How to Edit Videos Easily & Quickly (Even if Tech Scares You)
There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to video editing solutions. On one hand you have the rudimentary functionalities that are baked into YouTube. These provide basic features and the end result is exactly what YouTube is about – amateur content.
On the other hand there are deluxe suites that cost an arm and a leg. And the steep price isn’t the only problem. They have interfaces that put rocket science to shame. Dozens of bells and whistles that home video makers never use. Menus nestled in menus which are under – you guessed it right, more menus.
Unless you are determined to apprentice for George Lucas Films, these packages are best left on their virtual shelves.
So what’s an enthusiastic video creator to do? Be content with native editing platforms? Or the headache and the heartache of mastering a professional suite?
Thankfully there is a way to edit videos easily and quickly. And it doesn’t cost a penny.
Intrepid Video Creator, Meet Movavi:
We won’t be kidding if we claimed you could make your way around the interface in 3 minutes flat. We’ve timed users.
Movavi is built for people who don’t possess editing proficiency.
It is fun to experiment with and what you produce always looks polished.
5 Steps to Editing a Video Easily & Quickly:
- Download a free trial of the Movavi software and install it on your Windows or Mac laptop. A wizard guides you through the steps. The installation takes a minute and you’re ready to test your editing chops.
- The very first thing that you need to do is upload video content to tinker with. To the left of the modal, there are a number of tabs. Clicking the icon that resembles a YouTube play button pulls up several options. Go for “My Files”.
- You can use the video clips stored in your computer by choosing the “Add Media Files” option. Just click on the files that you would like to edit while holding down the Command or Control key and they’ll be automatically imported to the time-line. The same applies to sound bites or MP3 files.
- You can also record a video or a screencast in real time and then tweak the content.
3. Up next is prep time. If a clip is too long, you may want to split it into several sections. This way you can apply different filters and sound bites to different scenes.
- Click on the scissors icon. Then use the red vertical lines to define and cut discrete sections.
- Use the traditional crop icon to make the edges of these sections crisp.
- Play around with colour shades and tones through the photo-frame icon.
- The microphone icon lets you overlay a section of the recording with a voice over.
4. Now comes the fun part. Movavi doesn’t stop at the basics and this is what sets it apart from YouTube like platforms. It has a rich collection of drag and drop filters and special effects that range from cartoon like flying objects to sophisticated colour inversion. Click the magic wand icon and:
- Turn a special occasion more festive with a shower of roses or a posse of unicorns.
- Take your viewers back in time with the Retro effects.
- Go on a sci-fi journey with the Invert and Posterize options.
You can also:
- Insert fade-ins, fade-outs and a plethora of transitions with the Puzzle Piece icon.
- Add text or captions to video segments with the T (text) icon.
5. The fifth and final step is appraising your work. Preview the entire clip in the Playback window to the right by clicking “Playback” in the top navigation menu. If you don’t like something, you can always start afresh. Since most of the work is restricted to dragging and dropping – you don’t feel like you’ve wasted hours.
When you’re ready to go, click the green “Export” button and download the video as an AVI, MP4 or .MOV file.
You can also directly upload the video to your YouTube channel, if an internet connection is available.
Video is the most consumed content format on the planet. Given this proliferation, editing a video easily and quickly is an invaluable skill.
One that you now possess.
it very awesome thanks you very much.