Well, you have iMovie, it’s free and gets basics done. “Best” is very subjective, so here’s my short story of why I use Final Cut.
I cut video for years using assmeble-edit, “cuts only” tape based systems, then a bit on a real A/B roll system I built for a client. I also cut film before that, so the transition to cutting video was a bit of a move backwards. When you assemble edit, it has to be in exact sequence, you can’t insert a shot without re-editing everything that comes after it. You can insert shots in film editing, and everything after the insert just ripples.
My wife and I have produced 9 full-length documentaries that we shot and edited ourselves. Our first digital video attempt (4th project in all) was in 1997, shot on DV and cut in Premier. It was a disaster. A simple cross-fade transition took 30 minutes to render only to find it’s either missplaced or misstimed. We got 18 minutes cut in 6 weeks, then gave up and finished the show by cutting it on tape.
The next production was all digital, in 2002, again shot on DV. I had Mac with iMovie, so I tried it. I didn’t get very far before I hit the limits of what iMovie could do (it was actually an audio editing problem), and bailed. Premier hadn’t really improved much, so I went to Final Cut, which both matched my editing model of cutting film, and had all the tools. I’ve cut on FC ever since, that’s now 20 years, many versions. Our last show was shot in HD, and produced with 5.1 surround, all cut in Final Cut.
I subscribe to the Adobe CC full package (because I really need two apps, but you get them all for the same price as two), so I have Premier. I could use it, it’s gotten much better, and frankly, in some ways, it’s better than Final Cut. But also, I now know Final Cut, have even mostly adapted to their (rather idiotic) “object oriented” model, and can whip out a fairly produced video in short order. But I have used Premier for a few sequence because it had a tool I needed that was better than FC.
So what’s best for a novice? I really think the question is, are you the type of creative individual who has a drive to advance, or are you satisfied with reaching a certain level that might be limited by the tools? I’m a tool freak, I’d rather have tools I don’t really know how to use than not have the tools at all. But that’s just me, not right or wrong.
So I have lots of tools, digital, physical, etc. For me that’s a huge part of learning and growing.
I’ve been back to iMovie once or twice, cutting something small and quick, but my feeling is if someone got really good at iMovie they’d probably have a steeper learwanted to transition to something else. It’s really simple, but also, it really takes control to make things simple. If you like what it does, you’ll probably like how it works. If you want to do something a little different or special outside of it’s norm, you will probably reduce the total numbers of hairs you have.
