Shortly after shooting your video, the next step is video editing. This is a crucial step and one that determines how your final videos will look like. It is at this step that you turn a mediocre video into something truly amazing. That said, let’s have a look at some video editing techniques that will make your work easier.
Best practices and editing techniques
Choose the right software
You need a good software to edit your videos. Fortunately, there are plenty of excellent software today you can be on. Below are some of the popular editing software you can try:
- Adobe Premiere: This is the most common editing software among YouTubers. It is powerful to carry out all the editing activities seamlessly. Besides, it has the best editing features.
- iMovie: This is built-in software that comes with every mac. It is easy to use and has excellent features.
- Find Cut Pro: Professionals in the TV and movie industry use it. At first, you are likely to find it challenging to use it compared to iMovie and Adobe Premiere. But once you master everything about it, you will definitely love it.
- Camtasia: This is ideal for screencast videos.
Read our 7 Best YouTube Vlog Video Editors
Color correction
Doing some color correction on your videos is very crucial, as this helps make your video more appealing. For example, if your video is dull even after proper lighting, color correction can brighten up the video and make it more attractive.
On-screen graphics
Want to keep your viewers watching? Then consider using graphics in your YouTube videos to help them follow along and stay entertained. See these two [* *] videos for more information.
B-Rolls
A B-roll is an alternative piece of footage that intercuts the main video. So, why is it crucial?
- Because it mixes things up – For example, instead of having a static video with a single subject, you can use B-roll to show something completely different. Doing this helps in audience retention.
- You can use it to hide mistakes – For example, if you look weird during a take, but the audio is excellent, you can use a B-roll to hide the mistake.
- They educate – Where you find it challenging to explain and show something at the same time, a B-roll comes in handy. It allows you to explain and show at the same time.
See this example to understand how a B-roll works.
Angle changes
The other trick is adjusting your camera angle. Adjusting your camera angle helps you avoid boring and static shots. While adjusting your camera angle results to some fantastic outcomes, you don’t need to keep on shifting your angle back and forth when filming. Even subtle modifications can make your videos more dynamic. Here is a good example that uses subtle zooms to avoid a single static shot.
Cut out “dead air.”
Dead air is a period or section of your video where nothing is going on. Now considering most viewers are impatient, if your videos have a lot of dead air, it will be challenging to keep your viewers watching your video.
Add music
Ever taken some time to think why most YouTube videos use music? YouTubers don’t just add music by mistake. They do so to add energy and life to their video footage. You can also add music to your footage to make them more attractive.
With that in mind, here are a few tips you find very helpful when adding music to your videos during the editing process.
- Use loops: In cases, you don’t want to use an actual song in your video (with a beginning, chorus, hook, etc.). Instead, loop a 30-60 second track throughout your video.
- Make it quite: While you work on adding music to your videos, it is crucial to make sure that music does not overpower your voice. In other words, do everything possible to make sure your viewers barely notice your music.
- Choose a mood: Different songs impact our emotions differently. For example, when low, there are specific songs you can listen to bring your good mood back. Now depending on the nature of your video, add a song that will evoke the right emotions.
Note that it is not a must, to add music to your videos. For example, Crazy Russian Hacker, one of the most popular YouTube channels, rarely uses music.
Collaborating and getting feedback
Collaborating software like Wipster and Frame.io. make your work easier. Using these tools makes it easier for multiple people to view your draft and leave comments, and so on. So, instead of using the old-fashioned way of sending email and Dropbox links, consider using these collaboration tools.
Export setting for YouTube
YouTube has recommended ways of uploading videos. Following those recommendations is very crucial. The good news is, most editing programs have built-in YouTube export settings. So, no need to worry or memorizing the upload process.
One thing to remember before you upload is to make sure your video is HD (720p or 1080p) with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Once you make sure your videos have these two things, they will look great on YouTube.