For those of you that want to know what's new in Hitfilm Express 2017, or what the difference are between Hitfilm Express 2017 and Hitfilm Pro 2017, this is the thread to read.
Import/Export and Professional Pipeline
NEW: Support for UHD Projects (3840 * 2160 Maximum with 2GB of GPU RAM).
NEW: Native import and export GoPro CineForm 10-bit/12-bit (Windows only).
UPDATED: Import and export Apple Pro Res 10-bit/12-bit (Mac only).
NEW: Internal support for Variable Frame Rate Footage--no more transcoding required!
NEW: SUpport for High DPI Monitors
NEW: Export Queue, with built in Presets and user editable Presets.
NEW: Export Queue is Persistent across Edit sessions.
UPDATED: RAM Preview cache is no longer limited to 4GB.
Effects and Rendering
NEW: Dynamic Reflections. Photo, Video, Text and Generated Planes can now reflect each other.
UPDATED: Fractal Noise has three new types of noise.
UPDATED: Bulge Filter has new shapes.
UPDATED: Sphere Filter now can interact with scene lights.
UPDATED: 2D Point Tracking now has updated options to make it easier to offset tracked points to avoid occulsions or objects moving off screen.
Audio Mixer Panel
NEW: Per track, and master track, audio mixing faders.
NEW: Levels keyframing.
NEW: Balance (panning) keyframing.
NEW: Solo and Mute.
NEW: Audio sync your clips with your audio.
Editing Tools
UPDATED: New keyboard shortcuts to set the in and out points in the trimmer.
UPDATED: Editing tools including J and L cut keyboard modifiers.
UPDATED: New shortcuts to link and un-link media on the timeline.
User Interface
UPDATED: Full Retina and HiDPI support on Mac and Windows.
NEW: Dynamic Toolbox property searching.
NEW: Dynamic Timeline layer & effect property searching.
UPDATED: Project remembers toolbox tree state and search states when switching between Composite Shots.
NEW: Effect presets added to many effects greatly increasing the ease-of-use of many tools.
NEW: Press Ctrl (CMD on Mac) in the viewer to scale object relative to opposite corner.
UPDATED: All keyboard shortcuts can now be edited, and may have been added.
The table below compares the Effects Panel in Hitfilm Express 2017 with Hifilm Pro 2017. Items in ITALICS (in the PRO column) are available in the listed Add-On Pack for Express. Items in BOLD ITALICS are unique to Pro and cannot be added with any Add-On Pack.
HF Express 2017 Effects |
HF PRO 2017 Effects |
360 Video 360 Video Transform (renamed from Environment Map Transform) 360 Video Viewer (renamed from Environment Map Viewer)
|
360 Video 360 Text 360 Video Transform (renamed from Environment Map Transform) 360 Video Viewer (renamed from Environment Map Viewer) |
AUDIO Audio Reverse Balance Cathedral Channel Levels Echo Large Room Medium Room Pitch Shortwave Radio Small Room Telephone Tone
|
AUDIO Audio Reverse Balance Cathedral Channel Levels Doppler Shift Echo Equalizer (Starter Pack) Large Room Medium Room Noise Reduction (Repair Pack) Pitch Shortwave Radio Small Room Telephone Tone |
Blurs Angle Blur Blur Diffuse Lens Blur Motion Blur Radial Blur Zoom Blur
|
Blurs Angle Blur Bilateral Blur (Repair Pack) Blur Diffuse Lens Blur Motion Blur Radial Blur Zoom Blur |
BCC 3D Objects (Add-on Only) Extruded EPS Extruded Spline Extruded Text Layer Deformer Title Studio Type On Text
|
BCC 3D Objects Extruded EPS Extruded Spline Extruded Text Layer Deformer Title Studio Type On Text |
Channel
|
Channel Channel Blur Channel Mixer Channel Swapper Channel Time Shift Color Space Converter |
Color Correction Auto Color Auto Contrast Auto Levels Brightness/Contrast Color Balance Color Temperature Crush Blacks/Whites Curves Gamma Hotspots Hue/Sat/Lightness Levels Histogram White Balance
|
Color Correction Auto Color Auto Contrast Auto Levels Brightness/Contrast Color Balance Color Correction Wheels (Starter Pack) Color Temperature Crush Blacks/Whites Curves Custom Grey Exposure (Starter Pack) Gamma Hotspots Hue/Sat/Lightness Levels Histogram Pro Skin Retouch (Repair Pack) White Balance YUV Color Correction YUV Color Transform |
Color Grading Day For Night Hue Colorize Hue Shift Invert Three Strip Color Two Strip Color Vignette Vignette Exposure
|
