How to Edit Videos: A Guide for Beginners

Video editing can be tricky at first, but it isn’t so bad once you get the hang of it. This guide will teach you how to edit videos.

To say that video marketing is essential for business success is an understatement. 74 percent of consumers who watch a video about a product or service subsequently buy it. And 83% of businesses see a great return when they invest in video production.

But despite the clear usefulness of video, so many people don’t use it. This is likely due to the fact that will filming videos is easy, editing videos can seem daunting to a beginner.

The good news is that editing isn’t as hard as it looks. Here is your guide on how to edit videos.

1. Get A Video Editing Software

For quality professional edits, you will need good video editing software. This is important for uploading all of your clips and trimming them together in an organized way. 

Adobe Creative Cloud has several different applications that can help in creating high-quality videos. Along with the popular Adobe Premiere editing software, there are also free services like Adobe’s video cropper that allow you to crop your video and adjust the aspect ratio to fit your needs. Click to learn more about how to crop video online.

2. Prepare Clips To Edit

You begin the editing process by taking videos you’ve filmed and uploading them into your video editing software. Most editing programs allow you to drag and drop the files into the software.

3. Sequence And Trim Your Clips

With your video clips now uploaded, you can start moving them around on your software’s timeline in the proper order you want them to play in. Make sure that your clips follow a story format and play in an order that would naturally follow and hold a viewer’s interest.

You can also use the Cut tool to shorten clips or remove unwanted sections from clips.

4. Experiment With Effects

You don’t want your video to look flat, dull, or generic. You can avoid this by playing with the some effects to really make your videos stand out and look lively and professional.

This includes adjusting exposure, white balance, temperature, saturation, and contrast. You can also boost the quality of your video with fitting transitions so it doesn’t randomly jump from clip to clip. Don’t overdo it though, as going overboard with transitions and effects can look unnatural and/or become distracting.

5. Export And Upload Your Videos

Once you have followed all these video editing tips until you’re happy with the look and flow of your video, it’s time to export it. If you are using Adobe Premiere, you can do this by clicking File, Export, and Media.

It’s worth noting here that different players require different video file formats. Chances are you are going to use a popular site such as YouTube, in which case your best options are the .MP4 and H.265 formats. You’ll also want to export your video in 1080p HD (high definition) or 4K for the best visual quality possible.

How To Edit Videos

These easy-to-follow tips on how to edit videos will make the seemingly complicated process a breeze. Follow these tips, make great videos, and have fun with the creative process.

To learn more about video production and marketing, visit our How To section.