When we edit our videos, we want them to look good!
While there is no perfect formula for going viral, there are ways to make your gaming clips good better before posting them on social media
- Adjust the ratio according to the needs of the platform
- Cut out anything that doesn’t match the value
- Add a voiceover story
- Add text to the screen for the captions
- Adjust the sound up or down
- Add transitions
- Add Broll
- Add copyright-free sounds
- Make sure that your camera is visible
These are ways to improve a video that already has the hook, value, and CTA
If you want to know more about those, read this article
Adjust the ratio according to the needs of the platform
There are different recommended ratios for different kinds of videos
If you want to post on YouTube, 1920px by 1080px is great
That is the default for most editing software
If you want to post on YouTube shorts or TikTok, horizontal videos will not look good
Viewers can tell that the video doesn’t belong and will see you as an amateur
The ratio for vertical videos is 1080ps by 1920px
It is the opposite of horizontal videos!
Those are the main two sizes that you will need for videos
If you go too large or too small, you risk getting a stretched or a blurry video
Cut out anything that doesn’t match the value
Every video needs to have some kind of value
Value can mean a lot of different things
It could mean:
- Entertainment
- Relatability
- Tips and tricks
- Tutorials
- Character profiles
- Shocking moments
- Pro moments
- Walkthroughs
- And more
Value doesn’t have to be teaching
It is just the reason someone should watch your video
Figure out what value you want to offer with your video and only keep that value
Don’t try to jump between a bunch of different types of value
And don’t try to put everything into a single video unless you are just posting the entire stream
Add a voiceover story
If you don’t have any specific moments from your stream that you want to share, you can always just show random playing and add voiceover
People enjoy stories, and streamers have a lot of those!
You can even tell a story that a different video showed
Just take some normal gameplay and add your voice over the top
I also encourage you to use large captions if you want to do a voiceover video
People will see your gameplay in the back, but it isn’t the main purpose of the video
The focus should be on what you are telling your audience
Add text to the screen for the captions
Even if you don’t do a voiceover story, you should still add text to your videos
Most people on YouTube listen with their sound on, but it is always good to have captions
Hearing people usually prefer it and you can reach the deaf community too
Most people on TikTok look at their FYP with their sound off
So having captions is particularly important if you post on TikTok!
You don’t have to add captions for everything that is said but add the text on the screen for anything that you want your audience to hear
Adjust the sound up or down
There may be parts of your video that get really quiet or really loud
If that happens to you, separate the clip with your scissors where the sound isn’t right and separate the end of the clip where the sound is good again
Then you can raise or lower the volume of that one part by itself
That takes away the sudden decrease in sound or a sudden blast of sound that most viewers don’t appreciate
Since you separated the clip from the rest, you can adjust it without affecting the rest of the video
Add transitions
Another simple way to make your videos look better is by adding transitions between clips
If you cut out anything or add more than one clip together, transitions can make it look like the clips go together better
Transitions vary from blurring out of one clip and into another clip
Or they can be intense like a clip exploding to show a different clip under it
Transitions make your final video a lot nicer and smoother
Add Broll
Broll is a way to add another layer of storytelling to your videos
Be careful though because it is easy to overdo it
Broll is when you take a clip from pop culture or shows and add it for a few seconds
How long the Broll should be and where depends on a lot of things
The best way to learn this is by having fun and testing things out
Add copyright-free sounds
You can also add sounds behind your videos
If you pay attention to movies and shows, they use sounds to change the feeling of the movie
They can make you feel on edge by playing a spooky song, or they can create buildup with music that builds up
You have that option too
Just be patient because it takes time to get good at manipulating emotions with sounds
Try a variety of songs, sounds, and sound effects and see how they add to your video
The important thing to remember is that you should not overdo it
Have you ever watched a show that had an audience laughing in the background and it just made the scene gross?
It wasn’t funny but they tried to make it funny with a background sound
Don’t overdo it, but you still have to test things out to find out what overdoing it means for your audience
Make sure that your camera is visible
A great way to connect to your audience is by showing your face or hands while you play
Most streamers always have this setup, but I see a lot of TikTok videos that edit that out
Make sure you still have a personal connection in your videos
That is why video is so powerful
Because people can connect to over people on a human level even if they never meet in person