Audio Tools
- Adobe Audition: Industry standard for audio clean-up, noise reduction, and mixing.
- iZotope RX: The professional tool for removing background noise, hums, and audio artefacts from problematic recordings.
- Epidemic Sound / Artlist: Royalty-free music libraries used by Perth editors for client projects — legally licensed for commercial use.
What This Means for Your Project
When hiring a Perth video editor, it's worth asking what software they use and whether their setup can handle your footage format. If you're shooting in 4K or RAW, confirm your editor has the hardware to handle it without excessive render times. A professional setup means faster delivery and higher quality colour work.
Perth Content uses professional-grade software and hardware for every project. Get a quote today.