Best Video Editing Software: Master the Art of Editing All Types of Videos
5 July 2023 Senior Product Manager
Summary
This comprehensive article is your key to mastering video editing. From software selection to essential techniques, it offers detailed guidance for beginners.
Whether in movies, documentaries, commercials, TV series or homemade videos, video editing is one of the most important jobs in film and television production. Learning video editing can bring you different fun, and maybe it may also come in handy in some jobs. Learning video editing does not require any entry threshold, as long as you have mastered certain editing skills, you can become a master of editing with more practice. The following will introduce some editing skills to help you get started correctly and become proficient in various editing tools, so that you can finally complete an excellent film by yourself.
1. What type of video do you make?
Before starting to make a video, you need to confirm the video type. Do you want to make a short video or a movie longer than 20 minutes, a game video or a vlog short film? Identifying the type of video you want to make can help you narrow down your search for video editing software, giving you an idea of which editing tool you’ll need before you start editing.
2. Computer requirements
Before you start filming, consider the desired effect and the actual capabilities of your video production equipment. If you shoot video in 4K, you will get high-quality material, but its resolution will bring great challenges to editing hardware. If you don’t have a professional computer, the editing process can be difficult and crashes may occur.
If you’re just making a simple video (such as cutting the video, adding music, adding subtitles, etc.), you don’t need a computer with high-end components to do it. As a beginner, editing video using a consumer-grade Windows or Mac computer will suffice until you become proficient in various video editing techniques. If professional video editors are working on demanding projects, hardware configurations such as CPU or RAM memory need to be considered when purchasing a computer.
3. Manage video material in an orderly manner
If you’re making a movie, you’ll need to shoot or prepare a lot of video footage before editing it. If the video material is not renamed and classified, it will be very troublesome when editing. So, before editing begins, go through your footage one by one and label the files properly to reflect the scene and what you shot, then put them in their own folders by theme so you can find them quickly. For increased productivity, consider using an external hard drive to store footage, which frees up more computer memory. It is recommended that you choose a hard drive that can be connected via USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt for faster file transfers.
4. The story of the video
Regarding the storytelling of the video, you should have a good understanding of the development of the story when shooting the video. During filming, you just follow the storyline. In post-editing, your editing focus should be to tell your own unique story, and sometimes you need to break through some conventional standards and basic knowledge to make your work more creative. A good video is aesthetically pleasing and compelling, evoking emotions and effectively conveying your desired message. Don’t just go for cool special effects when making videos, because these won’t really impress your audience. A good video will have a concrete video emotional arc, some parts will make people emotional, and some parts will make people silent.
Also, if you’re making an online video, we recommend keeping your content short and to the point. Longer isn’t always better, and a two- to three-minute video is ideal.
Before video editing, you need to download a suitable video editing software for you. If you’re new to video editing, advanced video editing features are often not available until you start editing, so you don’t have to download professional-grade video editing software to begin with. The entry-level products can choose Renee Video Editor Pro and iMovie software, which respectively support different system operating platforms. In addition, professional-level products can choose video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Corel VideoStudio and Final Cut Pro X.
For beginners in video editing, they will be hesitant in the choice of editing software and will have no choice. If you are using a Windows computer, it is recommended that you download Renee Video Editor Pro. This software is very suitable for novice users, with a simple interface and complete functions to help you quickly edit videos. As an all-round video editing software, Renee Video Editor Pro has multiple editing functions such as video cutting, cropping, background music, and subtitles.
The main functions of the software are:
● Screen recording function, which can record any content on any computer screen or camera.
● Video editing function, edit any video material into a smooth and interesting video through this software.
● Format conversion function, which can convert most video and audio formats.
● Audio editing function.
Renee Video Editor Pro – Multi-function Video Editing Software
Screen RecordingRecord screen and webcam in Windows computer.
Cut Videos & AudiosUsers are free to cut videos and audios clips with setting start and end time.
Multiple Edit ToolsMerge, crop, rotate, cut and transform video easily. Change and add background music, subtitles and remove watermark from video.
Format ConversionSupport to convert videos and audios into different formats.
Screen Recording Record screen and webcam in Windows computer.
Multiple Edit ToolsCut Videos & Audios Users are free to cut videos and audios clips with setting start and end time.
Multiple Edit ToolsMerge, crop, rotate, cut and transform video easily. Change and add background music, subtitles and remove watermark from video.
