Recent Video Editing Articles

Power Up the Alt/Option Key in Premiere Pro

Shortcuts for Adobe Premiere Pro are like the force is to a Jedi. The alt/option key on the keyboard allows you to remove some time-consuming drags of footage across the timeline. It speeds you up. Moving footage around on your timeline can often be exactly that: a drag. Enter the alt or option key.

Five Filmmaking Tricks for More Efficient and Effective Videos

Whether you're working on limited time, limited budget, or you just want to expand your arsenal of filmmaking tricks, these five quick tips will give you some great workarounds and techniques for achieving better results more efficiently.

3 Techniques for Creating Amazing Cinemagraphs

Cinemagraphs can be a great and unique medium for showing your work, but they are tricky to get right, particularly if you want a seamless loop. In this tutorial, learn three different techniques for creating the best looking cinemagraphs you can.

Time Management in Video Editing

Any video editing task depends on what type of video it is (documentary, music video, industrial/business, TV show), what style will be used, will it include extensive animation/effects/titles, and so on. The ultimate sacrifice one has to make as a video editor is time.

Google and VFX Studio The Mill Release 360-Degree Film 'HELP' for Mobile

The era of 360-degree filmmaking is upon us. Google, in collaboration with The Mill and production company Bullitt, has released the 360-degree short film "HELP" for free on Google's mobile storytelling platform Spotlight Stories. The film is full of explosions, aliens, and action all within a beautiful 360-degree world.

How to Begin Shooting High-End Real Estate Video

With the advent of digital cameras, drones, the Internet, and social media, video has become much more a part of every facet of advertising and our general content consumption. Even Fstoppers began by sharing behind-the-scenes videos of photographers at work to inspire and educate people all around the world. Everywhere you look, now, video is always present. Today's behind-the-scenes video comes to you from Parker Walbeck, the guy responsible for flying the LG V30 on top of a Red Weapon to compare the video output. In this video, he takes us on a real-estate video shoot and walks us through his gear and process.

Great Preferences and Workflow Tips for Premiere Pro

Editing in Premiere Pro has become more and more intuitive over the last couple of years since the launch of the Adobe Creative Cloud. Justin Odisho takes us through his preferences and workflow setup, which is a great way to get started.

Setting Up and Calibrating a Dedicated External Reference Monitor

Anyone that has dabbled in the world of color grading knows it's a complicated art and science that can require a certain level of dedication and obsession to really get that perfect look to your videos and work. In order to do that with as little strain on you and your psyche as possible, there are a few things that you can do that will definitely aid in your work, but none are as valuable as setting yourself up with a dedicated monitor for your grading work. While setting up a fully rigged coloring studio is not a trivial expense, thanks to Aram K, you can learn how to create your own setup on a budget and still get accurate results.

Fstoppers Reviews VSDC Free Video Editor — A Great Place to Start Your Video Career

I recently wrote about how photographers should be seriously looking at the medium of video as a skill that should be in their repertoire. Hopefully, some of you were inspired enough to start capturing your own moving images and now you're ready to edit the footage. VSDC Free Video Editor could be just the piece of software you've been looking for.

Audi's 'Duel' Ad Spot Provides Interesting Case Study for Sound Design in Reverse-Playback Clips

Audi took advantage of Monday night's presidential debates with its "Duel" ad spot. Nearly the entire clip plays in reverse, allowing the chronology of the true story and how the action unfolded to the point at which you began to unravel itself in an action-packed scene. The rewound clip -- fit for a 007 film -- features quite the production, complete with excellent, blockbuster-born sound effects to sell every punch and shattering glass shard. But it doesn't take much studying to see this was hardly as easy as rewinding an otherwise-normal action sequence: it took great audio to create this spectacle.

Film Riot Shows How to Compose Audio in Adobe Premiere Pro

I've always had this issue with regards to the sound design of video and how to actually get something that is usable for the video you are working on. It's either getting audio from a stock library, having a friend compose something, or making it yourself. And the latter is really very time-consuming, and I'd rather focus on the stuff I enjoy and am good at, like shooting photos or video. Once I watched the latest video by Film Riot, it seems like the problem of finding audio might be over.

How to Edit a Simple Video Within Minutes with ACDSee Video Studio 2

ACDSee Video Studio 2 is a software specially designed for those looking either for a simple video editing tool or a way to record their screen and create content out of it. In my recent review, I mentioned a couple of times how effortless the process is. However, I thought it only be wise to show you through an example how it works and how simple the app truly is. People just getting started in the video world or those of you looking for a way to record and edit educational content, be sure to read the full article.

How to Make a Double Exposure Video

In this tutorial video, Caleb Pike shows us how to make a double exposure video. It's as simple as it is to do it with digital photography, and it can be used for wedding videos, documentaries, road trip vlogs, or just for fun as a profile GIF.

From Photographer to Videographer: Using Adobe's Motion Graphics Templates

We’ve noticed the trend. Video is becoming the way most people communicate online these days. How can you as photographer use video as a tool to influence the personal brand you are constantly building, and how can you expand your product offering to clients? There are various types of videos you can focus on to produce, and the aim should be to make videos that you would like to make for a client. Therefore, it needs to be professional, and something clients might actually use as their marketing and advertising materials.

