Video Editing Breakdown – Want To Learn The Basics Of Video Editing? Here They are

Many people often assume that video editing is a complicated and tedious process, but it doesn’t have to be either. While shooting your video is always going to be the fun part, editing is where you get to see your vision come together for the first time. You should be excited that you’re getting closer to a finished project but also aware that it’s your last chance to get it right before sharing it with the world. So, to ensure you get it right, we’ve put together a guide to help you understand the basics of video editing. Let’s get into it.

Video Editing Misconceptions

OK, I know I said let’s get into it, but first, we have a few common misconceptions we need to clear up.

If you’ve ever considered any of the following to be true, don’t worry, you aren’t alone, and it’s not too late to get on the right track.

You need to be a tech wizard to do a good job – WRONG!

One of the most common reasons people shy away from video editing is the assumption that only the most technically proficient can do it.

It simply isn’t the case; admittedly, advanced techniques and special FX require a deeper understanding of hardware and software.

However, we assume no one reading this article has been hired to edit the next Marvel blockbuster.

In this case, you are free to build your skill and knowledge level as you go, and there’s nothing to say a beginner can’t do a great job.

Many content creators are too quick to pay an editor to do a job they could do themselves if time permits.

Save yourself some money, and get exactly what you want by editing yourself.

You can fix everything in editing – WRONG!

Sadly, this misconception seems to stretch all the way to Hollywood.

You can fix many things in editing, even if you have to do a bit of a patch job, but you can’t perform miracles.

If you cast Will Ferrell as Al Capone in a serious gangland epic, no amount of editing skills will make it look convincing.

You need to understand the importance of continuity throughout filming, too.

If you inexplicably have five different outfits and go from clean-shaven to a full beard in the same scene, you can’t edit that out cleanly.

If you think that sounds like an exaggeration, take a look at some of the worst continuity mistakes in movie history.

Video editing isn’t a creative process – WRONG!

Video editing is more than cutting and pasting random clips together and adding credits at the start and end.

How you transition from one clip to the next is just as important as when you transition, and that’s a creative decision.

In fact, between video and audio, there are lots of creative choices to be made in editing, and some might just make or break your project.

Adding emojis to social media videos means I know how to edit – WRONG!

We might seem a little mean in pointing this out, but serious video projects are rarely completed by adding a filter and a few random emojis.

Even without going into complex tasks, you need to deal with things like balancing dialogue, music, and ambient noise correctly.

If you’re an influencer or aspiring influencer, your editing skills should grow with your audience.

Check out any of your favorite YouTubers, and you’ll see their content’s production value improve as their channel goes from a hobby to a business.

Business can still be fun, but it’s a good idea to plan for the future and understand editing early.

The Basics of Video Editing

Now, let’s get into it. Some of our tips will focus on things you should do before editing to make the process easier, some will be creative tips, and some will be purely functional.

Make Sure you Have the Right Content

Our first tip is an extension of saying you can’t fix everything in editing, but we want to take it one step further.

This time, we aren’t talking about fixing mistakes in casting or continuity; we are talking about an entirely bad idea.

No one wants to hear that their idea isn’t a good one, but that’s life; for every good idea, most of us probably have five bad ones.

Before going too far to turn back, make sure your video is something people want or need to see.

Look at existing content and the response it got, much like a musician/engineer will listen to reference tracks.

Get feedback from people who will be brutally honest with you, not just family and friends.

Editing will never turn a bad idea into a good one nor encourage anyone to watch something that doesn’t interest them.

Can Your Hardware Handle Video Editing?

In an ideal world, you should have a computer with a fast processor, excellent graphics, and a high-resolution display.

What you don’t want is a laptop that can’t preview any changes you make before you render the video because it’s too slow.

We know that most beginner video editors are on a tight budget, but if you do have any money to spend, a good laptop might be the place to start.

Check out some of the best budget laptops for video editing, and if you’re already running a new 16″ Macbook Pro or similar, feel free to ignore this section.

Choose the right Editing Software

Choosing the right editing software is perhaps the most important decision that you have to make.

The wrong editing software could lead to poor results and put you off editing completely.

The best editing software for you will depend largely on two things: what you need to accomplish and how much you can afford to spend. If we apply some common sense (which we creative types don’t always do), we can list a few pros and cons of free/cheap software versus professional-grade software.

Remember that the advantages/disadvantages below are generalizations, and don’t rule out the odd exception.

By going for free/cheap software, we can save money, and it will generally be more user-friendly than professional-grade software because it’s designed for beginners and hobbyists. It will generally be less demanding on your computer but come with more limitations.