Format ConversionSupport to convert videos and audios into different formats.
iMovie is a consumer-level video/movie production software launched by Apple to the public in 1999. Like other software or products developed by Apple lnc., it is only available for Mac computers and iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) and other Mac products. iMovie is a basic video editing software designed for non-professional users. The software can capture uncompressed video from most digital video cameras and import it to a Mac computer. The software interface is simple, and you can quickly edit the video, add titles, special effects, music, subtitles and other editing operations. In addition, the software supports video editing in 4K resolution.
The main functions of the software are:
● Provide a variety of trailer templates to quickly create interesting trailers.
● Add video effects and filters.
● Add titles and subtitles.
● Green screen effect.
● Dubbing and accompaniment operation, built-in music, sound effects and voice-over recording functions.
● Audio editing function.
When you’re new to video editing, it can be overwhelming and you don’t know where to start. Video editing is a job that practice makes perfect. After mastering the basic skills, you can gradually get started and get some new inspirations through multiple exercises. Novices can choose primary video editing tools for practice. The following video technique operation steps are introduced using Renee Video Editor Pro as an example.
When making a video, we need to combine multiple video clips into a complete video by cutting and merging. Among them, the processing of the story timeline is crucial for making engaging videos. Every video should have a clear storyline and timeline where you can edit the video by narrating, interspersing, backwards, etc. Before starting video editing, you need to have a preliminary plan for the length of the video, and the length of each video segment should be reasonably calculated. If you find that the video is too long, you need to cut it to shorten the time. In addition, there is a need to tighten the scene and reduce unnecessary dialogue intervals.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① First, you need to download and install Renee Video Editor Pro to your computer. Open the software and click to enter “Video Editing Tools”.
② Click “Add File” to import the video file.
③ Click “Cut”. You can move the slider to determine the start time and end time of the video to cut the video. In addition, you can also adjust the video playback speed and adjust the double speed.
④ Click “OK” to return to the main editing interface. After selecting the video output format and output location, click “Start” to save it to the computer.
Most of the current high-definition video aspect ratio standards are 16:9. If you play 4:3 or other video formats on a 16:9 screen, black bars will appear. When collecting video materials, sometimes you may encounter a video that is not in 16:9 format, and you can remove the black borders before using the video.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee Video Editor Pro, select “Video Editing Tools”.
② Click “Add File” on the software interface to import the video you need to remove the black border.
③ Click “Rotate and Crop” at the top of the software. Enter the cropping interface, drag the cropping frame around the video, cut off the black border of the video, and click “OK”. You can then continue editing the video or save it to your computer.
In the process of video editing, when you want to highlight a certain subject or picture, you can use partial cropping; or you can use the cropping tool to cut out unnecessary pictures and keep only the desired picture content.
The operation steps of trimming the video screen are as follows:
① Open Renee Video Editor Pro, select “Video Editing Tools”.
② Click “Add File” on the software interface to import video files.
③ Click “Rotate and Crop”, you can drag the crop frame to crop, and the content outside the selection frame will be deleted. Finally, click “OK”.
In addition, you can also capture only part of the screen and zoom in or out. Zoom effects are also available during video transitions.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After adding video files, select the “Special Effects” function, and then click “Add Zoom Effect”.
② Drag the border to select the range of partial zoom-in, and then drag the slider to specify the partial video zoom-in of a certain time period, or set it in the start and end time columns.
③ After zooming and editing the video, click “OK”. Back to the editing main interface, you can continue editing or save and export the video file.
We all know that a complete video is composed of multiple video clips. Then the connection between videos should naturally not be too blunt. In order to make each segment connect smoothly, it is necessary to use the “transition” technique.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the software and click “Video Editing Tools”.
② Click “Add Files”, import the video files to be merged, and then check “Merge all files into one”.
③ If you want to add a transition effect in the middle of the merged video, you can press the “Transition” button on the right. This software has nearly a hundred kinds of transition effects to choose from, and you can also set the duration of transition effects.
④ After confirming the transition effect, you can click the “Start” button to merge the videos and save them to your computer.
When making a video, you can’t just focus on the visual effects, the relationship between music and visuals should be complementary. We often need to use music to heighten the atmosphere and enhance the appeal of the storyline. Appropriate background music can effectively arouse the emotions of the audience. For example, in a video clip with a comedy plot, it is necessary to choose joyful music. When the video is combined with the music, you can turn up or down the music volume when appropriate. In addition, you should also note that it is best to download music from copyright-free music websites, which is the safest way.
1. Download suitable background music
To find suitable background music, you can download it from major music websites. You need to match the theme and plot of the video with the choice of background music. There are many music websites, here are a few commercially available and copyright-free music websites.
