The year was 2007, and the digital video revolution was hitting its stride. For Elias, a teenage aspiring filmmaker stuck in a small town with nothing but an old MiniDV camcorder and a dream of making "the next great indie film," the barrier wasn't his imagination—it was his software.

For those who want a one-time purchase without a subscription, Adobe Premiere Elements offers many of the core editing features of the Pro version but in a more user-friendly package.

: A professional-grade editor used in Hollywood for color grading and editing. The standard version is completely free and much more powerful than CS3. CapCut (Desktop)