Video editing is an occupation taken by a lot of people lately, thanks to all the boost in the video industry. Video editing has tons of benifts and all companies and individuals are looking to hire a video editor for their work to create as much content as they possibly can.
Because of this, a lot of beginners are thinking of taking this profession seriously, and that is a great thing because there is genuinely a need for video editors now.
A lot of professional editors are working simultaneously with two to three YouTubers to edit their videos because there aren’t many editors who are capable of mass-producing videos.
I am not a professional video editor; I like to consider myself an intermediate video editor, but I am interested in the world of filmmaking, and I know certain things that you should definitely keep in mind when you edit any video.
So, without wasting any more time, here are 10 video editing tips that you should know!
Contents
1. Get the right editing software
There are tons of video editing software present in the market right now. You can choose any one of them to start learning how to edit videos.
In fact, I have written a separate article where I discuss various types of best video editing software that are present in the market right now.
Choosing the right video editing software is a very important factor that you should consider because all the editing software are targeted at different groups of people.
Usually, beginners make the mistake of choosing the most popular video editing software and pay their huge subscription fee and end up not using the software because it is not designed for beginners.
The overall UI and functionalities are built for more professional video editors, which is quite overwhelming for a lot of beginners, even for some professionals too.
All video editing software do the basics; it’s just the higher the price range, the better the functions of the software.
So, choosing the right type of software is a very important tip that you should consider. You can easily learn from a simpler software and move your way up the ladder. We have written the step by step process on How to choose the right Video Editing App.
2. Know your budget
This is a sub-topic to the first topic, but it is still an important tip nonetheless. There are many different softwares present in the market, and all of them are offered in different price ranges.
You can expect the software price from anywhere from being free to all the way to $300 Dollars and more! There are some really expensive software present in the market right now.
And like I said, all the video editing software do the basic job, i.e., editing your videos, adding certain filters and tuning in the audio.
Some of the higher-end software provide some other features, such as 360 Degree VR editing, etc. But a lot of times, thanks to the competition between these software, you end up getting these higher-end features on some inexpensive software as well.
So, you really have to see what your budget is and then only you should purchase buying the software. In fact, I would suggest you start with the free tier of these software and then purchase them.
That way you will learn the basic UI of these software and would be much more comfortable using it.
3. Learn different types of functionality of the software
As I mentioned above, each software has different types of functionalities that you have to look for. Sometimes you end up getting higher-end effects on some fairly modest software too, and you should take full advantage of it.
These functionalities will eventually help you make better edits to your video and create an overall great product.
Functionalities such as Image stabilisation, auto subtitles, chroma-key effects, titles, fonts, etc., are all the effects that are there to make the overall outcome of the product presentable to show it to the world.
The faster you learn these functions, the better you will turn out as a video editor.
4. Have a vision for your video
This is also an important tip that you should know about. A lot of the time, video editors just edit the video, and it just feels very off because there is no vision of the video.
I know this sounds very ‘artsy’, but by knowing the type of video that you want as your end goal, with specific beats, and a specific overall goal that you want to achieve through your video, makes a lot of difference from making a good video to a great video.
How do you visualise the vision of the video? Well, it’s simple. You look through all the shots that you have assembled or shot, and see what the overall tone of these videos is and then set the vision of your video.
See whether it is matching to what you have it in your mind and how you will be able to achieve your vision by using what all functions and effects.
These are things to keep in mind, even if they sound a little bit artsy.
5. Organize all the RAW files
Organizing all the RAW footage that you have clicked is also a very important factor that you should do. It helps in overall making the end product edit that much more simpler and better.
I always like to divide the RAW files into the particular scene and the day on which we shot these clips. Because when I am editing, I instantly know where all my work is and what I am doing on that particular day of editing.
It is a whole mess when you try to just bring all the different clips from different dates and put it all in a haphazard way.
Because in video editing, the simpler the things are, the better the end result will be for all your video. Otherwise, it will be like trying to find a needle in a stack of hay.
You would be searching all around the place if one of your files loses an audio or a video output, and believe me, that happens a lot more often in video editing than you might think.
So, it is better to organzise all the RAW files so that your overall video editing process is simple and easy.
6. Learn how to edit Audio & Colour
Audio plays a very important part in all types of videos. There have been a number of tests that have implied the resolution that viewers are more likely to watch your entire video if you have good audio with a bad video when compared to a great video but bad audio.
Of course, ideally, you should definitely aim for both good audio and video, but a lot of people don’t know that, and because of that, they don’t pay a lot of attention to the audio quality of their video.
