Once of the things that helps pro video editors get so good is following a process that works
It is easy to get stuck or lost when creating a project, and a process helps prevent that
The 6 steps to editing videos are: gather your clips, organize your clips, create a rough draft, cut out the parts you don’t want, add layers, and finish the details. Following this process helps you create a video like a pro smoothly.
Often times, the first step is the hardest
You don’t have a vision yet so it is easy to feel lost and frustrated
The first thing you can do is look through the content you already have saved
If you are streaming regularly, you should already have content
If you have a clip that looks like it needs to stand alone…
Then you have already gathered your clips
If you have several amazing clips that are similar,
Then put them together as a montage
Sometimes the hardest part is to get start
What process of video editing should I follow?
Once you have a process, video editing gets a little easier
You will still have to learn and practice each step, but you won’t be lost on what to do next
My process for video editing is:
- Gather your clips
- Organize your clips in order
- Create a rough draft
- Cut out the parts you don’t want
- Add layers of text, sound, and/or popups
- Finish cleaning the details and finish it
If you are learning how to edit then I highly recommend starting at step one and just moving through the steps as you finish them
Don’t get too ahead of yourself with your first video
Gather your clips
The first thing you need to do is look at the clips you have and choose one or more to work with
Remember to make goal for the video
Will you be doing a walkthrough or a montage?
If you have a goal, then finding the content gets a little easier
Changing your goal when you see your content is okay too
Just make sure you have at least one clip that you want to work with
Choose how many based on the length of video that you need
Organize your clips in order
Once you have your clips, add them to your video editor
I like to use Filmora
Once they are uploaded, you can start putting them in the order
Just keep playing with it until you like the story that your video tells
Create a rough draft
Once you have the clips in order, cut out all the big empty spaces
There is likely parts of the clip that you choose the clip for and parts that you don’t want included
Take out the parts that you don’t want included now
Don’t get picky here
Just quickly cut off the big parts
Pro tip: save your project regularly so you don’t lose your work if a glitch happens
Cut out the parts you don’t want
Once you have the big parts cut out, now cut out the details that you don’t like
Watch through the video and start cleaning up the details
Don’t get stuck worrying about the details of one area, but try to have all the the cutting done on this step
Remember that done is better than perfect
Just do the best you can and use the amazing tools your editor has to offer
Add layers of text, sound, and/or popups
Once the video is fully editing, now it is time to add layers
Layers can be anything to add on top or under the video you have made so far
You can add text to emphasis something you said or you can add text wtih voiceover to narrate
This is when you add transitions too
The transitions make moving from one clip to another seamless
Play with it until you like the look
Have fun here but try to not overdo it
You don’t want to overwhelm the viewers!
Finish cleaning the details and finish it
You have finally done all the editing!
The last step is to watch it through one more time and change any time details that need it while you go
If possible, take at least 2 hours before starting this step to watch it with clear eyes
Once you have finished this final review…
Congratulations!
You have a completed video
What is the 321 rule in editing?
While you are editing videos and honing your skills, understanding the 321 rule could be valuable
The 321 rule prevents you from losing all your work if there is an accident
The 321 rule states to keep:
- Three copies of your work
- Two different places
- One in a physically separate place from the others
This prevents losing your work in there is a fire that destroyed your computer, or a hacker that destroys your files
I follow this rule with blogging too
I use Google drive to save it so I can access from any device
Then I keep it on my website
And I keep it on Asana
There has bee a few times where my website glitched and I lost a few blog articles
Those articles would have been gone if I only kept them on my website
That would have been 9 hours of work lost
Thankfully that wasn’t what happened for me
I was able to just go into my Google drive, copy the articles that I lost, and put them back on my website
It was like nothing happened at all!
I was also able to figure out what caused the glitch to prevent the issue in the future
If you have anything valuable, it is wise to create an insurance
In the online content world, that means making copies that are in separate places
That way you don’t fully depend on any platform
No one is perfect so we need to be ready if something happens