There are 500 hours of videos uploaded on YouTube every minute. This number is expected to grow by minutes as more social platforms are built for video consumption, like YouTube and TikTok.
That being said, many content creators and online businesses focus on making video content on their social accounts. Videos help them build an audience and establish themselves as professionals in their field.
Creating good videos has a long way journey that one must follow. Starting from brainstorming the ideas, executing them as in shooting the content, going through the editing process, until you finally post them on social channels. When speaking of this video creation process, the editing one is a tad bit more challenging than the others.
Especially if you’re new to this field, you’ll find it hard to edit raw content and turns it into engaging videos that everyone can enjoy.
But, fret not! This article will help you go through the editing journey in nine simple steps.
1. Decide What to Edit
There is a lot of editing work out there to do. But, you must first decide what exactly you want to edit. If you’re working for others, they will ask you to edit videos for them, and this is where the real work begins.
The first step involves figuring out what type of video content you want to create, who your target audience is, and what message you want to deliver through your video. Once you have these answers, it’s time for brainstorming.
For example, if you make an animated blockchain video, you should prepare the character and storyline that goes with the content. You’ll also need animation software for it.
Before proceeding with editing videos, you should brainstorm ideas that match your target audience or the content that you have in mind. Video editing tools like Adobe Premiere Pro CC can help with this process by providing a pre-made template that can help spark ideas for your next video project.
2. Become a Storyteller
The video editing process can’t be separated from how well you’re trying to convey your messages through high-quality content. After all, video editing and storytelling go hand in hand in ensuring the final result.
It’s no secret that a compelling story has the power to move people and inspire them to take action. And this is what you want to achieve through your video editing work. You want people to be engaged, understand the message you’re trying to deliver, and take action at the end of your video.
So, how do you become a great storyteller? The first step is to have a good understanding of what makes a great story. A good story will have a beginning (set up), middle (conflict), and end (resolution). And, if done right, it will also have an emotional connection with your audience.
3. Learn Some Video Effects
Video effects are essential elements in the editing process. It’s important that you know how each effect will help bring out the best in your videos. For example, transitions are meant to tie scenes together, and titles are used as visual elements that can be placed anywhere in your video.
Effects are used to make your videos more interesting and engaging. So, when you’re editing a video, you should know how to use these effects properly. That way, you can impress your viewers with the editing work within the video.
4. Create a Storyboard for Your Project
Before you start working on your video editing project, it’s important that you create a storyboard first. A storyboard is basically a visual outline of what will happen in your project from start to finish. It helps you map out what scenes to be included in the final product and how they’ll be presented.
Now that you have a storyboard, it’s time to put it into action. You can start by importing the video clips and photos you’ve gathered from your shoot. Then, you’ll place them in the timeline of your video tools to create a rough cut.
You can also add titles to your videos by importing graphics or creating them using popular video editing software such as Adobe After Effects.
5. Add Music and Sound Effects
Music and sound effect often determine how viewers perceive your video content at first glance. These effects have a great impact on the way people react to your videos when watching them.
If you’re planning to use music in your project, now is the best time to add it. You can either choose music that’s already available or find royalty-free music on sites such as AudioJungle and PremiumBeat.
Also, when adding sound effects to your videos, make sure that they go well with what’s happening in each scene, or else they’ll distract viewers from the content of your project or even ruin its tone entirely.
Read more: 11 Websites to Download Free and Copyright-Free Music for YouTube Videos
6. Use Transitions
Transitions are used to help bridge the gap between two scenes in your video. You can add them at the beginning or at the end of each scene, and they’re an excellent way to direct viewers’ attention to what’s happening in each clip.
You can choose from a variety of transitions depending on how you want your movie to look and feel. For example, if you want your video content to look cinematic, you’ll probably want to use more subtle transitions such as fades and cuts. If you’re making a live-action video, then you might want something more intense like wipes or flashes.
7. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
One of the most efficient ways to speed up your video editing workflow is using keyboard shortcuts. They can help you perform basic tasks such as adding a transition, adjusting sync points, or creating a new project.
Keyboard shortcuts are used for performing various tasks within video editing software, and they’re an essential part of any editor’s workflow. They allow you to perform specific tasks such as adjusting the volume level on a clip or even trimming the length of a clip without ever having to touch your mouse or trackpad.
Many people don’t realize how useful keyboard shortcuts can be until they start using them regularly, so if you haven’t already started using them, then it’s time that you do.
8. Use Smart Collections to Organize Your Media
Smart collections are a powerful feature in many video editing tools. They allow you to automatically organize your media based on certain criteria that you specify.
For example, if you shoot a wedding with multiple cameras, you can create a Smart Collection for all of the clips from Camera 1 to organize them together.
Or, if you shoot an event such as a concert, you can create a Smart Collection for all of the clips from your wide shots so that they’re automatically organized together, and it’s easy to find them later.
9. Use a Video Editing Software That Suits Your Needs
This is the part when you actually begin the editing work: choosing video editing software. There are many free video editing software like FlexClip, InShot, CapCut, KineMaster Video Editor, Pinnacle Studio, Windows Movie Maker, and iMovie. Also, some paid ones, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, and Sony Vegas Pro, are worth trying.
It depends on your budget when choosing these video editing tools. After all, each has its own unique feature that you don’t need in your project. What you need is software that helps you get the work done, not a tool with flashy features you may not know how they work.
Make sure to calculate the cost before purchasing the video editing software. If you’re on a tight budget, consider applying for a free trial first or using free tools on the internet. But, when you’re ready to upscale your project, you can use the paid version as it offers more features than the free ones.
Consider Using a Video Editing Service
You have now decided on the video editing software you will use and what it will cost you to edit your videos. But, if you’re still not ready to edit videos on your own, you can always find a service provider who can edit your videos for you.
This is an important option because you don’t want to ruin your project simply because you have no knowledge of editing video content. You’d better pay off some money to get the best result within a designated time than experimenting on your own and getting questionable results.
Still, not all video editing companies offer the same service with remarkable results. Most of the time, you’ll deal with a high cost and deliver ideas for single editing work. That’s why you need to do some research and find one that is reliable, affordable, and professional.
You can search online for video editing services in your area or for those close to where you need to send the videos for editing. You can also ask other people who have used video editing services before about their experience with these companies and if they would recommend them to others looking for similar services.
Takeaway
Now that you have the basic knowledge about video editing and storytelling, it’s time for you to execute the editing process.
If you’re a beginner, you can start by learning how to add titles to your videos. You can do this by importing graphics and adding text elements to your content. You can also create them from scratch using popular video editing software such as Adobe After Effects, Animaker, or Blender.
When editing videos, you may encounter terms you don’t understand. You’ll need to learn basic terms like “keyframe,” “compound clip,” or “adjustment layer.” Learning editing terms will save you time from confusion over which tools should be used for specific terms, eventually helping you edit videos in a timely manner.
Although it takes effort to start learning all these things before editing your videos, you should know that it’s all worth it. You won’t realize how far you’ve come at the end of the editing journey.
This is a guest post written by Andre Oentoro
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video service. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreoentoro/
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