Recent Video Editing Articles

Seven Editing Tips That Make Beautiful Videos

I often struggle to give my videos the same energy and flow that Peter Mckinnon or Casey Neistat have in theirs. I would blame the fact that I might not have the gear or budget they have. But, those days are over.

The Fastest Camera Ever

If we could slow light down and see what it does in those trillionths of a second, we could answer more questions with regards to our existence itself. What exactly happens with photosynthesis and how do lasers go through glass? This video shows the answers.

How To Record Great Natural Sound In Camera

For many of our readers here, their bread and butter is photography. In the past we've talked about why you should be creating BTS videos of your shoots. Or you could be a one man/woman band that has found themselves on a video shoot by themselves with no dedicated sound person. Our friends over at Story & Heart have put out a great new tutorial from their Academy of Storytellers about how to capture and use great natural sounds.

A Beginners Guide to Speed Ramping

A few weeks back I spoke about one of the advantages of mobile videographer. One of the key features I highlighted was the ability to shoot in slo-motion in 720p on most mobile devices. Let's not forget other DSLR's and video cameras that are able to shoot slo-mo in even higher resolutions.

The biggest question now is how do you go about utilizing the footage you've shot for yourself or a client? There are a variety of techniques we as filmmakers and videographers can use. One of the being speed ramping, which is when you use varying frame rates in a video to bring...

How Do the Top Free Video Editors Stack Up?

The battle in the video editing world has historically been between Apple's Final Cut Pro X and Adobe's Premiere. The two companies have leapfrogged each other for years when it comes to the war for video editors' hearts. But in 2024, there are a lot more wallet-friendly (read: free) options out there, and two of those duking it out right now are CapCut and DaVinci Resolve. But which one is worth giving a shot?

Make Your Next Travel Video Shine With These Five Editing Tips

Creating cinematic travel videos can be a rewarding way to share your experience of visiting a new place. Once you've returned from your trip and have all your footage loaded into the video editor, here are five tips to help create your best work.

Can This Disastrous Wedding Footage Be Salvaged?

As both the photographer or videographer, and the client, horrendous results are our worst nightmare. So when the videography of a wedding was dire and deemed unsalvageable, Josh Yeo stepped in to see if he could rescue it.

Five Overused Video Effects and Tropes

Trends come and go; some become mainstays, some become clichés. Video is certainly no stranger to trendy effects that become overused or outstay their welcome. Here are five such effects to consider before you drop them in your next video.

Five Ways to Edit Video More Quickly in Adobe Premiere

Some view editing as the place where the magic happens, while others see it as a necessary evil before they can get back out to shoot some more. Either way, we'd all love to be more efficient at it. These five tips will help you speed up your workflow in Adobe Premiere.

The "Cutting Edge Editing & Post Production Tour" Review

The premise for the Cutting Edge Tour headed up by Adam Epstein, five year veteran video editor and post production guru for Saturday Night Live, was a tricky one. I know because I spent a few days bouncing ideas around with him and looking at how to structure the thing. This review will set out specifically what you will (and won’t) find in the workshop.

Four Ways to Get Smooth Video Footage (Three for Free)

There was a time when smooth, stable footage was the stuff of Hollywood, while us lowly plebeians dabbled with our shaky VHS home movies. But now, I can order laundry detergent delivered to my door by pressing a button on my washing machine and those magical devices in our pockets shoot in 4K. Here are four great ways to get with the times and give your footage that smooth, cinematic look.

5 Cinematography Styles That Every Film Uses

The look of a film or feature can make or break even the best storyline or acting. For that reason, and many others, a lot of thought goes into the style of a film. Here are five that every film draws from.

How Templates Can Improve Your Video With Ease

If you are a shooter or video producer, you know that there are many things that go into creating great video. Sure, using the right gear is key. Composition and lighting are key. But after the video is shot, shot selection, pacing, and color correction have to be considered for the edit. Then there are graphics. Titles, lower thirds, transitions, and the like have to be designed and animated. There are tons of parts that go into making one complete, great-looking video. And it’s hard to master every aspect of video production – not to mention the fact that time and budget constraints make things even harder.

