A Beginner's Guide to Video Editing

Digital Video, Multimedia
A Beginner's Guide to Video Editing
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Editing is the third stage of creating a video or film project, following the writing and actual filming stages. It is in the editing suite that the movie is pieced together in the format which the audience will see the completed version. While editing a video can seem like an overwhelming task at first, this guide will help get you moving in the right direction regardless of your video project.

Getting Started

One of the most important things to understand when preparing to begin a video editing project is what it entails. It is vital to make sure that your editing computer is up to the task and has the disk space, RAM and video card necessary for the project.

When setting up a video editing project, it is also important to understand that the project will take long hours and you need to make sure you have a comfortable and efficient work area. After everything is set up and ready to go, it is time to get the project ready to edit before you actually start the actual construction of the video.

Once you understand the tools you need and what you need to get your work area set up, you will be able to edit just about anything thrown your way.

The Basics

When editing video, you are faced with a wide array of decisions to add to the movie or video project. The third stage of filmmaking is one of the most important because the editor is tasked with taking the script and the shots delivered by the director and uses everything at his fingertips to create the best possible final project.

Editors have many techniques at their disposal to make the movie flow from one scene to the next in the best way possible. However, it’s vital the editor understands the nuts and bolts of piecing together the video. These are invaluable tips and tricks for putting the individual shots together to create the full video project.

Tips for Better Video Editing

Once the video editing project starts to come together, there are also a number of areas that editors need to perfect to make sure the video comes out as professional-looking as possible. While the basic techniques of editing a video are important, there are also many items that should be understood in order to make the scenes flow together properly.

Understanding the techniques of different editing tricks such as transitions, fade and continuity editing is paramount to making the video look its best. The editor also works on a team, or by themselves on smaller projects, to use the editing process to fix problems that might arise during the filming of the video. Whether it is adding credits or rendering the final project into a usable format, here are the techniques to finish your project.

Advanced Editing Tricks

While it is important to learn the basic techniques of editing a video, there are times where problems arise that the video editor must fix or reshoots will be necessary. When sitting down to edit the video, there are also times where the editor must dip into his bag of tricks to come up with special effects or color correction to fix errors in the original shots.

There are also differences in editing music videos, documentaries and regular films. If you are shooting a specialized video, there are many ideas to keep in mind when putting the project together. Whether creating a false background using green screen technology or working to create split screen effects, these are important advanced tips for video editing beginners.

Software-Specific Editing Techniques

premiere

One of the best tools a video editor can have is specialized software. While the lower-end programs allow an editor to accomplish almost everything they need to get a normal video spliced together and ready for viewings, higher-end software allows the user to accomplish advanced techniques with the simple click of a button.

Whether dealing with Windows Movie Maker, Final Cut Pro or another application, we have some great tutorials teaching new video editors all the tricks that the individual software programs allow. From implementing slow motion to adding digital zoom effects, we have you covered with the following tutorials.

Windows Movie Maker

Final Cut Pro

Adobe After Effects

Adobe Premiere Elements

Other Software

Video editing is the final step for a project before it is ready to screen for audiences. There are many different techniques available for beginning and advanced video editors and, while is can seem overwhelming at first, following the tutorials created by video editors who have learned the craft through working in the field will help make your first projects a snap.

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