Color Grading Bleach Bypass (Film Looks Pack) CineStyle (Film Looks Pack) Classic CineStyle (Film Looks Pack) Color Cycle Color Map Color Phase Color Vibrance (Colorist Pack) Day For Night Duo Tone (Film Looks Pack) Grading Transfer (Colorist Pack) Hue Colorize Hue Shift Invert LUT (Colorist Pack) Shadows & Highlights (Colorist Pack) Three Strip Color Two Strip Color Vibrance (Colorist Pack) Vignette Vignette Exposure |
Distort Bulge Chromenator Derez Displacement Heat Distortion Insect Vision Magnify Mosaic Twirl Waves Witness Protection
|
Distort Bulge Chromenator Derez Displacement Energy Distortion (Destruction Pack) Fluid Distortion (Destruction Pack) Heat Distortion Insect Vision Magnify Mosaic Smoke Distortion (Destruction Pack) Twirl Waves Witness Protection |
Generate Caustics Clouds Dimension Rift Drop Shadow End Credits Crawl Fractal Noise Grid Letterbox Lightsword 2-point Auto Lightsword 4-point Manual Lightsword Glow Only Pond Ripple Radio Waves Reflection Sphere Tile Timecode
|
Generate 3D Extrusion (Starter Pack) Animated Lasers (Sci Fi Pack) Audio Spectrum (A/V Pack) Audio Waveform (A/V Pack) Auto Volumetrics Caustics Clouds Dimension Rift Drop Shadow End Credits Crawl Fractal Noise Grid Hyperdrive (Sci Fi Pack) Letterbox Lightsword 2-point Auto Lightsword 4-point Manual Lightsword Glow Only Lightsword Ultra 2-point Auto (Sci Fi Pack) Lightsword Ultra 4-point Manual (Sci Fi Pack) Lightsword Ultra Glow Only (Sci Fi Pack) Neon Path Pond Ripple Pulp Sci Fi Title Crawl (Sci Fi Pack) Radio Waves Reflection Sphere Split Screen Masking (Starter Pack) Tile Timecode Wireframe |
Gradients/Fills 4-point Color Color Gradient Fill Color Radial Gradient
|
Gradients/Fills 4-point Color Color Gradient Fill Color Radial Gradient |
Grunge Grain Half Tone Jitter Noise Shake Stutter
|
Grunge Film Damage (Destruction Pack) Film Grain (Film Looks Pack) Flicker (Starter Pack) Grain Half Tone Half Tone Color (Starter Pack) Jitter Lens Dirt (Lighting Pack) Noise Scan Lines (Starter Pack) Shake Stutter TV Damage (Destruction Pack) |
Keying/Matte Enhancement Alpha Brightness/Contrast Crush Black/White Alpha Erode White Invert Alpha Light Wrap Matte Cleaner Remove Color Matte Set Matte Spill Removal Chroma UV Blur Color Difference Key Demult Difference Key Hue/RGB Key Luma Key
|
Keying/Matte Enhancement Alpha Brightness/Contrast Crush Black/White Alpha Erode White Invert Alpha Light Wrap Matte Cleaner Remove Color Matte Set Matte Spill Removal Chroma Key Chroma UV Blur Color Difference Key Demult Difference Key Hue/RGB Key Luma Key |
Lights & Flares Auto Light Flares Glow Light Flares Neon Glow
|
Lights & Flares Anamorphic Lens Flare (Lighting Pack) Auto Light Flares Auto Volumetrics (Lighting Pack) Gleam (Lighting Pack) Glow Light Flares Light Leak (Lighting Pack) Light Rays (Lighting Pack) Light Streaks (Lighting Pack) Neon Glow |
Particles and Sim Lightning Rain on Glass
|
Particles and Sim Atomic Particles (A/V Pack) Blood Spray (Destruction Pack) Fire (Destruction Pack) Gunfire (Destruction Pack) Lightning Particle Simulator Rain on Glass Shatter (Destruction Pack) |
Quick 3D Bonfire Falling Debris Fire Explosion Fluffy Cloud Missle Smoke Rain Sci-Fi Shockwave Smoke Sparks Storm Cloud
|
Quick 3D Bonfire Falling Debris Fire Explosion Fluffy Cloud Missle Smoke Rain Sci-Fi Shockwave Smoke Sparks Storm Cloud |
Scene Parallax
|
Scene Parallax Projector |
Scopes
|
Scopes Histogram Parade Vectorscope Waveform |
Sharpen Sharpen Unsharpen
|
Sharpen Sharpen Unsharpen |
Stylize Cartoon Emboss Find Edges Glow Darks Oil Painting Photorama Posterize Solarize Threshold Tint
|
Stylize Cartoon Emboss Find Edges Glow Darks Leave Color (Starter Pack) Oil Painting Photorama Posterize Solarize Threshold Tint |
Temporal Echo Motion Trails Speed Time Displacement Time Reverse
|
Temporal Echo Motion Trails Speed Time Displacement Time Reverse |
Video Clean Up Clone Stamp DeInterlace
|
Video Clean Up Clone Stamp DeInterlace DeNoise (Repair Pack) Grain Removal (Repair Pack) Rolling Shutter (Repair Pack) Wire Removal |
Warp Action Cam Lens Distort Bezier Warp Perspective Warp Polar Warp Quad Warp Spherical Warp Vortex Displacement
|
Warp Action Cam Crop Action Cam Lens Distort Bezier Warp Perspective Warp Polar Warp Quad Warp Spherical Warp Vortex Displacement |
Additional Features Unique to Hitfilm Pro 2017.