Hello Tokyo: How the Edits Were Done

I recently came across this video by Christoph Galep and was very impressed by the editing thereof. The transitions between shots and the slowing down and speeding up of the time-lapse provided a good energy to the video, something a simple cut edit isn’t able to do.

Comparing All 2018 MacBook Pro 15-Inch Laptops for Video Editing

Whether you use Final Cut Pro, Premiere, or Resolve, video editing is most likely the most intensive use of your machine's graphics card, CPU, and RAM. This video gives a comparison between the machines when benchmarked and tested in various situations.

'Star Wars: The New Republic Anthology' Shows What Fan Films Can Bring

“Star Wars” fans around the world are patiently awaiting the arrival of “Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens” on December 18. That being said, the hype train has been running full steam ahead since the initial trailer for “The Force Awakens” was released almost 10 months ago. Since the release of “A New Hope” in 1977, “Star Wars” has created a fanatical fan base, with an expansive universe and many stories to be told. Fan films have been a part of that universe for many decades now, and they have gotten so big that “Star Wars” has an entire section of their site with awards dedicated to them.

Tips for a Better Color Grading Workflow on Your Video Edits

For many filmmakers who are getting into raw workflows for the first time, or perhaps wanting to up their postproduction skill set, color grading can at first appear to be a big, scary monster full of weird tools and a puzzling workflow that makes college physics seem simple. In this Q&A video from Film Riot, Colorist John Carrington answers some frequently asked questions regarding his approach and process to doing color work on video footage.

How to Eliminate Audio Noise with Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro

A huge part of shooting video is audio. No one wants to look at footage with poor sound with distracting background noise. But thanks to Steven Oakley from MiesnerMedia, if you are reading this article, poor audio will be a story of the past in your videos. Oakley gives us a handy trick to eliminate almost any background noise using only Adobe Audition and Premiere Pro.

'Stranger Things' Season Two Supercut of Creative Edit Transitions

Everyone's favorite nostalgic sci-fi series debuted its second season on Netflix just a few weeks ago, but if you're like me, you took just a few days to watch all nine episodes. Among the many compelling things the Duffer Brothers pull off in their show, using clever scene transitions is something any video editor will notice. This video pulls together 25 of the most creative edits from Season Two of Stranger Things.

This Epic Short Film Explores the Possibilities of a Casey Neistat School of Filmmaking

If you have not heard of Casey Neitstat yet, go check him out and come back when your done, it might take awhile but it will be well worth it. The guy is a serious talent in the film and social media world, with his own unique style and technique to movie making. This short film by Tom Bryan is an outstanding example of what each of us should be doing with our creative work. Bryan has plans to create a short film each month for the next 12 and has started it off with a bang.

Resolve 17 Studio: An Incredible Value

My favorite editing software, DaVinci Resolve, has just released the newest version, and for a limited time, you can get a full license to the latest version and an incredibly powerful keyboard editing interface for just the price of the license alone. The Speed Editor bundle includes a purpose-built portable keyboard with a unique set of features, including dedicated keyboard shortcuts and a weighted search dial. Want to know what makes it such a good value?

Getting Started Using LUTs in Premiere Pro

If you're just getting into video, one of the most important things you can tackle to improve both the look of your footage and the efficiency of your editing is LUTs. This helpful tutorial will get you off and running in very little time.

Get the Joker Cinematic Look: A Quick Tutorial on Color-Grading Footage

One of the things that I personally struggle with when it comes to producing video content is color grading. This is especially true when it comes to log profiles and for that reason, I generally just rely on using LUTs that I've bought or downloaded for free.

