Graphic design, photo-editing, video editing, and other online multimedia tasks were, at one point, done only by professionals working for studios and videography agencies. In the last decade or so, these jobs have been increasingly taken up by freelancers. Online resources, tools, and tutorials have made it possible for anyone with interest to take up the tasks of video or photo editing.
There are innumerable things you can do by editing a video, from adding an accompanying soundtrack to going overboard with visual effects. This article gives a brief outline of video editing techniques you can apply on a video, starting from scratch. These steps are not exhaustive; you are free to use your creativity in any way you wish to enhance the quality of the video.
Video Editing: A Beginner’s Guide
1. Trimming, Stitching, And Modifying The Playback Speed
The primary purpose of video editing is to trim out unnecessary segments of videos and to stitch together the different clips to make a single video. When shooting a video, be it a short film or an interview, the videographer will film each scene separately, and the editor is the one who fits them together.
The playback speed is another parameter you can control. Slow-motion sequences have a powerful impact on the viewer if executed well, especially if you want to capture action or some scientific process in great detail. On the other hand, you can speed up the video speed using the time-lapse feature.
In the process of cutting or joining video clips, you can incorporate some of the other methods described below.
2. Transitions
When moving from one scene or clip to another, it is good practice to add a segue in between, known as a transition effect. If you have worked with slideshows, you would be familiar with the effects of one slide exiting the screen and the next one entering. You can include such sequences while editing the video as well, especially when making photo slideshows.
Most online video editors have standard templates for transitions from which you can choose an appropriate one. You can create your own transitions or add other sound effects of your choice too.
3. Intros And Outros
Apart from the main content of your video, wouldn’t it be nice to have an additional sequence to build up to it, something like the opening credits of a movie? Intros play a significant role in enhancing your video because it is the first impression people get of your video. An attention-grabbing intro sequence is necessary to make people take notice of your video and watch what follows.
Intro sequences can be as plain or as elaborate as you wish, from text blocks to explain the content of the video to an animated or motion graphic sequence to give an introduction to the video content. The opening credits of Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can serve as an inspiration for how creative you can get with your intro.
When you finish editing the main content of the video, an outro sequence follows, similar to the closing credits. There are plenty of easy outro makers (and intro makers) available online or along with video editor software packages, with customizable templates.
For personal videos, you can give credit to all the people involved in making the video and add their names in the outro sequence. For marketing purposes, you should include contact information and the CTA at the end.
4. Audio Track
When the video content is ready, it is time to add audio and sound to bring it to life. Audio content can be the voices of people talking (including voice-overs), or it can be background music.
When adding the sound of people talking, synchronizing the audio and video is crucial; the sound and the movement of their lips should match exactly. Similarly, the other sound effects should match their corresponding visuals precisely.
When it comes to background score, you can include the audio content in several ways. Most video editors have a pre-loaded sound library from which you can simply click and add the appropriate sound file. If you compose the music yourself, make sure you run it by an audio editor first to adjust the volume, reverbs, modulation, and other settings before syncing it with the video.
5. Editing For Social Media Platforms
If you plan to share your video content on social media platforms, there are some further editing steps you can do specifically for their platforms. For example, most online videos have the 16:9 aspect ratio; however, for Instagram or Facebook, the square video format with 1:1 aspect ratio suits better, especially for mobile-friendly viewing. Some video editors have this feature, or you can check out Instagram video editor online designed solely for Instagram videos.
Instagram stories are the best places to share short video snippets of 15 seconds each. If you want to highlight a particular segment of your video, you can crop it out and post it as a story, along with the link to the full video.
6. Adding Text And Typography
Apart from the information you want to add in the opening and closing sequences, you can use text elements for various other purposes in your video. If you make a photo montage slideshow, you can use textual content to explain what or who the photo shows, when the picture was taken, and other details. For tutorial or instructional videos, you can display relevant information on the screen using text – like the quantity of cooking oil to be used, or the duration you should wait for something, etc.
Most people who watch videos tend to do so on their mobiles in mute. So, subtitles in your video is a useful addition, and it makes non-English speakers part of your audience as well.
Get Your Tools Ready
These guidelines should give you an excellent start in your journey of editing videos. The ultimate goal should be to improve the quality of the video to the required level, and there is no real restriction on how you can get there. The more you practice and experiment, the more tricks you will discover with different editors and tools available, and the more professional you become.
