8 professional video editing tips and techniques

If you want your video work to look professional then video editing is a basic skill you need to have. Without it, your content will lack quality and substance. Any good editor has an eye for detail and uses the following guidelines to edit videos like a pro. 

Figure Out Your Story 

Your video content has a purpose. Videos are made to tell a story and this is why you must plan it beforehand. This is crucial even before you start vlogging or video shooting as you need to tell your story in the best way. 

Here are a few things to plan that will make a considerable difference to your video editing:

• Transitions
• Color scheme
• Sound effects
• Musical cues
• Titles and fonts

Organize Your Imported Media 

Organization is key when it comes to professional video editing. You need to organize and manage your media so you can easily find it when you need it.  

Organize all the different elements of your video and figure out how you will use them during your editing phase. Even during shoots, keep a note of shots that are great. This way you will know you have to use them later on. 

When you import all your media organize them into different categories. This can be done by location, scene, or whatever that suits you best. It will save you a huge amount of time during editing.

Choose Your Video Editing Software Wisely

This is perhaps the most important thing once your video has been shot. It will affect your entire video editing process. That’s why it is important to know what software is the best choice for what you want to achieve. 

If you want your videos to look extremely professional then you need to have the right tools at your disposal. There are many video editing software out there but most of them only offer basic tools. 

If you want professional results then you will have to invest in a professional level editor as well. Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the leading editors when it comes to video.

Do A Rough Edit 

Compile your video first and do a rough edit of it to see how it may look. You can use the function of storyboards to do rough cuts and edits. This will tell you what you need to work on so you can make your final edits and transitions. After that, move on to your final video editing phase. 

Trimming And Transitioning 

Once your rough edit is in place it is time to trim to your video. Do it from both ends and create the perfect timing for your scenes. This means to go from one scene to the next without lingering or dragging a scene.

Apart from that, you need to ensure smooth transitioning. A great video editor always transitions smoothly. This is done so it doesn’t look as if the video is edited. It needs to feel natural.

Correcting Colors

Correct the colors to set the mood and tone of your video. They should be consistent with the entire look of the video. This means to fix any footage that may be blur or shaky. This will enhance the quality and colors of the video even further. 

To fix the brightness of the video, you need to make use of color curves. However, to fix saturation or maintain balance, you need to use color correction tools only.  

Make sure you have a variety of tools available. They will help you fix all these issues in your video. 

Cover Up The Unnecessary Stuff 

Some shots are a drag and any viewer can suddenly lose interest. This usually happens when you are shooting an interview and the guest uses a lot of filler words. These are words such as “uh” or “um”. 

Any video where a guest uses a lot of these words makes it unnecessary long. You need to cover it up smoothly. For this, you can make the video short so the viewer is not bored out of their mind. 

You can do this by adding a+b roll or b-roll. This will keep your video moving by covering up the unnecessary stuff. You can also just transition or introduce another setting to the audience. The purpose is to cover up the drag in any way you can. 

Perfecting The Sound 

So, you have an amazing video with great visuals and aesthetic appeal. However, if the sound is inconsistent then it will make all your video editing effort go to waste. 

This is the last step of editing but it is also an important one. When you all your visual editing is done then it is time to perfect the sound too. 

Make sure that during the entire video, the sound is consistent as it should be on the same level throughout. Don’t just rely on your ears to figure out the sound. The best thing to do here is to use audio meters. 

This is a guaranteed way to know if your sound level is consistent throughout the video. You should also get rid of any unwanted sounds that are naturally present in the video. A pro tip here is to first fade in your sound and then slowly fade out. Doing so will ensure a smooth transition between sounds. 

You also need to fix problems such as breathing noises, background noise, echoes, and stutters. For this, you need a good audio tool as well. However, during your shoot, you should make sure that your audio is good.  This will save you time as you won’t have to fix it later during video editing. 

Final Thoughts 

You must make a good video first so that your video editing time is lowered. However, once you follow these guidelines your videos will come out beautiful. Do remember that this does not happen overnight. 

You need to put in the work, learn the tools, and apply it consistently. This is the only way you will learn how to edit like a pro in no time!