Contents
Are you looking to boost your online traffic? Perhaps you’re putting together some family videos and images? Whatever your goals, technology these days has made video editing accessible to anyone. In fact, working with an online video editor like promo.com is both intuitive and fun, whilst giving you professional-looking outputs. They even have a free option so it’s worth checking them out.
How to Get Started before using your Online Video Editor
Before you even make a video, there are a few key things to think about, as detailed below:
- Choose your software
- Plan your video clips
- Apply 3 by 3 grid lines
- Composition and lighting
Choose your software
Before you even actually choose your online video editor, you need to consider if you’re making it for business or personal reasons. Then, the main question is how easy do you want your software platform to be. Having said that, you can look online at the different video editor interfaces and you’ll quickly get a gut feel for what feels right for you.
The main point to remember is that most video editor tools aimed at beginners are actually free. You can of course pay a monthly subscription to access more advanced features for when you create videos. Nevertheless, start simple and work your way up gradually as you get used to video editing.
Plan your video clips
If you’re doing video creation for business then you’ll want to think about what style is going to work for your viewers. On the flip side, if your goal for your free video is to make friends and family happy then you’re probably just having fun with a range of images and features. Either way, a good tip is to use stories. People love anything with characters or with images that evolve with time. This is especially true since social media has promoted their stories tools.
https://unsplash.com/photos/6ePuSf5Wago
Apply 3 by 3 grid lines
The great thing about working with a video maker is that those tools have a library of audio and video templates. You can, therefore, rest assured that your first video will look professionally made with the right lighting, composition, and contrast. Having said that, it’s also very easy to download your own video clips into any template and customize them accordingly.
Either way, it’s important to remember the 3 by 3 rule when you edit videos. Essentially, imagine a 9 box grid overlapping your frames and make sure that your subject matter is either along the grid lines or at the intersections. This technique has been proven over the centuries by artists across the world to create images that are appealing to the eye.
Composition and lighting
When you create videos, of course, you can easily edit any issues with your video editor. Nevertheless, the more you start with as good a quality as you can then the easier your editing job will be. So, for example, try to film your content in daylight as this will help you avoid too many shadows and unrealistic colors.
In terms of composition, we’ve already mentioned the 3 by 3 rule or the Rule of Thirds. Moreover, it’s good to avoid having too much negative space in your images. You should also keep an eye on colors, patterns, depth, and symmetry. Remember to keep things simple and pleasing to the eye before you even get working with your video editor.
Working with an Online Video Editor
Now that you’ve planned your video clips and that you know overall goals, here are the main steps for putting everything together:
- Create a project
- Choose templates and import your video clips
- Edit and add features
- Export and publish
Create a project
Once you have your video editor software, then you’ll need to create a project so that you can view your video clips in the interface. Most tools will then just need you to drag and drop your media files into position and ready for video editing.
Choose templates and import your video clips
Let’s not forget that you can leverage the large library of templates at your disposal. You could therefore alternatively just start with a video template, download your video clips into it and then bring that media file into your project. Whichever way you start, always go back to your plan and your goal and make sure that you’re not getting sidetracked.
Edit and add features
Now comes the fun part. Most beginner video editor tools come with a trim and crop tool. That means that you can both cut sections out of your video and also cut parts of each frame. For example, you might have an ugly pylon behind your main speaker that you hadn’t noticed. No problem because you can crop the frame with your video editor.
Another great aspect of any video editing tool is that they offer various features. These could be anything from stickers to GIFs or even things like extra borders. If you make a video for business then you’ll probably also want to use your editor to include your logo and tagline.
https://unsplash.com/photos/B4f_Kx5jvpg
Export and publish
Once you’re happy with your free video then you’ll just need to download it and publish it. Many video editor tools allow you to export straight to social media. Although, don’t forget to consider using your website and marketing contact list to also distribute your free video online.
Key Takeaways on using an Online Video Editor for Beginners
Video editing can be as easy or difficult as you want it to be. Most beginner tools are free and also offer templates for you to customize. You can still easily combine your own video clips but in that case, take care to think about your lighting and composition. If in doubt, go back to your original goal and what you want to get out of your online video. Keep it simple and remember your audience and you’ll have the perfect videos.
