Picture this … you click on a link that leads you to a video and … SILENCE for the first 10 minutes, even though you can see stuff is happening, or even worse … sound, but it is accompanied by a BIG BLANK SCREEN. That is what happens when video editing is not your forte.
So, how to remedy this and stop this scenario from ever happening to you and your videos?
In this article I explore some of the steps you can take to make sure your video editing is smooth and seamless and does not create any anxiety while doing it.
Why do I even need videos?
Before we get into how to edit videos like a pro, let me touch on why videos are so beneficial to a business and why, once you can edit videos for your clients (and yourself) you may find a whole lot more engagement and traffic taking place on social media platforms and even on websites.
People love to watch movies. They love to watch things and hear things, a lot more than just reading a whole lot of words. Videos bring a new dimension to things. Sometimes they give a more personal touch and then there are people in the world that learn better when they watch things getting done and can follow the instructions step for step.
Now let us take a look at how you can take your video editing skills to the next level.
Next level video editing tools
- Choose the right software – you want to make sure you get the right software installed on your device according to what you want to do with your video, the type of effects that are needed and also your overall ability to use editing software (but let’s face it, anything you do not know you can find on YouTube). Here are a list of some of the top ones used by professionals:
- Filmora
- Camtasia
- Adobe Premiere
- Blender (really great for animation)
- InVideo
- iMovie (a little secret – most YouTubers use this to edit their videos)
You can read more about each software by following the link. They all generally do the same thing, but some have added benefits and some software applications, such as iMovie, can be used on Windows and Mac computers, as well as iPads and iPhones.
- Speed is key – This does not pertain to your speed personally but more to the speed of your device. A fast, well equipped PC is key in making your video editing smooth and seamless. The reason for this is because the software you will be using can use up a lot of the computers resources and if you have a sluggish PC with outdated parts, operating system and drivers, you are probably going to run into some difficulty. Take a look here to find out some specs that may serve you well when getting your PC in order to start with video editing.
- Organisation Skills – To make sure your video editing goes to plan and you get the end result which is a professional looking video, you need to have some level of organization. You need to work systematically because otherwise things will not sync well and you will end up losing audio or video or have video cuts in places that they are not meant to be. So, before you start, set up a system that works for you … and stick to it.
- Use keyboard shortcuts – Keep in mind that most editing programs allow you to use keyboard shortcuts to perform a range of in-app editing functions which can cut down time spent considerably.
- True Colours – Colour correcting your video clips can make a huge impact. Colours, highlighting, low lighting, fading, those sorts of things can evoke certain emotions. You may want to show something that was happy in the video becoming a little more dark and sad – a good way to depict this and create an effect is to change the colour tone of the video. Most video editing software applications have this already built in for you to use.
- Music to your ears – Another tip to take into consideration is the music used, make it relevant to the actual content. It does not make sense to have a happy upbeat song playing but what is happening in the video is sad and morbid.
- Use Some Words – Text is also something to look into because sometimes people do not want to listen to a video (perhaps they are in a place where they cannot use the sound) and they can then follow what is happening in the video by reading captions. Large flashes of text on the screen can also evoke emotions and make someone want to watch further. Another idea is to use text to start the video, almost giving people an introduction to what they are about to watch and give an idea of what the video is going to be about.
- Last but not least – Make sure that your video can be used on various platforms and various devices – or at least can be converted and edited for such purposes.
Conclusion
So now you are in the know of how you can take your video editing skills to the next level. Once you are ready to get started, play around with the software you decide on. Make videos of anything and everything and … drum roll please … watch lots of YouTube tutorials! To get you started here are some links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaO0D66xeYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5jwVM0vX7c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJPwXJYvvys
Photo by Matilda Wormwood from Pexels