Learning a new skill is always scary, but TikTok is a fun platform to learn and explore!
Creating content for TikTok as a streamer can take a little time when you are new, but it is simple
Most of the time comes from watching the video to make sure you are happy with it and learning how to use your editor in the beginning
The more you practice, the faster you get
The first thing you need when creating a gaming TikTok is the gaming clip you want to use. Add it to your editor and cut out anything you don’t want in the final video. Change the dimensions to make the video vertical, add transitions, and add text. Make sure you like it and that’s it!
It is very simple, but expect to spend time when you are learning
But the more you practice, the faster you will get
Since the videos you post on TikTok are 60 seconds or less, they take less time to edit than a longer video for YouTube
Give yourself grace while you learn
Everyone starts somewhere
Why TikTok is great for streamers and gamers
TikTok is one of the best platforms right now (2020-2022)
It has amazing organic potential, a great community, and a lot of people watching gaming content
Since most other platforms are copying TikTok as well, it has become a trendsetter
That means that repurposing your content is really easy
Just take the watermark off the videos you post, or post the original that you edited, on other platforms
Vertical videos are doing excellent on every platform right now, but TikTok started it
So TikTok is one step ahead of other platforms
TikTok also stated that half of their watch time is coming from gaming content
That is perfect for gamers and streamers!
It doesn’t matter what game you play or who you are trying to reach
They are probably on TikTok
Step by step to creating gaming content for TikTok
You are ready to start editing!
If you are completely new to editing and you don’t have software yet, check out this article on some of your options
To keep things simple, I broke my system into 9 steps
You can always add more, but this alone will give you nice TikToks at the end
The process is:
- Record your screen while playing
- Download content
- Open your video editor
- Add gaming clips and order them
- Cut out any unneeded video
- Change your horizontal video to a vertical video
- Add transitions
- Add layers
- Watch through and download
Don’t step any of these steps!
Even step 9 because it can seem like a waste of time
But trust me
Do step 9 too
Record your screen while playing
The first thing you need is content that you can edit and post
We use Outplayed by Overwolf to record our games
You should have that going every time you play
You never know when something is going to happen that you want to post
And you can come up with a TikTok idea after you already have them recorded and already have the gameplay to create that video
You don’t have to download every screen recording and every time you play, but you should have it recorded
It is better to not need it and have it than to need it and not have it!
You can set Outplayed to separately save specific clips too
This makes your work later WAY easier because a lot of time is spent looking through videos for the part you want in your TikTok
Set the automatic clips and set the trigger button
The trigger button saved 60 seconds before you push it
That way you can quickly save a clip that you want to use later without having to find it in a long recorded stream
Download content
Now that you have all your content recorded, now you need to choose one or more clips that you want to post on TikTok
Shoot for about 40 seconds of content
You can do that with one clip
Or you can do a montage of clips
Look in the top left corner of Outplayed and look for a folder icon
This should bring you to all your recorded content
When you find the clips that you want to use, look at the right side of the video and click on the three dots
A drop-down menu will appear
Select “download” from that menu
This will download the clip that you choose to your computer
That is what you need to add to your editor to create the video for TikTok!
Open your video editor
If you have already chosen and downloaded your video editor, this is a very simple step!
All you have to do is open your editor and create a new project
If you don’t have an editor yet, then you need to choose one before you can continue
If you want to look at some great options, check out my post on 9 different editor options
Add gaming clips and order them
Once you have a new project open, now you need to upload the clips that you downloaded before
I use Filmora so it may look different if you use a different editor
But it should be similar
Click the “Drop your video clips, images, or audio here” and select the clips that you have in your download folder
Once they are all uploaded, start dragging them to the second line of the editor portion
This is when you are going to put them in order
When you add the video, it will ask you if you want to keep the resolution the same or change it
Just keep the original video specs
Once you have added all the clips in the order you want them, it is time to move on to the next step
Cut out any unneeded video
Once you have all your clips in order, now it is time to start cutting away the parts that you don’t want in the final video
TikTok is a fast-moving platform
So don’t keep any dead time until you master keeping your viewer’s attention and building anticipation
To cut some time out, pause the video at the moment you want to cut
If it is at the beginning of the video, pause the video at the end of the clip that you want to be cut
If it is at the end of the video, pause at the beginning of the clip that you want to cut
You will need to pause at the beginning and end of the clip that you want to cut
Once you have the video paused, click the scissors icon
This appears twice in Filmora
One is the large orange button and the other is with all the other icons
Once you have the clip that you want to cut separate from the rest, select it, right-click, and select delete
You can also select the clip and press delete on your keyboard
Keep doing this until the only clips left are the ones you want in your final video
Don’t get too stuck here with the details
Do the best you can, but don’t let yourself spend too much time here
Change your horizontal video to a vertical video
Once you have the base video cut and cleaned, I like to change the dimensions next
Right now you have a horizontal video and those do not do well on TikTok
They can, but it is way better to just make your video vertical
In Filmora, there is an icon that looks like a computer
Select that and select changing video ratio
Change the video dimensions to 1080px by 1920px
Then you need to zoom the video so it fits in the new shape instead of having the black space above and below your video
To learn more about this, check out my article on changing the dimensions of your video
Add transitions
Now that you have the core video done, you need to start making look nicer and more engaging
If you did any cutting, transitions can be very helpful for making your clips flow together better
To add transitions, go to the transitions tap on your editor
There will be different options depending on what you use
Since I use Filmora, these are the options I have
I can click one to get a preview of what it looks like
Once you find one that you like, drag it between the two clips that you want to blend together
The transition is automatically pretty long, but you can shorten it when your mouse changes at either end of the white rectangle
Be careful not to overdo transitions
It is easy to do
Sometimes crazy is fun
But sometimes simple is best
Add layers
Now you have your main video done and you have it working together
Now add text and pop-ups to make your video more interesting and engaging
Assume that most people will watch your video with the sound off
Add captions if needed or anything else that replaces the value that the sound offers
It’s ok if it looks a little comic book-like with “BAM” or BOOM” appearing briefly on the screen
Just add layers until someone without the sound on will enjoy it as much as someone with the sound on would
To add these layers, you can choose the “Titles” tab or the “Elements” tab
They do different things
Play around with what you have available and add layers until you are happy with how it looks
Watch through and download
You are almost done!
Now you have added everything you want to your video
Time to watch it all the way through to make sure there are no missed details
Don’t get too crazy or stuck on perfect, but doing a final check is always helpful
It is even better if you can do this check a few hours after you finish the other steps
This gives you fresh eyes to do your final check
Congratulations!
You have a video ready for TikTok!