10 Video Editing Tips EVERY Editor Should Know!
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Steve from Learn Online Video shares 10 essential video editing tips for enhancing the visual appeal and storytelling of your footage. From organizing assets to creative speed ramps and the Ken Burns effect, the tutorial covers a range of techniques including sound effects, music integration, and transitions. It also highlights the use of J and L cuts, templates, jump cuts, and the importance of music editing. Sponsored by Epidemic Sound for music and sound effects, the video is a comprehensive guide for editors seeking to improve their craft.
Takeaways
- 😀 Editing is essential for enhancing the look of your footage, allowing for creative transitions, sound effects, color grading, and stylization.
- 📂 Organizing your footage and assets is crucial for efficiency, regardless of the project size, and can be tailored to individual workflow preferences.
- 🔄 Speed ramps are used to gradually accelerate or decelerate a clip, creating a smoother transition to focal points and enhancing viewer engagement.
- 📷 The Ken Burns effect adds dynamism to static shots by zooming in during the edit, guiding the viewer's eye and drawing them into the scene.
- 🎵 Sound effects can significantly elevate the production value of footage, making mundane actions more interesting and engaging.
- 🎶 Music has a profound impact on setting the mood and atmosphere of a video, influencing audience perception and storytelling.
- 🔄 Transitions are techniques used to move the audience from one shot to another, with various styles available to serve different storytelling purposes.
- ⏯ J cuts and L cuts are audio techniques used in film and TV to join clips together, creating a seamless audio flow before or after the visual change.
- 📑 Templates and presets offer a time-saving shortcut in video editing, providing pre-built effects and elements that can be easily customized.
- 🕺 The jump cut is a technique to add pace by cutting out unnecessary visuals and audio, making the video more engaging and dynamic.
- ⏸ Knowing how to shorten music tracks is an important skill for editors, allowing for the creation of concise versions that fit the video's narrative and platform requirements.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video presented by Steve?
-The main focus of the video is to provide 10 video editing tips that every editor should know to improve the look and storytelling of their footage.
Why is organizing footage and assets important in video editing?
-Organizing footage and assets is crucial for an efficient workflow, making it easy to find and work with all the necessary elements for a project.
What is a speed ramp and how can it be used in video editing?
-A speed ramp is a technique where a clip's speed is gradually increased or decreased instead of an abrupt change, used to reach focal points faster or to add a creative touch to a scene.
How can motion blur be added in post-production to make speed ramps look more natural?
-Motion blur can be added in post-production by using specific effects that simulate the blur created by fast camera movements, making the speed ramp appear more realistic.
What is the Ken Burns effect and how does it enhance a static shot?
-The Ken Burns effect is a technique where you zoom into a static shot during editing, bringing it to life by guiding the viewer's eye and drawing them into the scene.
What role do sound effects play in video editing and how can they be used?
-Sound effects can enhance a video by adding drama, creating transitions, or making ordinary actions more interesting, thus increasing the production value and audience engagement.
How does music impact the mood and storytelling of a video?
-Music sets the atmosphere, changes the mood, and influences audience reactions, helping to tell a better story and evoke specific emotions.
What are transitions in video editing and why are they important?
-Transitions are techniques used to move the audience from one shot to another. They are important for storytelling and can be simple or creative, depending on the context.
What are j cuts and l cuts, and how are they used in video editing?
-J cuts and l cuts are audio techniques used to join two clips together. A j cut plays the audio of the second clip before it appears on screen, while an l cut carries the audio of the first clip into the second.
Why are templates and presets useful in video editing?
-Templates and presets are useful as they save time and effort by providing pre-made effects, logos, openers, and color grading options that can be easily customized and added to a project.
What is a jump cut and how does it add pace to a video?
-A jump cut is a technique where you cut out the boring parts of visuals and audio, making the action appear to leap forward in time, thus adding more pace and keeping the video interesting.
How can an editor shorten a music track to fit a video sequence?
-An editor can manually shorten a music track by cutting it to the desired length and ensuring it ends with the natural conclusion of the track, even if the video sequence is shorter.
Outlines
🎬 Essential Video Editing Tips
This paragraph introduces the video's purpose: to provide 10 essential video editing tips for enhancing the visual appeal and storytelling of footage. The speaker, Steve from Learn Online Video, emphasizes the importance of editing in creating transitions, adding sound effects, color grading, and stylizing footage. The video is sponsored by Epidemic Sound, which provides the music and sound effects used. The first tip discussed is organizing footage and assets for efficient editing workflow.