Tips to Understanding Storytelling in Short Form Video

Black Diamond Equipment is known for making top-of-the-line outdoors equipment for skiers, snowboarders, and climbers. Recently, they launched their video series BDTV Season 1, which is going to be compromised of short videos about people who they believe embody their core values. These videos are a great examples of storytelling using short video format and deserve further examination. That way you can apply the same learnings to your own video work.

Lessons in Filmmaking: Why We Love the Bus Jump in 'Speed'

Ah, the 90s, when if you wanted to jump a bus across a freeway in your movie, you didn't use CGI; you jumped an actual bus. Go behind the scenes of one the most famous stunts in action movie history and learn why we it keeps us on the edge of our seats despite its absurdity.

How Much Is Too Much For Stock Video And Photography?

Most of the readers of this site I’d wager fall into the category of content creators, not content consumers. That being the case, rants about not being properly compensated for the hard work put in to producing images comes up every so often. But have you ever been on the other side of that situation?

How a Rough Screening and Editing Saved 'Star Wars: A New Hope'

Editing is crucial. Whether it be editing the maternity shoot you just shot in a field, or the classic “Star Wars” films (no, I haven't seen “The Last Jedi,” no spoilers please), it can make or break your project. RocketJump breaks down the differences between the first and final screenings of "Star Wars: A New Hope."

How to Use a Video Game Controller to Edit in Adobe Premiere

I have a love/hate relationship with post work. It's where all the magic of the final product comes together, but it can be oh so mundane and tedious. One editor is making it both more fun and more efficient by trading in his mouse and keyboard for something a bit more interesting: a video game controller.

How to Sync Up Audio and Video in Premiere Pro

If you record audio separately from your video, which most likely you do, then part of your postproduction process will include synchronizing. This process doesn’t have to take a lot of time or require plugins or software. Premiere Pro has built-in tools that allow you to quickly and easily get your video and audio in sync. Let’s have a closer look at how to accomplish this.

How to Dolly Zoom Without a Dolly or a Zoom Lens

The "dolly zoom" or "zolly" was made famous by Hitchcock in the movie "Vertigo" and since then has been used in countless Hollywood movies. Just a few years ago, this move was almost impossible to pull off but with today's new gear, almost anyone can do it.

Five Essential Time and Speed Effects in Adobe Premiere Pro CC

The internet is a vast and seemingly endless collection of information as we all know. If you need to learn something new, we can simply Google the question and with almost 100% certainty you will be able to find an accurate answer.

How to Get Beautiful Skin Tones in Adobe Premiere Pro

Skin tones are a hot topic in Lightroom and Photoshop, but there are fewer resources for videographers, who need to get them correct just as much. Here's how you can get beautiful skin tones in Adobe Premiere Pro, every time.

Speed Up 4K Video Edits Using Proxies in Adobe Premiere Pro

You’ve bought a brand new 4K video camera with all the bells and whistles and shot your first piece of work. You can’t wait to get home and edit the footage for your client imagining how incredible and crisp the video will be. You open Premiere Pro, import the files, and within seconds your computer takes a crap as it struggles to render the data intensive footage.

Color Grading Video in Photoshop in 14 Minutes

Have you ever color graded your videos in Photoshop? Although Adobe’s video editing software or Final Cut X is mostly preferred by video editors, some good results can still be achieved by using Photoshop’s video editing feature. Aaron Nace of Phlearn explains these techniques in this 14-minute video.

Mac Color Management Tips for Davinci Resolve 17

In this article, you will discover the best video settings for editing on your iMac or Macbook Pro when you are color grading your footage in Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 17.

Five Tips to Become a Faster Video Editor

As any filmmaker knows, time is money. Falling behind on a project doesn’t just put a dent in your schedule, it can also put a dent in your income. That's why it’s so important that you have some time-saving strategies up your sleeve to ensure that if some unforeseen delay occurs, you have the ability to steer your project back on course.

