Are you planning to start your video editing journey? Here are some of the best video editing tips that you can use to have a successful video edit, even if you’re a newbie.
1] Choose The Best Video Editing Software
There are many video software available – free and with payment. Whatever you choose to use, you still need to be picky with your software to get the most features and tools to edit well. A good video editing software has the following:
- Template Availability And Auto (Express) Mode is an automatic video composition that helps you create videos quickly with a specific video style to suit your clips.
- Tutorial Services are guides to help you learn the features of the software.
- Video Format Support is needed so you can convert your video file into another. This can be done using a converter video site or other software. You can try out the following: Wondershare, Handbrake, and Any Video Converter.
- MultiCam Designer lets you load many videos from a different camera and combine them into one output.
- Action Camera Center is used for footage from drone shots and underwater cameras, offering video enhancement features and effects.
- Object Motion Tracking follows the motion of an object and uses the data to apply motion to another object.
- Green Screen Effect helps you add background effects to videos like animated graphics and texts.
- Fast Video Rendering is needed because rendering is the longest part of video editing, therefore having software with fast rendering can save you a lot of time.
- Music And Effects are excellent to enhance the video’s atmosphere. Although most video software has free video and sound effects, you can also purchase premium ones that’ll be perfect for your video.
- Customer Support helps you with problems you can encounter while editing, like corrupted files and fixing audio cracks.
The more features the software offers, the better. Remember that your goal is to have a fast and smooth editing process.
2] Have a Performant Device With Big Storage
There’s a considerable amount of data in a digital video. A high-definition video usually has 60 frames per second, and each frame is about 1 million pixels. Each pixel has three numbers composed of red, green, and blue.
So, you need 180,000,000 for 60 frames in every second of a video. This can take a space of about 180MB per second of the video. Therefore, you need to upgrade your computer or laptop to have more extensive storage to save video clips and edited videos.
3] Take Advantage of Video Editing Tutorials
Video editing is a lifelong learning process. Different professional video editors have varying tricks to edit their videos. You can watch some famous editors share their knowledge on Youtube and other platforms. Take advantage of their free tutorials to learn strategies on using video and sound effects that can help you elevate your video output.
4] Tell A Great Story
Video editing is not just compiling video clips in a synchronized manner. You need to tell a story to your viewers to build a connection. A good story has a plot that includes a beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution.
You can develop the plot by adding different effects to each part. For example, for the climax of a sad video, you can have dramatic background music to catch the audience’s emotions. You can watch full-length movies to understand how they connect with their audience.
5] Use Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts help you lessen your editing time. Instead of looking for a tool or an action for your edits, you can use the keyboard directly. Here are some of the keyboard shortcuts you can use:
- Zoom To Sequence: \
- Zoom In: Z
- Zoom Out: Shift + Z
- Reverse Play: J
- Pause: K
- Play Or Speed Up: L
- Expand Tracks: Ctrl + =
- Minimize Tracks: Ctrl + –
- Go To Previous Edit Point: A
- Go To Next Edit Point: S
There are many more keyboard shortcuts that you’ll learn along the way. Continue to watch tutorials, and you’ll be equipped with the best tricks to cut your edit time.
6] Color Correct Your Clips
Color correction highlights important details of your video and avoids missed details hidden by colors that are either too bright or too dark. Besides enhancing details, color correction can also help you set the mood of your video. For example, vibrant colors reflect happiness. On the other hand, sad videos go well with darker tones.
7] Choose Appropriate Background Music
Sound effects and music add depth to the visual experience of the viewers. It is the best way to inform the audience of how they should feel about a specific scene or shot. So, choose an appropriate sound for your video edits to send the right message to your viewers. For example, a happy vibe needs an upbeat sound.
However, you need to be careful if you want to use background music along with a voiceover. You need to balance them just right so one doesn’t overpower the other. This is so your audience can still understand the dialogues over the background music.
8] Add a Pleasing Text and Graphics
There are rules when adding texts and graphics to a video. You can’t just input them anywhere. The elements should be balanced and should not overpower each other.
If you’re adding texts and graphics, ensure that they don’t obstruct the video. Look for a space where you can add them. You should also use complementary text colors, so they don’t become distracting.
9] Learn About Song, Photo, And Video Copyrights
When you want to use a song, photo, or video from the internet or other people, make sure they allow free usage. If not, you can face the consequences of copyright infringement.
Your video can be taken down by the platform you’ve uploaded your edit to. Or you can get banned from uploading other videos. To know whether they are copyrighted or not, you can search a video on YouTube and soundtracks on Spotify and check if copyright protects them.
10] Backup Your Work
The number one rule in video editing is always to save your edits and have a backup in case of any unexpected problems occur. Make it a habit to always click save after doing any edits.
In worst-case scenarios, you can also encounter problems with your laptop, so you need to save your work to a backup hard and flash drive to avoid starting over again. You can also backup your videos uploaded on YouTube by downloading their MP4 format.
Conclusion
Video editing is not an overnight learning experience. After watching tutorials and navigating through software, you’ll pick up many different tips and tricks to help you have a fast and smooth editing process. I hope these video editing tips for beginners come in handy.
