Whether you are actively involved in creating videos or plan to do so in the future, video editing is a skill to implement; and acquire, if not already done so. As the technology around us is improving, creative processes like video editing don’t seem much of a daunting task.
With default editing tools provided on almost all smartphones, starting your journey as a video editor isn’t unrealistic anymore.
However, as someone just beginning with the video creation journey, a few fundamentals and approaches to know are essential for a video editor. We introduce you to some of the best tips to edit videos on a PC as a beginner.
Using a Beginner-Friendly Video Editor
You won’t be satisfied with how your videos turn out after editing until you aren’t comfortable with the editing platform.
Picking the right online video editing tool impacts how your video turns out to be. If you’re just short on time, a video editing program might be really helpful. These often enable you to quickly give your footage a classy look by adding pre-made titles, credits, subtitles, animations, and visual effects. For a variety of video editing tools, there are both free and premium templates that can help make amateurs’ videos look much more professional.
An ideal video editor has functions such as trimming, cutting, exporting in high quality, color correction, and more to help you create outputs that are visually compelling for your viewers.
Use a PC that suits your need
Depending on the type of video you are trying to create, your PC needs to align with your needs as well. Most standard online video editors work smoothly on regular computers and are perfect for all kinds of videos. Since, as a beginner, you won’t have many hardware requirements, you can settle with computers with decent processors to get the job done. Starting with an Intel i5 processor would be enough for you initially.
Meanwhile, if you’re trying to create high-quality professional videos, you can also upgrade to a powerful computer with time.
Alternatively, you can also try to use an online video editor to help you re-create that professional video editing software experience without consuming many resources.
Organize Your Clips
It gets frustrating when you can’t locate your important video clips sometimes, especially when you have a clutter of files and folders on your PC. If you change the destination of your files during editing as well, your editor won’t be able to locate them, which further disrupts your editing process.
To stop that from happening, you need to organize your clips in the right places.
Whether you are storing files in a folder locally or want to save them in an online folder (like Google Drive), it’s always important to keep track of all the files you will require during editing. The goal here is to edit as conveniently as possible. An organized folder of your clips is always the best place to start.
Watch Video Editing Software Tutorial Videos
With the amount of information about everything on the internet, you really won’t find it hard to master the craft of video editing.
One of the most common things about most video editors is their detailed guides across social platforms. These tutorial videos present a walk-through of the entire program and help you create the videos you want. Many tutorials are free, making them even more accessible. Video Copilot, Skillshare, and Red Giant Tutorials are some websites that provide specific tutorials for improving one’s video content.
Project Storytelling
Infusing a story into your story equals navigating your viewers to watch your videos. Being able to showcase a narrative with your videos helps your viewers connect with you.
When it comes to implementing the storytelling aspect, it could be as simple as including a voice-over in your videos.
The plan is to draw and impress viewers with stories special to you in the place you were shooting.
Take Time to Learn
While it takes people just days to learn the basics of video editing, it might take more than that for some.
Like everything you learned, video editing requires patience and dedicated practice.
A great rule of thumb is to note things learned for future reference. Noting essential tips, shortcuts, effects, and observations allows you not to find new tutorials and guides every time you are stuck on an editing-related problem.
Your Videos Require Audio Checks
When we mention audio, it includes music, voices, background voices, noise, and clarity.
Raw footage has many instances that require getting rid of background noises.
In a video with narration, you want to ensure that the narration is obvious, audible, clear, and uniformly leveled throughout the video. Any dialogues, speech, or voices with a pertinent message need scrutiny to create the perfect video with excellent sound quality.
Backup your Content
A long video that you have worked on for so long accidentally gets deleted. How frustrating is that?
Keeping a backup of your video is one of the most important editing tips, especially when you are working on longer projects that require days worth of work. A lot of video editors keep automatic backups of your edits. However, a general rule of thumb is to be extra careful with your work and manually back up your videos as well. Ideally, you can also create online backups or save your work to an external hard drive so as to save your files from endless uncertainties.
Conclusion
As video editing is a creative process, the output depends from creator to creator. One editor may not be able to replicate another editor’s work. They certainly wouldn’t want to repeat it. Borrow ideas and tips, but certainly do not replicate an editing process into another video.
Whether you are editing on a PC, a smartphone, or a laptop, a good video editor needs to understand how people think and create such stories that connect with them. Moreover, the key to creating great videos and mastering your video editing skills is to keep practicing what you learn and use all the resources at your disposal abundantly.