'Chromaticity' Video Is a Magical Flight of Practical and Digital Effects

I'll be the first to say it, smoke bombs are usually too Tumblr for my taste. Generally you see them with a moody girl looking off into the distance in some backyard forest. I never got the point of those images. But I found myself mesmerized by "Chromaticity"; the smoke bombs were alive, more like wayward spirits hovering above the big blue. I was so entranced it took me half of the video to realize they were attached to drones, and the drones were nowhere to be seen.

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 14

DaVinci Resolve is well known for color editing in the video world. But Blackmagic's goal is to create a complete solution for NLE, color, and sound. While 12.5 was already very convincing, the newly announced DaVinci Resolve 14 is even more so. It is up to 10 times faster than the previous version and with new tools for audio, this new release could be what many have been waiting for.

The Best Way to Stabilize Your GoPro Hero's Footage

The GoPro Hero 7’s most talked about feature, HyperSmooth, can give gimbal quality stabilization without the need for any external hardware. But if you already own a Hero 5 Black, Hero 5 Session, or Hero 6, a software plugin called ReelSteady GO can bring that feature to your camera.

Making The Most Unbelieveable Basketball Trick Shots With After Effects And Some Creativity

This video reminds me of my college days– spending time working with a friend while having next to no budget, but coming up with a fun idea for a short video that would allow us to flex some creative muscle. Corridor Digital may have a (small) budget for these, but what I enjoy about them is that the fun and creativity feels authentic, which you often only get when no agency or corporate sponsor is pushing creative decisions. In this video, you'll see the final clip, with the behind-the-scenes video inside the full post.

What Are Codecs and Why Are They Important?

When diving into the photography world, one of the first things you come across is deciding whether to shoot raw or JPEG. Typically, the answer to that is very simple: shoot in raw every time you can, only shoot JPEG for specific reasons. What about when you start shooting video? Codecs were basically magic to me before I finally understood how they functioned.

Storyboarding: Too Useful and Too Easy Not to Do

Filmmaking requires a lot of forethought and discipline to stay organized. For those of us interested in recording our toes dipping into the proverbial water, it's a good idea to learn to storyboard. In this video, photographer Iz Harris breaks down her simple process for those new to the concept.

Five Advanced Color Techniques for Premiere Pro

Working with color in video is a bit different than working with it in images, and it is important to learn the proper techniques and order of operations to produce the best quality footage possible. This excellent video will show you five techniques for more refined color correction when working in Premiere Pro.

Filming an Entire Music Video in One Moment With OK Go

For those of you familiar with the band OK Go, in addition to their catchy songs, they've also made a name for themselves with their intricately planned out and executed music videos. With their newest video "The One Moment," they sought to literally film the entire video in just one moment.

How to Edit a Video from Start to Finish With DaVinci Resolve 14

Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve is widely known for its color grading tools. It’s what many would call an industry standard thanks to its powerful features. With the Beta 4 of Resolve 14 that was released a little while ago, the software saw its editing and audio capabilities improving quite a bit as well. However, many forget or don't know about them and stick to working with Premiere or Final Cut Pro. Discover in this video how Resolve editing and audio features work. Perhaps you’ll see they are exactly what you needed.

Artlist Releases Full Version of Website - Music for Commercial Licensing

Last year I told you all about a new commercial music site that was just starting up in beta version. As with all beta sites, there were a few things that customers wanted changed. Artlist.io listened, and has completely rebuilt the site from our requests to release the full version. Check out all of the great new features this subscription based music website has to offer!

Recreating The Back To The Future Delorean Time Travel Scene On A Budget

If you follow any of my work, you know I am a sucker for anything Back To The Future. I even recreated my own BTTF image using a real DeLorean awhile back, so I HAD to share this video. The guys over at Shanks FX have created another inventive tutorial on how you can create your own time travel scene on a budget using a DSLR, simple time lapse software, a toy DeLorean, and some LED lights. Think you may want to try something like this at home?