Limitations of any kind sound like a big negative, but if the software does what you need it to, it doesn’t matter what it can’t do.

Professional-grade software or even intermediate software will come at a cost, but it’s not always as high as people expect.

Some software, like Apple’s Final Cut Pro, has a one-time fee, and others, like Adobe’s Premiere Pro, can be used with a monthly subscription. It will typically have a steeper learning curve, but that also typically means it’s capable of much more, and that might increase your potential as an editor.

Another thing that we want to reiterate is that you don’t need to be overly technical to do beginner things on professional software.

Our beginner’s guide to Premiere Pro is proof of that.

So, here are our golden rules of common sense.

Never try to push free/cheap software far beyond its limitations just to save money; it won’t end well.

Never spend a fortune on software if you’ll never need to do more than absolute basics.

We know how obvious that all sounds, but too many people still make short-sighted decisions that leave them thinking:

I saved money on software, but I’m behind schedule because it doesn’t do the job properly, and I’ll need to spend money now anyway.

Or

Saying I have the best setup makes me sound great, but I really wish I still had that money in my pocket.

Check out the best video editing software available, and choose one that suits your needs.

Be Organized

Photo by Ferenc Horvath on Unsplash

OK, so your editing setup, however big or small, is ready to go, and it’s time to get editing, almost.

If there’s one thing that any video editor can tell you with complete certainty, it’s that project files can get messy quickly if you aren’t organized.

Project files usually come from various sources; for example, you could have video from your SD card and perhaps video/audio from royalty-free platforms that you saved to your Downloads folder.

You might even have files from your smartphone or other external sources.

The first thing you want to do is get everything you need in the same place.

Video editing projects can take large amounts of disk space, so if your computer is running low on space, you might want to work from an external drive.

Even if you have plenty of free space, working from an external drive to avoid clogging your system and maintain peak performance isn’t a bad idea.

Step 1: Create a new folder, and name it with the title of your video/project (you could also date it to mark the start of the editing process).

Step 2: Now, you need to create some sub-folders inside your main project folder. We suggest the following as a good foundation:

• A Roll
• B Roll
• Audio (you might want further sub-folders inside for music and dialogue)
• Revisions 

We will explain the difference between A roll and B roll below.

Step 3: Take all your project files from their various sources, and drag them into the correct folders.

It’s also an excellent idea to rename your project files in relation to your project. For example, Intro.MP4 or ChaseScene1stPerson.MP4 would be much easier to identify than MVI_02657.MP4, etc.

Of course, videos have thumbnails, but with things like podcasts or tutorials, many of your thumbnails will look very similar.

You can do the same with your audio files.

Step 4: Open your video editing software, create a new project and name it accordingly.

Step 5: Save your project before you do any work so you can direct the software to the project folder you created earlier.

Step 6: Import your media into your project, so it’s ready to be added to your timeline when needed.

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts

Video editing software typically comes with keyboard shortcuts that dramatically speed up your workflow.

We said at the start that video editing doesn’t have to be tedious, but it will be time-consuming, especially for beginners.

So, anything that can save you time is worth exploring.

We don’t recommend trying to remember every single shortcut on day one; some professionals probably don’t utilize every single shortcut.

We suggest you learn shortcuts for the most commonly used functions to get started, then learn more as you progress.

Here are some functions that you might want to learn first.

• Open Project
• Save
• Save As
• Play
• Stop
• Undo
• Redo
• Cut
• Copy
• Paste
• Duplicate
• Add to Render Queue

Here are more keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Premiere Pro, and you can find similar lists for other platforms with a quick Google search.

Trimming the Fat

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This process has many names depending on who you ask, but what it comes down to is getting rid of unusable footage.

One of the reasons that video editing can require a lot of disk space and get messy quickly is that you might have different takes as separate files or multiple takes on single files if you kept the camera rolling.

When you have files that include good takes and mistakes (like fluffing your lines, dropping a prop, etc.), you should start by going through it and cutting all the mistakes, leaving only usable footage.

It’s incredibly easy to think you’re making progress only to realize 10 minutes into the footage that you’re working on a take that went wrong at the end – time to start over.

Remove any chance of that happening by trimming the fat.

Edit for Your Audience

Now that you’re finally editing your video, it’s important to remember why you’re doing it.

We understand all too well that creators have a vision, and we would never encourage anyone to compromise artistic integrity.

However, you must get your message across in a way that the audience will appreciate unless you don’t care if anyone watches.

Whether you are editing a feature film, music video, vlog, or tutorial video, it must have a clear and sensible progression.

In other words, it has to tell a story that has a start, middle, and end.

