If you are someone who loves creativity and visual storytelling. In that case, video editing can be a great career option for you where you can infuse your artistic ability with technical knowledge. The demand for video editors is increasing with the expansion of the marketing field and entertainment industries. As exciting as it may sound, a skilled video editor puts his attention to small details to bring out the bigger picture- a perfectly polished video. However, the learning comes with a steep curve for beginners as they are often confused about how or where to start. In this blog, we have rounded up 5 video editing tips that will help you assemble recorded raw videos and reduce your hassles.
5 Effective Video Editing Tips For Beginners
Learning editing as a beginner can be pretty confusing given the fact that it involves a variety of tasks. From shooting the video to properly organizing them accordingly is a tough job that often becomes a great burden for the newbies. The following tricks and tips will show you how to bring the best out of your footage through effective edits.
Pick The Right Software
Your editing journey should start with picking the right software. With a variety of editing programs available in the market, it’s not always easy to choose the one that works for you. Most of the software is now user-friendly, offering features and tools that are even easy to understand for beginners. It is always prudent to start with software that fulfils industry standards- Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve are some popular options that provide extensive features for professionals.
However, the interface of this software can be overwhelming for beginners considering the extensive functionalities and operations. The better option is to start with the simplified versions with limited features. A professional video editing course can also be a supportive option where you get comprehensive knowledge starting from basic to advanced.
Remove Unnecessary Footages
This is one of the most important aspects of editing, no matter how skilled you are, unnecessary clips always make video editing more complex and confusing. Video editors take multiple shots and cut them accordingly to create a cohesive narrative. An editing panel cluttered with random footage reduces work efficacy and adds burdens. Trimming off unwanted clips is one of the initial steps in post-production that can be very effective for you in keeping track of videos.
There are several video-cutting techniques including match cut, jump cut, and cutaways to make a scene more visually engaging. However, the usage of these tricks depends on the context and video transitions. For instance, L and J cuts are applied to edit interviews and B-rolls.
Use Variety of Shots For Storytelling
Camera shots play a big role in the story development and you need to make a conscious choice as to how each scene is shot. While shooting, you need to make a sequence capturing scenes from various distances to make sure you get plenty of shots for further editing.
There are different sequence shots that you can use in your next video project. Always try to capture wide, medium, and close-up shots to create your story logically. A wide shot leaves a good deal of space around the subject exposing the surroundings, whereas medium shots frame the subject from the knees up and close-up shots are taken to reveal the subject’s reaction. Organize the shots on the storyboard to maintain a flow between the clips.
Add Music and Balance Audio
Music is one of the most crucial parts of any video that plays a big role in the storytelling process. Imagine how uncomfortable it is to watch any video without sound. Hitting the emotional cord of the audience, music sets the mood for any visual and lets the audience connect with the situation. Even music has the immense power to change the perception toward a character – for instance, using a soft theme to reveal a character instantly creates a positive vibe in the mind of the audience.
Other than music, you need to ensure balanced audio to clearly deliver the message. In video production, most people usually focus on the visual elements ignoring the power of audio in enhancing the viewing experience. A common mistake is putting together clips with noticeably different volumes. So pay close attention to the audio details to make your videos more professional.
Keep Backups
There is a famous incident in the filmmaking industry where a Pixar employee accidentally deleted the entire Toy Story 2 clips from the server. Fortunately, backup files were still available which saved them starting filming everything from scratch.
All your time and effort can be wasted if you do not keep a backup of your files. Though many applications make automated backups, those are saved to the same drive where your main project is saved. It is always better to copy your files to a different location to avoid any risks of drive crashes. Many editors save their work in cloud storage to easily access and organize data.
Though video editing can be a time-consuming and painstaking process at the beginning, consistently following these video editing tips you can be an expert in the industry. With enough dedication you will find this process incredibly satisfying because editors do more than edits- they create beautiful stories that leave lasting impact on the audience.