There are tons of different features and effects that are available on such softwares that can help you enhance the overall audio of the video.
Also read: How to add music to video
Colour grading and management is a whole different ballgame, and there are people who just specialise in colour grading videos. When you are a beginner, you tend to shoot a lot of videos in automatic mode.
As you advance in this field, you will understand why so many professionals choose to shoot their videos in RAW files because it helps them in controlling the overall look of the video even better.
There are also a number of colour tools that are available, and colour science is very difficult to crack. You can very easily end up making your video look far worse than it was before if you don’t know how to grade it.
So, you should definitely learn how to edit your audio and the colour of your video to some extent.
7. Add in music when necessary
This is a creative choice and is a subjective tip, but it is still an important tip to learn. Sometimes your video ends up looking better if you have no music playing in the background than by playing music in the background.
Don’t get me wrong, music helps to set the entire mood and tone of the video, and it is an integral part of any video, but there are definite times when you will be benefiting yourself and your video if you decide not to add any music.
Of course, this understanding comes when you have set a vision for your video and have edited a number of videos to know when and where which type of music is suitable for the video.
If you have cracked that down, you will end up making great videos.
8. Give some breathing room to the edits
I believe that there is a very fine line between having your video feel rushed and having it feel like a well-paced video. That fine line is determined by how much time you give your edits to breathe.
Again, I know, this sounds very artsy when it comes to tips, but it is also an important tip because I have faced this sort of issue a couple of times with my short films.
If you are making a YouTube video, then sure, the general rule of thumb for those is that to have some sort of cut every two seconds or so that the viewer is hooked to your video, and I personally don’t believe in that.
Because if you have to edit every second or two to make your video engaging, then there is definitely something wrong with your content that is not engaging enough.
A lot of the time, well-paced videos are often the ones that don’t have any frequent cuts and don’t come out as jarring as some of the rushed videos.
Giving your edits a little breathing room by making the shots go on for a little longer in duration can vastly impact the way your video turns out.
9. Final cut is not the final cut
I am not talking about the Final Cut Pro software in this case, but I am talking about the final export of the video.
So many times, I have seen with myself that whatever video I edit out and label ‘final cut’ always has some flaws in those videos in general, and you have to go back at the software and tweak the edits a little more.
And this is a continuous process for at least five times, so I would definitely not suggest you label your first cut as ‘Final Cut’ because it is not the final cut.
10. Back up your files!
This is a scary tip! I have heard many stories where the video editors have worked on a specific video and deleted all the files or while editing the video, something happens, and all the files are erased.
This is the worst possible thing that you can ask for when it comes to any creative endeavour because all your hard work is gone down the drain because you didn’t backup your files simply.
It is a very easy thing, just copy all the files on a hard disk and one more device just for extra caution, and you will be good to go.
Fun Fact: The classic Pixar movie, ‘Toy Story 2’ almost didn’t happen because they didn’t backup their files properly, and the entire movie got deleted from the servers at Pixar! So this is a mistake even professionals make.
FAQs
Let’s discuss some of the common questions that people have regarding this matter.
How can I get better at video editing?
This is a very stereotypical answer, but it is actually true. You have to simply continue editing videos only then will you get better at editing.
I am saying this from personal experience, every time I edit something, I always learn a new trick or function that I use on different videos, which helps me make my edits a lot quicker.
So, you have to continuously practise editing videos and try to stick to one video editing software; because then you are familiar with the overall software and are able to edit more videos.
What is the 321 rule in video editing?
321 rule is a simple video editing thing that isn’t a hardcore rule.
It stands for – you should make 3 different copies of all the files, which you keep in 2 different places, and your number 1 goal is to tell a great story to your audience through your video.
As I said, it is not a hardcore rule but something that you should look into when you are editing your videos.
What are the basic video editing techniques?
Basic video editing techniques can be from anything as simple as using simple transition effects on your cuts, I prefer using simple jump cuts for my videos, and maintaining good audio quality of your video.
You can also add in certain filters and effects to your videos to make the video look fairly better if you are unhappy with the look of the video, but the overall basic video editing techniques are also a subjective thing.
Many different editors prefer different techniques for their videos, and it depends on what you want to achieve from your video.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it. Ten video editing tips that I think should help a lot of beginners to edit their videos. Tips are also a subjective matter, and these are the tips that I follow for editing my videos.
There are definitely different tips available from different editors, and you have to see which ones work the best for you.
What about you? Do you agree with my tips, or do you prefer some other video editing tips? Whatever your thoughts are, do let us know in the comments down below!
