7 Things You Need To Start Editing Your Videos!

Whether it’s your own masterpiece that you just shot, a friend’s video, or a potential client, you need a few things before you can dive in and come up with an edited video/film that’s a treat to look at. 

At this point, you might be asking: Can’t I learn as I go? 

The answer is yes and no. 

Yes, you can learn as you go but no, you can’t just jump in blindly. You really do need a few things, two of which are: a fast machine and great video editing software. 

To some of you, that might seem like a no-brainer (if that’s the case, skip to 3), and I promise if you continue to read on, there’s some useful information for you down below. Let’s get to it!

1. A Fast Machine:

If you’re reading this, you probably own a laptop or a PC. But is it good enough to edit videos or even capable enough to handle an editing software? If you were to talk to one of Editing Machine’s editors (or any video editors) they’ll tell you that they need faster and better machines, and when provided with those, they’ll still tell you the same thing. 

You see, once you get into specs it’s a rabbit hole. What you actually need really depends on what sort of videos you’re looking to edit. Then you need to select an editing software that you want to go with. Whichever software you go with, they will have a spec sheet for minimum requirements to run their software. Look into that and get a machine that has a bit better specs than the minimum requirement set by the company. 

2. Video Editing Software:

Unlike the machine you’re going to choose, whichever software you select for editing videos is going to be the one that you’re going to use for a very long time. As you grow as an editor, you are going to keep updating your machine, but you will have your editing software as your constant. Which is a good thing because that means you’ll not only get better but faster as well. 

3. Learn To Edit:

The above two do not matter at all if you don’t know what you’re doing. At this point, you can find probably find dozens of complete tutorials for different video editing softwares on YouTube and believe it or not, even on Instagram and TikTok – to some extent at least. 

But that’s not all. Even if you’ve been doing it for some time, there’s a very real possibility that you still have room to grow. Like everything else in life, always keep learning! 

Tip:

While you’re learning, don’t just watch. Many tutorials provide project files in the description. Follow along, and repeat everything as the tutorial. Try and make it as similar as possible. When you’re done with that, try and play a bit, and make something of your own from the same files. You’ll learn a lot faster this way instead of watching and then trying it on own your own files, failing, and coming back to watch the tutorial again. 

4. Flow Of The Story:

If you were to ask any of our senior editors about their process, the first thing they’ll tell you is that they always edit for a story. I know this because I have personally asked them this question. 

You can make your video look cool, and that too is important, but it’s mere aesthetics. You have to provide value to the viewer, be it information or entertainment. Visual elements should be a part of your technique, not the center. The story always has to come first. Look for it in your videos, and stitch everything around it. 

5. Terminology:

If you’re even in a position where you need to communicate what you’re doing while working on a project, you should be aware of the proper terms to do it properly. So while you’re making efforts to learn to edit, learn the terminology to follow along more easily and for the sake of future-proofing as well. 

6. Color Correction:

While filming something, you run into a problem: Almost every shot looks different. Why? Well, the lighting keeps changing, there could be people with different color tones, and many other factors. 

So how do you fix that? 

You color correct everything while editing. 

Pick the color tones that you want for the video, and correct them in every shot to make the video look consistent. When you’re done with that, color grade your video to give it a film-like look. 

7. Subtitles & Captions:

There are a lot of situations where a viewer might need subtitles: 

• They could be hearing impaired.
• They could be in a crowded space where they might not want to turn up the volume.
• They might understand better with subtitles

And sometimes, you just need them for the sake of getting the viewer’s attention on something important.

Whatever the case may be, we now have plenty of data that videos with subtitles perform better than videos without subtitles. 

When you’re done with these, you’ll know how far you have come as a video editor!

Alternatively, if this seems a bit overwhelming, you can always get in touch with us! We’ll take care of you and we promise you’re going to love every video we edit for you.