It’s not enough to have outstanding content with super-cool transitions if it’s in the wrong order.

This stage is where you need to make the right creative decisions, which means asking yourself:

Have I structured my footage in the best way to show clear progression?

Are any of my segments too long or too short?

Have I used too much B roll or too many alternate angles?

Have I used B roll and alternate angles in suitable places?

The bottom line is don’t take shortcuts and assume your audience won’t switch off.

Choose Suitable Music

Photo by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash

You might say we are biased in this department, and you’d be correct, but music can make or break your project.

When we say choose the right music, we don’t just mean good music or music that sounds cool; we mean music that fits your visuals and story.

Selecting music that suits what’s happening on screen is the first challenge.

This step is far easier if you have a shorter video, like a vlog or tutorial.

As a general rule, the more action on screen, the more upbeat the music.

But, if you have a feature film, even if it’s not full-length, there is more to consider.

You can’t just say action needs upbeat music now; you have to think more specifically about musical genres, does the genre fit the location, the characters, and so on.

You also have to think about how far into the story you are.

For example, there’s no point playing an epic victory theme after a small battle if there is still much peril ahead.

Music plays a big part in leading the viewer’s emotion, and in a feature film that relies heavily on tension and uncertainty.

Choosing the best music is where we can really help you because we have a library of incredible royalty-free music to fit any scene.

We also have an exclusive Video Preview tool to ensure you make the right choice before you spend a penny.

Think About Color

Photo by Zoe on Unsplash

There are two ways we want you to think about color.

The first is to be consistent with color schemes if you’re making vlogs or tutorials (any regular brand-building content) because people expect consistency.

As an extension, you should understand color correction to ensure colors within your footage are consistent throughout your video.

The second is to think about how color influences the viewers’ emotions.

As a beginner, it would serve you well to learn the basics of color grading, to know when you can manipulate color in certain scenes to evoke certain emotions.

Add Text

If you’re editing a feature film, adding text isn’t going to apply as often.

But, if you’re editing any video that intends to grow a brand or following, there is no better call-to-action than adding text.

It’s impactful, easy to do, and it breaks up otherwise mundane clips.

Always Backup Your Work

Photo by Siyuan Hu on Unsplash

The best way to backup your work is to build a Zombie apocalypse-proof panic room in your house, complete with every security measure you’ve seen in any sci-fi movie, keep a secure drive there, and trust no one.

So, don’t do that at all; it’s ridiculous, but don’t be too quick to judge some genuine methods as ridiculous or overkill.

Saving your work after every session is not enough, and as obvious as it might sound, saving it in two locations on the same drive won’t do it either.

If you’re working from your laptop, you’ll need at least one external drive for backup.

If you’re working from an external drive, you should have a second drive for backup.

Some people say you should have a third drive, giving you one working drive and two backups.

That brings us to the 321 Rule, which states that you should always have three copies of every file used in your project.

Typically those would be on your working drive, a backup drive, and a cloud storage service.

As an extra tip, if you save revisions of the same scene (and keep them in that handy revisions folder) because you can’t decide which version works best, make sure you name your revisions suitably for future reference.

Export for the Web

When exporting your video, you’ll have to choose your export settings.

If it’s new to you, you’d be forgiven for thinking you should always choose the big box that says Highest Quality (or something similar). 

Different platforms have different recommended video settings.

If your video doesn’t match those settings, these platforms will compress and mangle it to make it fit, meaning your video won’t always look like you expected.

Ideally, you don’t want YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, or any other platform involved more than they need to be.

So, it’s best to export your video with settings for specific platforms.

Here’s a list of recommended settings for the most popular platforms.

Learn Some Editing Terms

Learning the terms will help you better understand tutorials and communicate with more experienced editors and future clients.

Here are a few examples.

• Jump Cuts – Cutting out boring sections to get straight to the point.
• L Cut – Video before audio.
• J Cut – Audio before video.
• Montage – A short sequence that represents the passing of a more extended period. How could we not reference Rocky here?
• Cutaways – Transitions that move away from the main action to show the surrounding environment or secondary themes. They are typically used to build atmosphere or tension.
• A Roll – The main footage (for example, in a tutorial it would be your talking head footage).
• B Roll – Secondary footage that supplements the A Roll (Cutaway shots, product demonstrations, etc.)

There are lots more.

Conclusion

Video editing isn’t something you master overnight; that takes dedication, talent, and time.

What you can do overnight is get some understanding of the basics that will give you a solid foundation to build on.

How far you go with that is up to you, but we hope our tips can help you get started and, more importantly, help you bring your creative vision to life.