6 Video Editing Tips For Beginners

6 Video Editing Tips For Beginners.

When you’re just starting out to learn how to edit video, it can be very difficult to get what you want. It can also be a very frustrating process, especially if you donâ€™t know how to do something.

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Almost every video editor uses some tricks to keep things simple and efficient. If you are a beginner video editor, you should try them yourself. Eventually, it will become second nature and your editing process will run smoothly.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of things to keep in mind when editing, but they are some of the most important. Studying these video editing tips will help you expand your knowledge and ultimately find your own video editing style.

Make Backups Of Your Video

Perhaps the most important thing you can do for your project is to make multiple backups. Making it a habit will save you so much time and effort in the long run. Whether your computer crashes unexpectedly or your editing program gets errors, with a backup, you have a point to go back to.

How many backups do you need to make? Honestly, there is nothing superfluous in this. Ideally, however, you should make at least three backups of your project. Also make sure they are saved in different forms or in different places. For example, one on your hard drive, one on SD, and one on USB.

With this method, if one backup is somehow lost or damaged, you will always have another backup where it is safe.

Organize Your Media

One of the most frustrating things about video editing is the inability to find a specific clip or piece of media. In addition, editing programs need to be able to find the files you are using, so if something gets moved for any reason, it will be tedious to try to find them again. This is why it is incredibly important to keep your files organized and clean.

Ideally, before you start editing, you should organize your clips. How you organize them is entirely up to you and depends on the type of project you are editing. If you don’t know how to organize your files, a good rule of thumb is to do so in chronological order when the clips were shot. The goal is to find what you need quickly and easily.

Take Long Video Clips

Sometimes you may not have control over it, but if you are shooting video and editing it, this video editing tip will make the final product that much better. When editing video clips, you will need a lot of material to work with. This makes it much easier to put things together so that everything goes well.

If you are shooting video, a good video editing tip is to turn on the camera for at least 30 seconds before the action starts and 30 seconds after it ends. This way you get everything, and when you edit clips, it helps to avoid jumps.

Choose The Right Editing Program

Depending on what types of projects you are trying to create, the video editing software you use can either help or hurt you.

Sometimes editing programs lack the tools or capabilities to do what they need to do. If you’re trying to edit objects to which you want to add a lot of effects and have complete control over your creativity, such as short films, long YouTube videos, music videos, or advertisements, you will need a more professional program. This includes software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve.

However, if you’re editing a video that doesn’t require much tweaking, you should use something simpler so as not to overwhelm you and spend a lot of money on features you don’t really need. For projects like home videos, short or YouTube tutorial videos, or slideshows, you can use things like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, PowerDirector, or most free editing software.

Also take a look at what each software has to offer. Adobe Premiere is great if you’re a beginner video editor as it’s powerful and easy to learn. DaVinci Resolve may be more difficult to find, but it has a wide range of color grading options and features and is free to use. Learning about editing programs before choosing one will help you a lot in the long run.

Donâ€™t Overuse Effects

With all the options available for adding interesting video effects or transitions, it might be tempting to add a lot of them to your project. However, too many effects can actually do more harm than anything else.

Using a lot of effects can be distracting to the viewer. If you use too much it can feel sticky or overwhelming. It’s far more important to only use effects when they have a significant impact on your video.

For transitions, it’s usually best if they’re not too bright. The transition from clip to clip should be smooth, and overusing transition effects will distract attention from what you are really trying to convey. Just remember that when it comes to effects, less is more.

Start With a Rough Cut

If you are editing a large amount of material, it is important to involve yourself in an efficient workflow. A good way to do this is to pre-sketch the entire video.

This usually involves looking at your clips and finding the ones that you are sure you want to use. Once you’ve identified this, you can place them chronologically on the timeline of your program. However, at this point, you don’t need to trim the clips or add any transitions or effects. The essence of rough cut is to get a general idea of Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹how the video will play, and to flesh out the order of the scenes.

Once you’ve done that, you can easily view your timeline and make more specific cuts and edits.

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