7 Tips To Improve Your Video Editing Skills

With the increasing popularity of videos on the internet, video editors seek ways to be at the top. And by all means, video editors are constantly working on their video editing skills to grab viewers' attention. Video editors are needed for several purposes, and as a video editor, you can work as a trainer, freelancer, or in-house editor.

But whether you are using a video for personal branding or official purposes, it is great to have videos that are both visually appealing and informative. And to achieve this, a good mix of creativity and technical knowledge is required. In this article, we've compiled seven tips to help you improve your video editing skills.

Choosing the right software

Your videos could be better if you worked with the right software. However, newly updated versions of this software are released regularly, and as such, you have to look out for them. In choosing the right software, consider its usability, digital interface, and features.

Some of these tools come with free video editing tools but are not as robust as the paid versions. Here are some of the most popular video editing tools you can try your hands on: After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve.

Be Organized

To improve your video editing skills, you need to understand the essence of an organization. For every video editing task you have, you should always prepare your equipment beforehand. These pieces of equipment include your workspace, memory cards, camera, headphones, and laptop. However, apart from organizing your video editing equipment, your footage needs to be organized as well.

After shooting, you can easily access the clips you need if you save them in different folders and label them with the scenes.  Saving your clips in this organized way would not only make it easier for you to identify the scenes that you need to work on, but it will also shorten the time that you spend sorting out clips and footage. 

You could also use a video script when shooting and editing your videos. A video script is a series of sequences that you want your video to follow, and using one would give you a sense of direction on how your editing should be.

Enhance Your Storytelling Skill

Primarily, video production has always been about storytelling, and storytelling is an essential feature in video editing that helps people easily remember what the main point of your video is about. 

Note that a video with a compelling story would have a lasting effect on viewers, so, when editing, remember that your clips would form a story that will capture your viewers' interests. And one of the features that endear viewers to videos is the simplicity which the videos use to convey information. 

On that note, video editing becomes unique with storytelling, and as a video editor trying to improve, you would need to enhance your storytelling skill. To do that, there are a few features you will have to work with.

These features include lighting, motion, colour grading, music, and video pace. Paying attention to these features when editing your videos will add a unique touch to keep your viewers engaged. 

Learn The Shortcuts 

While using a mouse to edit is commendable, you must master your software and learn all the keyboard shortcuts. Learning the shortcuts would make certain repetitive functions like zooming, trimming, inserting, and playing footage quicker and easier for you.

You could start by trying out the more basic keyboard shortcuts before moving on to more complicated functions. Some of the primary functions include Alt+E, which would open up your edit menu; Alt+V would open your view menu; K would pause your video, Z would zoom in and Shift+Z would zoom out. 

Transcribe Your Videos

Video transcription improves SEO, provides a better user experience for viewers, and allows hearing-impaired viewers to enjoy your videos as well.

There are two kinds of video transcription: computer transcription and human transcription. Computer or automatic transcription is generated by computers and is usually 85% correct. Computer transcriptions are fast, and the results are presented to you almost immediately. 

Human transcription, on the other hand, is done by human transcriptionists and is usually 99% accurate. Although they are correct, human transcriptionists need some time to provide results for you. 

Although not all your videos would need transcription, you would need to understand their pros and cons and choose one that would be well suited for your video transcriptions when the need arises. 

Use the Required Effects and Sounds

Apart from storytelling, other features that capture your viewers' interest are the effects and sounds you use. But there is a line between a well-edited video and one with too much effect. 

Although you might want to display your creativity by using the various options of sounds and effects available, you must bear in mind that overusing effects and sounds may be a turnoff for your audience. So, as a video editor, make sure to use just the right amount of sounds and effects when editing your videos. 

Stabilize the Video Footage 

Poor video quality and shaky scenes can ruin your entire work after you finish editing, and to avoid this, you should never forget to stabilize your footage. Footage stabilization helps you reduce unnecessary blurs and jittery movements that happen during the shoot. Not only is this a tip to improve your video editing skills, but it is also a feature that will enable viewers to get the best experience from watching your videos. 

There are several plugins and tools that you can use to stabilize your video footage, and some of them are; VideoProc and Arcsoft Video Stabiliser.

Conclusion 

Although you may not have high-end video editing equipment, constant practice is one way to improve your video editing skills. The more you practice and implement the seven tips listed in this article, the better you become at video editing. 

It does not matter if you are a newbie or a pro in video editing; these tips, as well as this course, will make you a better video editor.