Open source video editors can very often be a mixed bag - there's a good reason why industry standard editing packages cost a lot of money. However, Jashaka bucks the trend with an excellent special effects editor that's surprisingly easy to use and best of all, doesn't cost a penny.

Once Jahshaka has started, you'll be presented with a blank desktop similar to a windows desktop where you manage all your media. You simply load some clips onto this desktop and they will appear as image thumbnails. All the editing done in Jahshaka is performed in real time because the program has been designed to get the best out of even the slowest processors. Probably the most impressive feature of the program is the morphing interface which allows you to create and pre-visualise effects in real time. You can literally drag and twist video images to your liking until you've got it right and are ready to render.

The program accepts video in almost any format including huge HDTV files. It's also been designed with collaboration in mind as you can run it directly from a server to share with other editors. The animator is considerably harder to use although with patience, you can achieve some very impressive results. To view your creations, there's also the Jahplayer media player. Just return to the desktop, right click on one of the clips and select "open in Jahplayer". It's pretty basic but it allows you to easily preview your videos as you go along.

This is still very much a work in progress but if you're looking for a cheap solution to video editing, you'll be really impressed by Jahshaka.