A new version of free video editor OpenShot has been released, with the app’s developers calling it one of the ‘biggest releases ever’ in its 18-year history1.
OpenShot 3.5 ships with a new default timeline (it had been available to test in earlier builds). This offers the same functions as before (zooming, scrolling, snapping, etc), along with a new keyframe panel, and is said to be ‘faster’ than before.
Indeed, the whole app in general (effect and frame processing especially) is said to be as much as 35% faster than before. It sounds impressive, but is is versus older builds (and OpenShot has long held a reputation being crash prone and sluggish).
The last release also claims it was ~32% faster than the one before it, which as said to the ‘fastest ever’. I don’t point this out because I don’t think it’s true, or that I feel improvements in OpenShot’s speed and stability aren’t welcome, just… Keep expectations in checks.
Other changes in OpenShot 3.5
All video effects in OpenShot are said to support masking, with new mask controls reportedly available. A new Chroma key effect also ships, offering softer edges and improved fidelity (and, that word again) ‘faster’ performance.
Audio workflows may see a boost thanks to (here’s that word again) ‘faster’ file handling and new audio transitions to make applying cross fades between audio tracks easier (no more needing to overlap clips and keyframe an audio duck at the end of one and start of the other).
Exports are said to produce smaller files but at high quality. If you use OpenShot’s Blender-powered animated titles, then GPU rendering is now enabled by default which, to close the loop on that word, really should result in ‘faster’ generations.
Of course, OpenShot 3.5 also offers bug fixes and lower-level tweaks across builds for all the operating systems it supports. Maintenance is rarely headline-grabbing stuff, but it’s arguably where the bulk of most development effort goes.
AI video editing features available (ish)
New QtWidgets default timeline, OpenShot 3.5 includes ComfyUI integration, albeit billed as being in an ‘experimental’ state.
ComfyUI is an open-source, node-based program used for AI image generation. It’s often used in video editing workflows for subject separation, upscaling, style transfer and SAM2-powered object tracking and masking/rotoscoping (latter is likely to be practically useful).
OpenShot lists the minimum system requirements needed to use ComfyUI features in OpenShot require an NVIDIA 5070 12GB or better GPU, Ryzen 9 5900 or equivalent CPU and at least 64GB RAM and 200GB free disk space.
“If your system is below these levels, jobs will stall, fail, and produce unstable results. If your GPU has 8GB or less of VRAM, you will run out of memory running these models,” they warn.
Install OpenShot 3.5 on Ubuntu
OpenShot is free, open-source software. It’s available for Windows, macOS and Linux. Download it for all major OSes, with a standalone AppImage runtime for Linux, from the OpenShot website.
It’s made using Qt 5 – a Qt 6 port is on the way – and is powered by libopenshot (a C++ library) and the MLT multimedia framework (which other Linux video editors such as Kdenlive and Shotcut use).
If you use Ubuntu (or an Ubuntu-based Linux distro like Linux Mint or Pop!_OS), you can also use the official OpenShot PPA instead. New releases can take up to a week or two to hit the PPA, so if you need the new features sooner, use an alternative method.
To add the OpenShot PPA on Ubuntu or Linux Mint, open your terminal and run:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openshot.developers/ppa
Then refresh, and install OpenShot:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install openshot-qt python3-openshot
After installation finishes up, launch OpenShot from your preferred app launcher or menu to check out the new (and existing) features.
Linux video editors are decent now
Whether this release matches the hyperbole each one coasts on (see footnote below) remains to be seen. In all the years I’ve tried using OpenShot for editing – most of its aforementioned 18-year history – I’ve never found it reliable, fast or that enjoyable to use.
For modern editing using open-source software, Kdenlive and Shotcut remain the gold standards for me, while those seeking end-to-end professional workflows can try and get BlackMagic’s DaVinci Resolve up and running – it supports Linux, just very specifically.
Deja vu given every OpenShot release makes similar claims.
OpenShot 3.2 was the ‘most exciting version yet’.
OpenShot 3.2.1 was a ‘game-changer for free, open-source video editors’.
OpenShot 3.3 was the ‘best version we’ve ever released’ and ‘faster than ever’.
OpenShot 3.4 was the ‘largest update’ in its history (and ~32% faster).
OpenShot 3.5 is the biggest update (again) and the fastest (since the last one).
On the plus side, the confident boosterism is now being handled by the master of confident boosterism: AI (based on the number of tics and cliches in the blog announcement). ↩︎
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