These days, video is the most preferred form of digital content. With most smartphones recording high-quality videos, the post-processing stage becomes an integral part of one’s video journey. The better one edits the video, the better will be the visual appeal and popularity. While there is no sure-shot path to video-making success, the below tips will help you professionally in video editing.
Choose Your Editing Tool
While this may seem like an obvious step, you need to understand that there are thousands of editing tools and each of them has its pros and cons. It is important to be clear on your expectations from a video editor before you make a pick. For example, useability and features are the most important factors for some novice editors. Others prefer an intuitive tool that simplifies the editing process.
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Adobe After Effects, InVideo, Blender, DaVinci Resolve, and iMovie are the most popular video editing tools of modern times. However, you need to realize that what works for others may not be feasible for you. Knowing your priorities, editing budget and expertise will help you arrive at the perfect tool.
Get a Fast Computer
These days, many video editing tools allow you to edit clips from your mobile. However, these have limited capabilities and make video editing more difficult. We recommend that you begin your editing journey with a fast desktop. When you have a computer with a video card and 8GB RAM, you do not have to worry about file storage and can focus on the editing. If your budget permits, try to get a fast SSD device. That way, you can do away with the worry of slow rendering.
Learn From Tutorials
The internet is a sea of knowledge, and you can learn video editor free making from the tutorials available online . Platforms like Red Giant Tutorials, YouTube, Video Copilot offer specific tutorials for the different stages of your video-making journey.
While watching tutorials, try to go for the ones that use the same software version of yours. Several brands change the menu functionalities from version to version. For someone new to editing, comprehending the changes may seem like a Herculean task.
While watching videos, you can use the same project file and follow the step-by-step instructions. Several tutorial videos provide links to download the same. The guided instructions will help you learn the steps correctly and apply them to your actual projects.
Have Backups
Video editing is hard work and there is nothing worse than losing your data because you hadn’t stored it well. The thumb rule says that you need to adhere to the 321 methods while editing your videos. For every change that you make, there should be three copies that you save in two different places. One of the two storage places should be physically apart from the other. While this process does not guarantee 100% data protection, it does minimize the odds of data loss due to incorrect handling.
Create A Story
Any video that you create should tell a story. Ideally, you should have a storyboard as a pictorial representation of your creative goal. Then, trim the extra footage and color correct the clips. Instead of randomly using transitions and special effects, evaluate the factors that contribute to the aesthetics of your film.
The use of appropriate special effects, music, and transitions will allow you to give a dramatic touch to the video. That way, you will evoke the right emotions in the viewer and convey the intended message efficiently.
Be Systematic and Organized
Editing a video is messy work, and you need to take an organized approach to do justice to the job. Start by arranging your projects and files in dedicated folders and make sure that you name them appropriately. Creating dedicated homes for the video footages, audio clips, graphics, and B-roll footages will help you access data efficiently.
To improve your work efficiency, you can store your video footage in external hard drives with Thunderbolt or USB 3.0. Using a gaming mouse will allow you to set specific editing functions for the different buttons. As a video editor, you need to come up with innovative ways of improving your efficiency of editing so that you can complete the video in minimal time.
Learn the Keyboard Shortcuts
Another efficient way of cutting down on the video editing time is by using the keyboard shortcuts to perform in-app editing functions. Many editing tools allow you to customize your set of keyboard shortcuts. Reviewing and memorizing the shortcuts that you set will help to simplify the process of video editing.
Further, you can buy an editing keyboard or replace your existing keyboard cover with an editing keyboard cover with shortcut icons. Some of the top video editing tools have such software-specific keyboard covers and you can choose one that works the best for you.
Master the Jargon
Like every other industry, the most important step in fitting in the world of video editing is mastering the industry-specific terms. These will come in handy when you communicate with your clients or fellow video editing professionals. Here is a list of the basic jargon.
- The process of cutting out the extraneous content to do away with the predictable moments of your clip is called jump cuts.
- J Cut is the audio that comes before the video.
- L Cut is when the audio comes after the video.
- When you want to show the development of the subject over time, the sequence of clips that you will use is called a montage.
- As a video editor, when you cut on a moving subject, it is called cutting on action. Such a step is commonly used to make a scene interesting or build suspense.
- Cutaways are when you add transition effects that do not include the subject. These help to give the viewer a context and helps in setting the mood for dramatic tension.
In video editing, every day is a learning journey and you will pick up tips and tricks along the way. With the tips discussed above, you are now equipped to begin your video-making journey and attract viewers into watching your content.