How Animation Like Toy Story 4 Is Evolving to Replicate Real Filmmaking

To some degree, animation, at least in films, has always attempted to capture that cinematic feel. However, in the last few movies made by Pixar, there has been a real attempt made to replicate camera techniques and lens characteristics that seemingly most of the audience wouldn't notice.

Buying Versus Building a New Editing Computer

Getting a new editing computer can be a confusing process. How do you know when to upgrade? What kind of computer do you get for different kinds of editing? Do you build one or buy one? Well, I hope to answer those questions here in this article in a way that will match your specific situation.

How to Give Modern Footage a Super 8 Look in Premiere Pro

Sometimes, whether it's for artistic reasons, historical accuracy, or the sheer novelty of it, you want to take your footage shot with your super-fancy, ultra-modern videographic apparatus and make it look like it was shot on a camera of yesteryear. This great video will show you how to do precisely that.

See Every Oscar Winner for Best Visual Effects Ever

Of the many categories in the Oscars, perhaps one of the most interesting for photographers and videographers is the award for Best Visual Effects. This awesome compilation shows a clip from every winner from 1929 to 2017.

It’s UltraWide Time!

For all you creators out there! LG understands there’s more to the final output. There’s also the “process.” All the hours spent working, toiling, creating, that no one ever sees. The endless brain-strain and ideating a creator dedicates to their goal is what makes up their UltraWide Time. Few will ever see or understand the process, where all the work and magic happen. But LG understands.

Aaron Nace of Phlearn

The ability to produce a simple animation is a useful but often ignored feature in Photoshop. In this tutorial, Aaron Nace of Phlearn takes you through the process of producing a basic video in Photoshop by having text fade in on an image.

Five Common Video Editing Mistakes

Creating a compelling, professional video is just as much in the editing as it is in the shooting process. Editing is a serious undertaking, and as such, it can be easy for things to go wrong. This great video tutorial details five common mistakes creatives make when editing video and what you can do to fix them or avoid them in the first place.

A Complete Guide for Creating High-End, Cinematic Time-Lapse Videos

The time-lapse has been a fundamental technique in filmmaking and videography for some time, and the methods and results have simply improved consistently, year on year. Watch this comprehensive guide by the time-lapse photographer known for works like the intro sequence to the hit U.S. remake of "House of Cards".

Behind the Scenes of a 50s Inspired Music Video Shoot

Martin Melnick is a Portland-based director and colorist. His studio, Tree House Post, specializes in color, VFX, editing, and motion graphics. Recently he along with his team put together an amazing music video for the band Adventure Galley based on classic 50s and 60s scifi shows such as Men into Space, Destination Moon, and Dr. Strangelove. The video has already received quite a bit of attention from various film and music video festivals and Martin was kind enough to share a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the video in a brief interview.

Cloning Yourself in Photos or Videos

How many times have you seen a video or photo where a subject or even the artist themselves appear in it multiple times and wondered how they did that? Having a background in graphic design, I always guessed you just merge the footage or photos together and mask sections out to reveal the subject in each area. Well, it is as simple as it sounds but if you are not sure how to get started or how to do that, Peter McKinnon shows how he cloned himself in both photo and video using Photoshop and Premiere, respectively.

Vimeo to Fully Fund Female Filmmakers With New 'Share the Screen' Initiative

We all know it's a little bit more competitive for females to "make it" in the photography and film industries. Yes, it is. The gender gap is real, and I'm not being a feminazi. There are studies about this — science. Even women who are the main characters in films don't get paid as much as their male counterparts (Jennifer Lawrence in the Hunger Games, anyone?). It's even worse for women who are behind the screen, the creators of these big projects. The team over at Vimeo isn't having it anymore, so they are doing something about it.

New Site Art-list Offers Unlimited Music for All Your Video Projects

Who else is sick of hearing the same five Premium Beat songs in what seems like every advertisement on TV right now? Well, fear not, a new site is in town to help you with your short film or commercial projects, and there is plenty of variety. For $199 a year, Art-list gives you access to universal licenses and unlimited downloads for all of your music needs. Yes, you read that right, unlimited downloads.

You Need to Know This Video Transition

While there are a seemingly infinite number of creative video transitions you can incorporate in your projects, learning the fundamentals first is essential. Check out this great video to learn how to use the J Cut.

Why Snow and Confetti Ruin YouTube Video Quality

Why can't YouTube handle snow or confetti? Some videos look great on YouTube, but others look terrible. It could be a cheap camera, but it could also be that the creator doesn’t understand the science behind video compression.

Realism, Formalism, and the Way Movies 'Should' Be Created

You may not realize it, but your brain is waging a battle against itself every time you watch a film. Every film is its own universe with its own laws, and how those laws compare to those outside that universe determine how your brain interacts with the film and evaluates it against reality. But if you're making your own work, it might be worth stepping outside the norms.