Use third-party OpenCL effects from companies like Red Giant, NewBlue and others.
Project Sizes up to 8K (HFE 2017 2017 tops out at 4k)
Maximum media sizes up to 8k (HFE 2017 tops out at 4k)
32-bit colorspace (HFE 2017 maxes out at 8-bit)
Scopes Panel--Yes I'm counting scopes twice. The Scopes Panel allows working with Scopes like most other NLE's. The Scopes EFFECTS allow rendering your scopes to your projects. That might be unique to Hitfilm. I can't think of another NLE that can render its scopes.
External Monitor Support--run a full-screen preview of your project on a second screen.
Import and Animate 3D Models.
Import Alembic or FBX Animation data for 3D Models.
Generate Depth Maps/Mattes for automatic occlusion between 3D models, particle systems and 3D media layers.
Activate Hitfilm Pro on up to three computers, Mac or PC! (Express activates on one computer)
And, of course, Hitfilm Ignite--add Hitfilm effects to Vegas, Avid, Premiere, AE, FCPX, Motion, Resolve and more.
And that's about as close as you're ever going to get to the definitive list of what's different between HF Express 4, Express 2017 and Pro 2017…
Thanks to @Ady The overviews given to beta testers made it a lot easier to compile this listing.
If anyone catches an error or something I missed, point it out and I'll correct/add it.
Comments
Now that makes sense why it's called "PROFESSIONAL"
@Yeremyah ayup!
@TriFlixFilms since you'd asked for a breakdown, I figured I would just make it a thread.
Oh, and the varied video breakdowns of new features from myself, @inScapeDigital @HitfilmSensei @ShinyFilms @VenomFilms and Surfaced Studio.
https://youtu.be/wc0yZpgUybA
https://youtu.be/0JK3YXPDcWg
https://youtu.be/2xOAA5Vp1PA
https://youtu.be/cVWvcrzl6z0
https://youtu.be/mua2uxqiYFM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJM4UslJ_50
Nice.
@Triem23 how did you do that effect on the HitFilm logo in HitFilm? The first 10 seconds in first video.
And I did read once that many users are jumping on the Davinci cause it supports 4K and Hitfilm Express didn't, so good to see Express now supporting 4K for those who can use it, and will promote many to use HitFilm over Davinci.
@Yeremyah that logo transition would require the Destruction add on pack in Express. It's basically two instances of the Shatter effect where I cranked up the viscosity settings and turned down gravity so the pieces would come to a complete stop. Then the "reform" segment was Time Reversed. A heaping helping of light rays disguises the cross-dissolve between the two shots. I might do a quick tutorial and build a template for Hitfilm Preset Marketplace.
Aha! that would explain the hexagonal shape of the rotating shatter particles.

I hadn't thought they'd be useful, but you showed they are. Nice!
@Palacono yeah, well my custom shatter map wasn't working right, so... Hex it was...
Sounds awesome @Triem23
@Yeremyah honestly, it's pretty simple.
@Triem23 "Simplicity" is relative and very subjective to an individual. It all comes down to personal mental faculties, cognitive function, overall reasoning and mental health, current awareness, knowledge and experience in a particular area, and current conditioning.
What may be "simple" for one person, may be very challenging and difficult for someone else.
You're crazy, Mike.
I blame the spider!
Does HFE limit project size to if you don't meet the GPU or other minimum requirements?
I am running HFE 2017 (5.0.0067) on a Macbook Pro 13" with integrated graphics (which I know does not meet min. requirements) and everything seems to function fine but the largest project size in my list is 2K and I cannot create a custom size beyond 2048px in height or width.
@digitaloxygen correct. Hitfilm will limit project sizes depending on your GPU. On my machine, I'm limited to 3820 wide by about 2500 tall. A tad over 4k. That's on an Nvidia 980m (about equal to a desktop Nvidia 770).
@Triem23 thanks for the confirmation!
Must say I'm very impressed with HFE so far. Briefly tried Davinci Resolve and although it would open (with a big warning about GPU support) it would crash immediately when I tried to do anything. Even if it worked I suspect it would be much more sluggish than HFE (speculation though) as it's seems like it has a lot more overhead.
HFE has been lightweight and stable. Perfect for the simple Timelapse projects I've been starting out with. Looking forward to more editing and being able to share projects between my laptop and main editing rig when necessary.
https://youtu.be/qAjC3CesMoc