by When you start your first YouTube channel, you might be stuck with even the very basics. Whether you want to make a gaming walkthrough or a montage video, it isn’t necessarily as easy as video editors make it look. In this guide, we explore how to edit videos for YouTube and the top tips for making your life easier when it comes to editing.
How to Edit Videos For YouTube: Our Top Tips
Many people are looking for YouTube hacks to help them get ahead and gain popularity, and the best way to get the attention in the beginning is to master YouTube editing apps and ensure you’re putting out high-quality videos.
1. Collect and Organize Your Footage
The first step is to collect and organize all the footage you have and may wish to use. Whether it’s shot on a starter camera or an amazing, industry-standard film camera, it’s possible to get quality HD footage from a variety of sources these days. If you’re marketing a brand on YouTube, make sure you’re only using the very best footage.
Create a folder, or a media “bin” within your YouTube video editor that allows you to collect and organize all the footage you may wish to use. When it’s time to edit and combine your footage, this will make all the difference and make life easier for you.
2. Trim Away Unnecessary Clips
Once you’ve collected everything, it’s time to get rid of anything you don’t want to use. Trimming away footage you’ve decided isn’t going to make the cut is the next step. It also makes it a lot easier to make the edits. If you’re working with hours of footage then your job will be a lot harder when it comes to choosing what makes the final video.
3. Don’t Neglect Sound
One of the telltale signs of an unprofessional video is when it has poor sound quality. There are many places to add stock audio and music, and even within YouTube editing apps there may be sound effects and other audio settings. Think carefully about the sound, ensure that it’s clear and even (no quiet sections and loud sections) and that it sounds professional before you upload it.
4. Keep Footage Varied
People who come to YouTube are usually looking for short and impactful videos, they don’t want to wait hours for you to get to the point, and they can quickly lose attention. One of the ways to increase YouTube views and ensure people are sticking with your channel is to keep footage varied. Use different camera angles, add titles and effects, and ensure there is new visual stimulus.
As well as using footage from your camera, you can also grab footage from a screen recorder, use stock footage, or even add images and clips from your phone to keep things interesting. Keeping your footage high quality should be on a YouTube beginners checklist, so make sure there is a level of quality control.
Choosing The Right Software
Choosing the right YouTube video editor is crucial to ensuring you have a painless experience when editing. Movavi Video Editor is software that works on either Mac or Windows, and has an intuitive layout and plenty of effects.
Open Shot is another option, that’s great for beginners since it’s free and open source, and lets you make basic edits to your video with ease. WeVideo is another app you can use to good effect. It’s available on the App Store and Google Play Store and comes with a lot of inbuilt stock footage you can use to create great videos.
Wrap Up
Video editing is something anyone can do with the right software and a bit of practice and knowledge. Our tips will help you to create professional and eye-catching YouTube videos for your channel and to grow views. Your channel might even be the next big thing.