● Jamendo
Website link: https://www.jamendo.com/
Jamendo is an online lossless music website, currently has more than 300,000 music, all music provides completely free streaming download.
● SoundSnap
Website link: https://www.soundsnap.com/
SoundSnap is a high-quality audio resource website with very good sound quality. If you want to add some special effects and sounds to the video to make the content of the picture more real and rich, then you can try and download it on the website.
● Freeplay Music
Website link: https://freeplaymusic.com/
What makes Freeplay Music different from other music websites is that it categorizes various music and sounds in a scene-based manner. It can help users quickly find the type of music they want. After registering and logging in on the website, you can obtain lossless music download resources, but only for personal use. If you need to upload to YouTube or commercial use, you need to pay.
2. Add and edit background music
After downloading the selected background music to the computer, you need to cut the background music, or reduce/enhance the volume of some video clips according to the video content.
How to add background music:
① Open the software, click “Video Editing Tools” > “Add Files”.
② After adding the video file, click “Music” at the top, and select “Add Audio to Video” under the video.
③ Cut the music duration and click “OK”.
④ Adjust the start and end time of the music in the video, click “OK” after the adjustment is completed.
Ways to lower/boost music:
① After adding background music, drag the slider to select the video segment to add background music to (same as the music adding steps above).
② Drag the slider left and right to adjust the music volume and the original video volume, so that you can lower the volume of some video clips or increase the volume of background music.
④ After editing the music, click “OK”. You can continue other editing operations, or return to the main interface and click “Start” to save the video to your computer.
Renee Video Editor Pro – Multi-function Video Editing Software
Screen RecordingRecord screen and webcam in Windows computer.
Cut Videos & AudiosUsers are free to cut videos and audios clips with setting start and end time.
Multiple Edit ToolsMerge, crop, rotate, cut and transform video easily. Change and add background music, subtitles and remove watermark from video.
Format ConversionSupport to convert videos and audios into different formats.
Screen Recording Record screen and webcam in Windows computer.
Multiple Edit ToolsCut Videos & Audios Users are free to cut videos and audios clips with setting start and end time.
Multiple Edit ToolsMerge, crop, rotate, cut and transform video easily. Change and add background music, subtitles and remove watermark from video.
Format ConversionSupport to convert videos and audios into different formats.
When editing a video, a “Video Opening” is usually added at the beginning of the video to kick off the curtain. The common forms are text, picture or video, and you can choose one or more forms of expression. In the content in the middle of the video, you can add some narration, subtitles, annotations, etc., so that the audience can better understand the video content. With the help of subtitles, the dimension and interest of the video can be further enhanced.
1. Add subtitles with special effects
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After adding video files, click “Watermark” on the top. In the options below, you can choose “Add Text Watermark”, “Add Image Watermark”, “Add Video Watermark”, “Add Graphic Watermark”.
② You can add different types of watermarks at the same time. Take the text watermark as an example. After clicking the “Edit button”, select the font, size, color, transparency, background color, animation effect, and start and duration of the text.
③ After the setting is complete, you can directly drag the watermark to move it to a suitable position.
④ After adding subtitles, click “OK”. You can continue other editing operations, or return to the main interface and click “Start” to save the video to your computer.
tipsUnder the “Watermark” function, you can add a personal logo or signature to the video to prevent the video from being directly stolen.
2. Add normal subtitles
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After adding the video, click “Subtitle” in the upper menu bar. Then click “+”.
② Select “Create Subtitle File” in the drop-down menu, and then enter the “File Name” in the pop-up window, and click “Save”.
③ In the subtitle editing window, edit “Subtitle start and end time” and “Subtitle content”.
④ After creating and editing subtitles, click “Font” to set the subtitle font style.
⑤ Finally, to adjust the subtitle position, you can click to select “Top”, “Middle”, and “Bottom”; you can also directly drag the subtitle to adjust the position.
⑥ After adding subtitles, click “OK”. You can continue other editing operations, or return to the main interface and click “Start” to save the video to your computer.
There are many different video editing software options, but Renee Video Editor Pro is one of the most powerful free video editing software. This article only introduces some of its functions, you can download the software and try editing videos by yourself.
Video editing is a technology that takes years to master. In the early learning, you can first understand all the operations and techniques of video editing. In addition to the editing skills mentioned above, you also need to learn some new knowledge by yourself, such as learning from some video sites teaching video editing or YouTube. After you have mastered various skills, you will find that there are many different combinations/narration methods of videos, and you will know how to attract the audience’s attention under different themes.
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