Written by: Subhasish Adhikary

How To Edit A Video: A Beginner’s Guide to Video Editing

Obtaining excellent footage is not the essential need for producing a high-quality video. Knowing how to edit video effectively will help your video stand out in a competitive market, strengthen your brand and make you appear more professional.

Fortunately, learning the correct process to edit a video on various platforms is easier than you would believe—especially with this tutorial guide.

How to Edit a Video in 9 Simple Steps:

1. Import Video

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Import Video

Obviously, the editing process cannot begin until you have a video to work with. If you have your film on your phone, you can edit it immediately there (we’ll discuss how to edit video on an iPhone or Android later).

However, if you’d prefer to edit on your computer, you may transfer the film via a USB connection. If your footage is stored on a camera, you may import it via USB or SD card.

2. Arrange Your Video Footage

After importing a video, you’ll want to instantly arrange the clips. The most efficient method of storing and organizing footage for video production is to establish a folder for each shot. Each audio or video clip should be labeled with a name, a date, or even a number or project title—whatever works best for you.

If you only have a few video clips, it may appear more convenient to simply drag them all into your video editor. However, if you do so without first organizing them, you run the danger of losing your work if the editor crashes.

3. Monitor, Review, and Annotate footage

After organizing your clips, carefully analyze them and pick which ones to use. While reviewing everything before editing might be time-consuming, it will help you understand what material is usable and ensure that the best pieces are included.

This also allows you to check for any issues that may have occurred during the shot (such as a distracting background or an undesirable viewpoint), as well as pick among comparable footage to determine which to use.

The majority of video editing tools offer features for marking clips and highlighting material for usage in the editor. Additionally, you may eliminate unnecessary segments from the video editor.

4. Trim, Drop, and Reposition Footage

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Trim, Drop, and Reposition Footage

Now comes the most enjoyable part of editing: artistically chopping and dropping footage to piece together a tale. Whatever video editor you’re using, you’ll be able to drag and drop your clip onto an editable timeline.

After dragging your film onto the timeline, you may rearrange and extend or shorten the segments to add or subtract time. This is not something you should do randomly—you should consider the storytelling and overall pacing of your film and use it as a guide.

5. Establish Consistent Transitions

After importing your footage into the editor, you’re likely to see something frustrating: your clips may not look as nice together as you anticipated. That is acceptable! It is very typical for the editing process to need several iterations.

One of the most significant issues you’ll encounter is that transitions between videos aren’t as smooth as you’d want. Rapid transitions between segments may be disorienting or confusing for your viewers, so you’ll want to smooth up your transitions.

6. Acquire Feedback

Receiving input during the editing process is a wonderful idea. If you’re experiencing difficulty with a certain sequence or picking which clip to utilize, consult friends or coworkers. Often, this feedback process reveals something you would have missed otherwise.

7. Enhance Your Video Using Special Effects

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Enhance Your Video Using Special Effects

Once you’ve organized your video clips, you can begin embellishing your footage. The effects you apply will vary according to your own preference and the requirements of your particular project. Amongst your effects might be the following:

· Transitions

· Graphics

· Color correction and filtering

· Music and sound effects

Simply bear in mind that it is easy to go overboard—too many effects may easily become distracting—so choose your effects carefully. Bear in mind that you want them to enhance, not detract from, your film.

8. Finish Your Video by Adding Text

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Finish Your Video by Adding Text

Between editing and exporting your material, there is one more step: adding text to your nearly finished video.

While the text may not appear to be a necessary component, it gives an element of professionalism to your film.

For instance, many video introductions feature a graphic or title that serves as an introduction to you and your work.

Alternatively, films that provide step-by-step instructions frequently include text describing each step.

Additionally, adding closed captioning is a smart idea, as it enables viewers who are deaf or watching your movies in quiet mode to follow along. By making your films more accessible, you may reach a broader audience.

9. Share and Export Your Project

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Share and Export Your Project

Now comes another exciting part: exporting and sharing your film with the rest of the world!

If you want to share your movie on social media, you can usually export the clip directly from the video editor to YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms.

Alternatively, if you want to embed the video on your website or share it directly with others, you’ll want to determine the optimal file format. Because higher-quality movies take longer to load, you may choose to compress your video to speed up the loading process.

Any Video Editing Software Recommendation?

That’s all well and good, but what if you don’t have fancy software? How can you get free video editing software?

As a newbie, you’re unlikely to want to invest in filming or editing technologies. That is why we have,  which is one of the finest free video editing tools that even the most inexperienced user can utilize. 

Concluding

Note that those built-in video editing tools only cover the fundamentals.

To perform more intensive adjustments, such as adding text, video filters, or transitions, you’ll need a separate video editor installed on your phone, video editing at your fingertips with an accessible interface, pro-level tools and effects, and a comprehensive range of export choices.

As with any other creative endeavor, video editing is a journey of discovery.

Take pleasure in the voyage and see how your video editing abilities develop over time!

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Subhasish Adhikary

I'm constantly in search of the latest gadgets & technology news that I can share with you. In my meantime, I blog on topics ranging from digital marketing, online business, startups to tech gadgets.

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