🛠️ Creative Editing Techniques
This section covers advanced editing techniques like speed ramps, which involve gradually speeding up or slowing down a clip for creative effect, and the Ken Burns effect, which adds zoom to static shots to make them more dynamic. The speaker also addresses the importance of motion blur for realism and demonstrates how to add it. Sound effects are highlighted as a way to enhance storytelling and viewer engagement, with a recommendation to maintain a sound effects archive for quick access. The paragraph concludes with a mention of the search capabilities and variety of sound effect categories available on Epidemic Sound.
🎵 The Power of Music and Sound Effects
The role of music in video editing is explored, explaining how it can set the mood, create atmosphere, and influence audience perception. The speaker suggests having a diverse music archive for different editing needs and praises Epidemic Sound for its extensive library and ease of use. The impact of music on a scene is illustrated by contrasting the same clip with different music tracks, showing how it can drastically change the narrative. The paragraph also touches on the benefits of a free trial and a discount offer for Epidemic Sound's annual personal plan.
✂️ Transitions and Audio Techniques
This paragraph discusses various types of video transitions, such as straight cuts and cross dissolves, and encourages viewers to experiment with them for creative storytelling. J-cuts and L-cuts are introduced as professional techniques used in TV shows and films to join clips using audio, with examples provided to illustrate their effect. The importance of using these audio techniques to enhance the narrative and keep the audience engaged is emphasized.
🚀 Boosting Efficiency with Templates and Jump Cuts
The use of templates and presets in video editing is presented as a time-saving strategy that can elevate the production quality of videos. Examples include pre-built logos, openers, lower thirds, and color grading LUTs. The paragraph also introduces jump cuts as a method for adding pace by eliminating unnecessary visuals and audio, providing examples to demonstrate how they can make a video more engaging and dynamic.
⏰ Editing Music to Fit Your Sequence
The final tip focuses on the skill of shortening music tracks to fit the length of a video sequence, particularly for platforms like Instagram. The speaker explains a manual method for creating a shortened version of a track that ends naturally, using Adobe Premiere Pro's remix feature as an alternative. The importance of ending a sequence or video with the conclusion of the track for a polished result is highlighted, and viewers are encouraged to explore more about video editing and sound design through the provided resources.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Editing
💡Transitions
💡Speed Ramps
💡Motion Blur
💡Ken Burns Effect
💡Sound Effects
💡Music
💡J Cuts and L Cuts
💡Templates and Presets
💡Jump Cut
💡Shortening Music
Highlights
Importance of video editing for enhancing footage aesthetics.
10 essential video editing tips for every editor.
Sponsored by Epidemic Sound for music and sound effects.
Organizing footage and assets for efficient editing workflow.
Using speed ramps to create dynamic transitions in clips.
Adding motion blur for a natural look in sped-up footage.
The Ken Burns effect to enliven static shots with zoom.
Utilizing sound effects to enhance storytelling and engagement.
The impact of music on setting the mood and atmosphere of a video.
Editing music to fit the narrative and pacing of a video.
Basic transitions for moving between shots in a video.
J cuts and L cuts for smooth audio transitions between clips.
Templates and presets for time-saving video editing.
Jump cuts to add pace by eliminating unnecessary visuals and audio.
Shortening music tracks to fit video length while maintaining the song's conclusion.
The necessity of mastering video editing basics and continuous learning.
Additional resources and video content for further learning in video editing and sound design.