Why We Love Wide Screens

Have you ever wondered why the back of your DSLR has a wide screen on it, or why your monitor at home has a landscape-orientated format? I always thought this was scientifically proven to be the best and most powerful way to watch motion on a screen, but this video shows us how wide screens became the standard.

Two Tricks on How to Enhance Your Image in Post

What happens when you can't "get it right in camera"? There are different scenarios when you have to shoot the subject with what's available at that moment. What can you do afterward to improve the shot?

Premiere User Tries Color Grading in Final Cut Pro

A couple of months ago, I tried Final Cut Pro for the first time. Surprisingly, there were many things I liked about Final Cut, but it wasn't enough to convince me to switch from Premiere. Today, I'm giving Final Cut Pro another try.

A Simple Way to Extend Your Audio Tracks

When creating videos, sometimes finding that perfect song, music score, or track takes a while. Then when you place it together and the music isn’t long enough, manually cutting and extending the track can take some time. What if I told you there’s an easy and automated way to extend your selected track to any length.

How to Mix Frame Rates in Video

When beginning to work with video, many new learners will struggle with choosing the correct frame rate for their projects. In this quick, but information-packed video, Gerald Undone guides us visually through what the different frame rates look like and gives suggestions on how to mix them.

Helpful Tips for Beginners to Speed Up Video Post-Processing

If you thought editing photos took up a lot of computing resources, just wait until you dive into video. If you are new to video and wondering what you can do to make your post-processing run as fast as possible, this helpful video will give you some tips to optimize both your hardware and your software to keep your editing running as quickly as possible.

Five Tips to Find Music for Your Wedding Video

You’ve just finished shooting a beautiful wedding video and your edits are being finalized. But wait — you still need to find the music to go behind each scene. Use these five insightful tips to find the perfect music that will enhance your next wedding video.

How to Detect and Eliminate Color Casts From LED Video Lights

Often, lower-priced LED panels will have a color cast that can be difficult to correct in post, particularly if you're working with mixed lighting. This great video shows both how to detect the issue and how to correct it.

Red Giant Audio/Video Sync Program Pluraleyes Makes Editing a Lot Faster

If you aren't using some sort of software to sync audio, you're sitting in your edit bay manually matching audio to video queues, be that sounds, video hints or timecodes. But what if you could just dump all your camera footage from an interview and all the audio from your recorder into one program and hit one button to sync them all quickly and accurately? You can with Red Giant Pluraleyes, and it's nearly perfect.

Need a Low Light Profile for the Sony a7 III? Build Your Own

Sony's a7 III is full of features but, like most new cameras, finding the best video settings requires some experimentation. Self-confessed uber geek Josh Yeo made this video to help you create your own picture profile to shoot with minimal noise in low light. (Warning: F-bomb and spreadsheets!)

PES Releases New Stop-Motion Short Film "Submarine Sandwich" and BTS

Whether or not you knew it, you have most likely viewed a short film by Adam Pesapane, better known as PES. The director and animator has released several immensely popular stop-motion shorts, directed numerous commercials for major companies such as PlayStation, Scrabble, and Bacardi, and has even been nominated for an Academy Award. Along with the release of his newest short, "Submarine Sandwich," PES and Nikon Cinema have teamed up to bring you a rather comprehensive behind-the-scenes look into the process that goes into the making of PES’ films.

Five Tips for Editing Vertical Video

Like it or not, vertical video is quickly becoming more of a thing. As media is consumed on mobile devices more and more, their natural orientation (which for content creators is infuriatingly orthogonal to a monitor) makes the proliferation of vertically oriented video a sure thing. This great video will give you some tips for editing vertical video.

How to Properly Edit B-Roll Footage for Your Video Work

If you're just starting out in video work, getting a good grip on editing b-roll can do a ton to make your output more interesting and create a stronger narrative. Here's how to cut and edit it in along with your main footage.

A Simple Technique for Creating the Effect of Punching Someone Across the Room

Ryan and Josh Connolly of Film Riot always brings us the coolest do-it-yourself filmmaking and special effects tutorials. In this "rewind" episode (read: old) they show us how to create the killer effect of throwing someone clear across the room. What's doubly cool is how easily this can be done with just a still camera and software that most of us already have (Photoshop and After Effects).

All Apple Everything: Shooting and Editing Video with Full Apple Workflow

As an experienced photographer, I have spent a career focusing on mostly still images, not paying much attention to video. With the help of the Apple ecosystem, I have found an accessible way to say yes to the question, "Do you shoot video?". This article discusses the quality and convenience of an all-Apple workflow, which begins with the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Cribs Tour via FPV Drone With Mr. Steele

With drones becoming more and more mainstream, people are doing some new and interesting things that require a lot of skill and control. In this video, Mr. Steele, an FPV freestyle pilot and the owner of Ethix, takes us on a ride through his house on one of his 5" custom builds.

Thinking About Shooting Your First Short Film? This Is How I Did It

I shot and edited a narrative film in the last month. It was a first for me. I had this scene in my mind of a person burying a suitcase or bag in the woods, like it’s something he or she wanted to hide or get away from. I had a second idea about a guy walking down a long passage way and knocking on a door with no one opening for him. I decided these two contrasting visual ideas will be my story.