Video editing is an art. It is not just about cutting, but it is also about adding visual effects and transitions, incorporating music, captions, and sound effects, and enhancing lighting and colors. For all this and more, you will need the best online video editor.
You take a raw video and shape it to look more polished. This can be anything from slicing a few moments off a holiday video or transforming lengthy TV footage into a 20-minute crisp episode.
Now the work entails converting a huge stone block into a perfect sculpture. The question here is how do you go about the procedure. It’s a long one since you will have to remove several parts and create something that is attractive and entertaining.
A beginner’s guide to video editing can help you out.
- First Things First- Get the Right Tools
Whether you are into making social media videos, personal videos, business presentations, YouTube videos, movies or TV shows, or music videos, getting the right tools is always the secret sauce that brings everything in one place.
There is absolutely no need for you to spend a huge amount of money on getting a new computer to start with the video editing procedure. Simply going for a basic laptop, desktop, or even a smartphone will work fine.
Gone are the days when people had to use high-end computers for editing videos. Nowadays, users can easily cut basic videos on mid-level mobile phones, all thanks to the availability of software programs.
- Come Up with the Right Plan
Your video editing procedure will not continue smoothly if you are not able to come up with a perfect plan. Of course, it is a tedious job, but it need not be burdensome. How? As a video editor, you need to be familiar with your footage and know what you must do with it. This will help you move through the video editing procedure easily and smoothly.
First of all, it is essential for you to know what you are looking to achieve from the video you are creating. Identify the brand message you are looking to convey to the audience. This focus will help you in making the right decisions when editing your video.
Yet another important thing here is making yourself familiar with the available footage. Go through it thoroughly and take proper notes. Next, come up with a record of everything shown in the footage.
The notes will assist you in selecting clips that should be edited. This will make the editing procedure more efficient and less time-consuming.
- Go for the Perfect Editing Software
The market these days is over-floating with a large number of online video editing tool and software programs. You can find them on various platforms, making it easy for beginners to go for the one they find within their budget and per their skill level.
The majority of the video editing software programs available are highly advanced, robust, and affordable. They have everything required for performing standard-quality video edits.
If you do not want to make your task difficult enough, go for the one that suits your budget and has all the features required for carrying out pro-level video editing. Your top favorite would be InVideo for its enticing features.
- Prepare Footage for the Editing
Before even starting with the editing procedure, you need to work on the video footage. Different programs accept varied formats for the editing procedure. Nevertheless, it will be a good idea to shoot the video on a digital device as it makes it easier to import footage to the software.
For those looking to edit analog videos like the content on VHS tapes, it is important to convert the same to digital format before importing it for editing work.
- Edit to Narrate a Story
Editing to narrate a story is one of the key takeaways from this beginner’s guide to video editing. You are here because you want to learn video editing, right? Editing a video is your outlet for expressing creative goals.
The videos you are editing should always narrate a great story. Make sure your video, post-editing, is not just aesthetically appealing but even compelling and dramatic.
It should possess the power of invoking the emotions of the viewers and delivering the desired message to the target audience in the most effective manner.
Now achieve these goals will require you to go beyond basics; edit or cut all superfluous footage and rearrange the video clips in perfect order. Moreover, you must use your practical and technical knowledge for reaching to this point.
Never ever get into simply adding different effects to your videos for impressing the viewers. This will not work in any circumstances.
- Video Editing Terms- Learn Them, and You Are Good to Go
If you are bent on becoming a professional-grade video editor, you must have good communication skills. By communication skills, it means memorizing several jargons to communicate with others in the same profession.
For beginners, it becomes impossible to figure out specific video editing terms unless they learn them or research them. If you want to speed up your editing procedure, try learning these terms as fast as possible.
You need to be aware of the meaning and details of terms like J Cut, L Cut, Montage, Jump Cuts, Match Cut/match Action, Cutting on Action, and Cutaways.
- Join Communities
Last but not least, work on creating a network of all professional and like-minded individuals who can help you out in the journey that you have begun.
Conclusion
These basic concepts and principles behind the gigantic but easy-to-handle video editing procedure will help you go a long way. The process might seem overwhelming initially, but consider that it will help you reap significant advantages in the future.
The explosion of video streaming solutions means there will be more jobs in this field. And your ability to edit videos for social media posts or business presentations will undoubtedly help you.