by Andrea Crane
Captured videos should always be edited: remove unnecessary things, join fragments, and add transitions and music. How to edit a video and what you need for that – about that further.
What Is Video Editing?
Editing a video is one of the critical stages in creating a high-quality and exciting viewer video clip. It determines how the result of the work looks in the final form: how harmonious the transitions between scenes will be, lighting, quality of the picture, transitions between frames, etc. With the amount of video content produced and the steep skill curve to video editing, it is easy to see why video edit services are so popular. However, it is more than possible to jump in and learn to make edits on your own videos.
Main Stages of Film Creation
Familiarize Yourself With the Project
Work begins with carefully studying the terms of reference, script, and storyboard. A good movie tells a story in sequence. Imagine what the finished result will look like. Follow the plan. Having a clear and consistent plan will save a lot of problems later.
Sort Through the Material
At this stage, you sort all your footage into folders and import it into an editing program. Next, you cut the video into clips in the same program, leaving only the most important and striking moments. Then you arrange the clips into folders in the program itself.
Specific characteristics better group the resulting clips (e.g., you can place them in one folder with dialogues of your actors and in another – nature videos). Be sure to back up all the source files so you don’t lose them if you encounter any problems.
Work on the First Draft
This step builds the basic framework of the project and overlays the rough sound. Take the clips from the previous stage and arrange them in a logical sequence on the timeline. Be guided by your plan or storyboard. Look at how individual clips and groups of clips fit together.
This task is more difficult in a feature film because of the amount of material. In that case, each scene is edited separately. Then all the settings are arranged and put together.
Before proceeding to the final cut, save the rough draft. Then, you can return to it if something goes wrong.
Edit the Video
Remove unnecessary episodes. Overlay transitions between them where appropriate. It’s best to be careful with changes. They can be distracting to the viewer. Instead, add pauses, titles, credits, and anything else that helps convey emotion and build a logical and engaging narrative. If there’s a need, learn how to mirror a video or use other effects.
Video editing requires diligence and meticulousness. If you feel like you’ve hit a dead end, take a break. Try to switch to color correction or sound design. To make your work more time-efficient, you can use different online solutions for video editing, just like Adobe Express free movie editor.
Work on the Sound
Music plays a vital role in engaging the viewer by helping to direct their attention. Try to get the sound in the mood because it provokes the viewer with emotion. Work out the montage, taking into account all the accents and peculiarities of the music. Rely on your imagination and taste.
It is better to lay the background music so that it constantly sounds but fades out where it is necessary. It is essential that the background music emphasises the atmosphere and does not interrupt the main sound line. Music should not drown it out and distract the viewer’s attention.
Bring It to Perfection
Focus on the details. Do some color grading, apply some effects and adjust transitions so that the result looks attractive and professional.
Show your project to a client or colleagues. Watch and listen to it on different devices. Once you’ve gathered these opinions, you can make necessary edits and bring your work to perfection.
Export the Final Result
You need to save the final result when you’re done editing your video. This process is called exporting or rendering. It remains to select the format (codec) for rendering. If you do not know what codec you need – choose H.264. It gives excellent quality for a relatively small file size.
Conclusion
Even simple video editing takes time and dedication. Hollywood blockbusters take a year to film and a year and a half to edit. Remember that every minute of the video is worth an hour of work on it. And that’s if you already know how to use editing software.