Transcripts
if you're looking to improve the look of
your footage then learning how to edit
is crucial the edit is where you can
create transitions add sound effects
color grade and stylize your footage so
in this video i'm going to give you 10
video editing tips that every editor
should know
it's coming up
hey everyone steve here from learn
online video and today i'm going to be
showing you how you can make your
footage stand out i'm going to show you
how you can make your films and videos
look much more interesting and i'm going
to be showing you how to do all of this
in the edit this is where the magic
happens i've got a variety of different
clips on my timeline and i'm going to
use these to show you just what
difference adding each of these tips can
make to your footage today's video is
sponsored by epidemic sound this is
where i'm going to be getting all of my
music and sound effects for today's
video okay let's get the most boring tip
out of the way first so we can move on
to things that are a little bit more
exciting and creative and the first one
is organizing your footage and assets
now it doesn't matter whether you're
working on a youtube video or a big
hollywood feature film always organize
your footage and assets so that
everything is easy to find and easy to
work with for example when i'm done
shooting everything i need for a project
i'll create a folder on my computer
called in this case 10 video editing
tips every editor should know then in
that folder i'll have a folder for
footage i'll have a folder for music
graphics and anything else i might need
to edit that video how you folder your
footage and assets is completely up to
you just do whatever works best for you
and your workflow and once you've done
this you can then drag all of these
folders into your editing software and
now everything is easy to find and work
with okay moving on to something a
little bit more exciting speed ramps
speed ramps are when you speed up or
slow down part of your clip but rather
than an abrupt speed up or slow down you
gradually accelerate or decelerate take
this drone shot rising up through the
streets of paris to reveal the eiffel
tower for example now this is a great
shot but the problem is it's a little
bit too long what if we want to get to
our focal point a little quicker well
this is where we would use a speed ramp
so i'm going to play my clip and then
stop it where i want the speed ramp to
start about here i'm going to select
shift b and then going to skim forward
to where i want my speed ramp to stop
and press shift b again and i can i
speed this part of the clip up so rather
than it being 100 speed i'm gonna go to
custom and i'm gonna type in 3 000
let's take a look
much better we now get to our focal
point much quicker now we could of
course just cut to our focal point but
that wouldn't be as creative it wouldn't
be as interesting it's these little
editing tricks that really help keep
your audience engaged also if your speed
ramp is looking a little off a little
unnatural then the chances are it's
because it's lacking motion blur usually
when a camera moves quickly it creates
motion blur but don't worry we can fix
this in the edit now this effect didn't
come with my editing software i had to
download and install it but as always
everything i mentioned in this video
will be linked in the description below
now let's take a look at this shot first
without motion blur and then again with
it's subtle but it definitely helps
improve the look of that shot and gives
it a much more natural look the ken
burns effect this is where you zoom into
your footage in the edit let's say
you've got a static shot like this one
here for example it's okay nice framing
but adding the ken burns effect or
zooming into our clip is going to help
bring it to life more it's going to help
guide our viewers eye and draw them into
the scene take this gimbal shot tracking
to the right for example it looks okay
but now let's add a zoom and now we have
this a much more dynamic shot with the
camera tracking right and zooming in all
of the clips in this sequence are static
shots but with the ken burns effect
added we now have this consistent zoom
effect bringing much more focus to each
shot now there are a number of different
ways that you can add this effect some
editing software will have this effect
built in others you might need to do it
manually by adding keyframes the most
important thing here is to experiment
with this technique and use it to pull
your audience in okay number four sound
effects sound effects are a great way to
take your footage to the next level and
the possibilities are endless you could
use a whoosh sound effect to transition
from one clip to another you could use
them to make your shot more dramatic you
could even use them to make something
that would ordinarily be quite boring
like picking up a phone
and make it look and sound much more
interesting also did you notice we
combined techniques there not only did
we use a whoosh sound effect to pick up
the phone but we started with a speed
ramp now as an editor i highly recommend
that you have an archive of sound
effects that you can just dip into
whenever needed this is really going to
help speed up your workflow personally i
get all of my sound effects from
epidemic sound because they have a huge
archive and it's all really easy to find
you can literally just type into the
search bar whatever you're looking for
let's type in rooster and there we go a
selection of rooster sound effects so
the search tool is really good but as
well as this they also have sound
effects albums and this comes in really
useful each one is dedicated to a
different category we've got whoosh
sound effects weather cars ambient and
anything else you could possibly need
also i can access all of these sound
effects from anywhere in the world
because it's all online so be sure to
take advantage of combining sound
effects with your footage because this
will not only help increase the
production value of your footage but
it'll also help keep your audience
engaged okay number five music music has
a huge impact on your footage it creates
an atmosphere it can change the mood it
can change the way an audience reacts to
your film and it can help tell a better
story so having a good understanding of
how to edit music will give you a huge
advantage when it comes to editing video
take this woman running through an array
of beautiful flowers during sunset for
example with happy upbeat music this
shot is positive warm and blissful but
if we change the music and maybe give it
a darker more moodier color grade all of
a sudden this woman could be running for
her life in a horror movie
again just like with sound effects it's
