How to edit a video?

In this guide we will give some advice on how to edit movies that you have captured in a range of video editors.

Capture your footage properly!

Original's quality
Professionals will tell you that the final quality of the outcome depends on how good original footage is. Computer video editing programs can work wonders but they cannot make up for poorly composed work, bad sound or terrible lighting. Camera stability
Make sure you use a tripod when you are capturing your footage, if this is not possible, consider using a video stabilization system like Hague Steady-Cam. This will help eliminate camera shake. Camera microphones tend to be poor so consider also a third party shotgun style microphone. Lights
Next, ensure that the scene is lit correctly. Avoid filming into the light and consider using a portable video lighting system. If you want a HD movie, be sure to set your camera to capture in HD! Whilst you can change resolutions in post edit, you cannot provide the extra information that a HD camera captures.

Choose an editor

Movie editor
There are many non linear video editing suites available. Mac editing software tends to be easier to use and iMovie is provided in the Apple iLife suite. If you do not own a Mac, then consider Adobe video editing software. Online editing
Online "cloud" video editing is possible, but is cumbersome and slow. Editing online may be possible in the future but is not really practical at the moment.

Arrange and export your clips

Home editing
Home video editing does not require the same expensive equipment as it did several years ago. Video tape editing is now a thing of the past as digital videos mean that data can be transferred straight from an SD card. Editing size
When editing your digital video it is best to set in and out points for the clips rather than simply trimming them to size. This prevents information from being lost and gives greater flexibility over transitions. Format and codecs
When you have arranged your clips in order and applied any transitions, make sure you export the video to a format that your audience can play. Remember, file extension is only a wrapper, so whether it is .mov or .avi does not matter as much as the codec used to encode your video. Pro video editors
Pro video editing software gives you extensive control over these settings. Home movies video editing is best suited to the h.264 codec which allows HD video and relatively small file sizes. Time management
Video editing can be a time consuming process so be patient and be prepared to do a lot of reading on internet forums and in your editing software's manual to achieve the results that you want.