really important as an editor that
you've always got a good archive of
music that you can dip into whenever
needed for this i'm going to head back
to epidemic sound because not only do
they have a really good sound effects
library but they also have a huge
archive of music again all really easy
to find everything from cinematic hip
hop rock electro beats plus they release
new tracks every single week so i'm
going to download two completely
different tracks go back to my timeline
and now we have this scientist with
inspirational music this shot seems
positive like he's close to finding a
cure
but with darker more sinister music he's
an evil villain planning to take over
the world
or take this woman walking her luggage
through the airport this could be an
inspirational travel video or if we add
some rock music this could be the
opening shot of our lead character in a
short film
music will change the mood and the feel
of your footage so take advantage of it
if you'd like to try epidemic sound for
free then they're offering a free 30-day
trial to anyone that uses the link in my
description plus they're also offering a
massive 50 off an annual personal plan
so a huge saving for any of you looking
for music and sound effects links will
be in the description below okay number
six transitions put simply transitions
take the audience from one shot to
another the most basic version of this
is a straight cut like this we've gone
from a shot of me in the studio to a
shot of a man running with his dog now
we could just cut to the next shot like
this that's not too bad works okay or if
we wanted to represent say the passing
of time we could add a cross dissolve
now these two shots blend and dissolve
into each other taking us from one shot
to another these are just a couple of
examples of some very basic transitions
but feel free to get as advanced or as
creative as you like again some editing
programs will have built-in transitions
some you might need to download or buy
the most important thing with
transitions is that you make them
meaningful transitions are usually only
used when they serve a storytelling
purpose but when first starting out feel
free to experiment and get creative okay
tip number seven j cuts and l cuts j
cuts and l cuts are used all the time in
tv shows and feature films and they're a
way of joining two clips together using
audio let me show you an example on my
timeline here i have a shot of a mother
and daughter playing peacefully on the
beach when all of a sudden we cut to a
very loud car now what you saw there was
a straight cut between these two clips
but now let's add a j cut this time i'm
going to extend and play clip 2's audio
over clip 1 before clip 2 has even come
on screen this means you hear what's
happening in clip 2 before you see it
like this
the opposite of this would be an l cut
this is when the audio from clip one
carries on to clip two for example
imagine there was a big explosion and
then the audio from that clip carried on
to the next clip
like this l cuts and j cuts are a great
technique to have in your editing
toolbox if you're not using them already
be sure to try okay tip number eight
templates and presets templates and
presets are like having a cheat code for
video editing rather than spend hours
days or weeks of your life building an
effect from scratch use a pre-made
template again some editing software
will come with templates others you
might need to pay for you can get
pre-built logos openers for your videos
lower thirds animated titles color
grading luts these are all customizable
they're going to save you a ton of time
and make your videos look much more
professional templates and presets are
nice and easy to work with usually just
drag and drop i will link some of my
favorites below number nine the jump cut
the jump cut is a great way of adding
more pace to your footage because it
cuts out all the boring visuals and
audio in your videos let me give you an
example let's say i wanted to show you
some of the products in this studio now
i could spend five minutes gathering all
of the products and putting them here on
the table but let's be honest it would
be a little bit boring to watch so
what's the solution the solution is jump
cuts
and just like that we now have all the
products on the table it took less than
five seconds and it was much more
interesting to watch okay let me give
you one more example this time with
audio now imagine you're shooting a
video sat talking to the camera just
like what i am now when all of a sudden
you take a moment to pause
[Music]
now this is going to be incredibly
boring for your audience to watch so
this time i'm going to remove the pause
in this audio and we now have this
when all of a sudden you take a moment
to pause now this is going to be
incredibly boring for your audience to
watch much better the jump cut a
sequential shot that makes it appear so
the action is leaping forward in time
okay tip number 10 shorten music now 99
of the time i'm not using the full track
usually tracks are about three or four
minutes in length and sometimes all i
need is a 60 second version for
instagram so knowing how to shorten a
song is a really important skill to have
as an editor and i'm not just talking
about shortening the track to 60 seconds
no no no i'm talking about creating a 60
second version of that track that ends
with the end of that track now there's
editing software out there that will do
this for you adobe premiere pro has
remix for example but you have to pay
for this and we don't all have the
budget so we're going to go old school
and do it manually okay now on my
timeline here i have a 60 second
sequence but a three minute track so i'm
going to cut the track towards the end
drag the first half of the track back
like this and then move the end of the
track so that it lines up with the end
of my sequence you can then zoom in and
look for beats in the track that line up
like these two here now when we play
this track back it now seamlessly
transitions into the end of the track
like this
[Music]
now the track that you choose will
obviously depend on how easy this is to
do some tracks will be easier than
others but the main takeaway here is to
try and end your sequence or video with
the end of the track now learning the
basics of video editing is pretty
straightforward but it can take years to
master so if you're looking to learn
more about video editing or sound design
then i highly recommend checking out
this video here i also have a ton more
content on this channel around
filmmaking and video production be sure
to check it out but that's it from me
thanks for watching and i will see you
in the next video
[Music]
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