Recent Video Editing Articles

Impressive Hyperlapse Video Shows Cappadocia in Four Seasons

Internationally acclaimed time-lapse film maker and photographer Rob Whitworth brings magical Cappadocia alive in his flow-motion hyperlapse film for Turkish Airways. The visually stunning clip, which highlights the tourist attractions in the region, took six weeks to shoot over the course of two months and two seasons. The effortless blending of multiple photography techniques and precise After Effects work culminates in a breathtaking finished product which pushes boundaries and leaves no doubt as to why Whitworth's videos have over 9 million online views.

Five Skills Video Editors Need to Have

Successful video editing is a confluence of creative vision, technical skills, and practical problem solving, so it's no wonder that it takes a lot of dedication and practice to become skilled at it. To help you jumpstart that process, here are five skills you need to have to be a successful video editor.

Learn Adobe Premiere's Basics with Famous YouTuber Ben Brown

With the recent addition of albums to Instagram, photographers have a fantastic opportunity to add videos such as behind the scenes, short vlogs, or even short clips along with their images. However, if you are like me, cinematography is kind of a new world. While setting up the camera to film isn’t incredibly complicated, editing the content afterward is like learning Photoshop all over again: a nightmare! Thanks to YouTube and amazing people like Ben Brown, getting a grasp of Adobe Premiere’s basics isn’t too difficult.

ReelSteady Software Can Make Your Shaky Videos Look Amazing

Normally I don't promote software based on their promo video alone but this video was so compelling I had to share it. The ReelSteady plugin for After Effects appears to be made of pure magic, taking cheap looking footage and making it look like Hollywood CGI.

Red Giant Plugins Get Updated - Magic Bullet Looks, PluralEyes, And More

Software company Red Giant has been making the plugins that video editors have been using to sweeten their edits since the days of MiniDV. Fan favorite Magic Bullet Looks has long offered stylized, preset looks for its users. It has just been announced that Red Giant will be updating Magic Bullet to version 2.5, along with updates to PluralEyes and BulletProof.

Go Behind the Scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Summer is in full swing and that means there's plenty of blockbuster films to see over the next few months. One that my son and I are looking forward to is the next chapter in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise starring Jack Sparrow, aka Johnny Depp, along with returning original cast Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. This is the fifth installment of the franchise and it hopes to breathe a fresh take on the story that brings back key characters from the first couple films. In this video, you get a fantastic glimpse into what makes these movies what they are and it gives you a hint at how they do it.

BTS Video Describes Process of Creating the Human-Like 'Ava' Robot In 'Ex Machina'

Hollywood's latest A.I. thriller, "Ex Machina," promised to take viewers on a fascinating and thrilling philosophical, ethical, and human journey. The Turing test, man's domination over machine, artifically intelligent machines' potential and perhaps inevitable self-awareness and domination over man, and an eccentric Silicon Valley-like billionaire-type leading the helm... how could this not be a great film? More on that later, but to make all of this happen, director Alex Garland and VFX supervisor Andrew Whitehurst had to create a robot that would connect so well with audiences that we would treat it as any other human character.

Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your YouTube Videos

In today's competitive marketplace, successful photographers are finding themselves creating more and more content that isn't strictly photo based. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook are reaching more and more people with video content. In today's article, I outline 10 simple tips you can use to polish your video content.

Truth In Advertising? "This Is A Generic Brand Video" Is Equally Parts Scary And Funny

Creative writer Kendra Eash wrote a painfully accurate article for Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendencies that put into perspective what most brand and corporation videos look and sound like. Taking it to the next level, stock clip site Dissolve realized it was indeed generic, and pulled together their own stock clips cut to Kendra's writing, resulting in a hilarious edit.

Five Pro Tips for Editing Vertical Video

There are some ways to give your footage more life when shooting and editing vertical videos. Justin Odisho shows us how in this video, focussing on IGTV and Instagram Stories.

Five Easy Transition Techniques Done In Camera

Transitions can be very useful in your video to move between scenes instead of just having the end and inserting the new one. There are several different transitions to use, some are very creative and some involve some great skills behind the computer. There’s a few transitions that can be done all in camera and can help you change them up.

Shooting a 10-Day Time-Lapse From Start to Finish

Typically the best time-lapse shots require a lot of patience and persistence to capture. What happens when you push those limits to the edge and try to shoot a time-lapse for 10 consecutive days?

Basic Tips for Every Beginning Filmmaker

Everyone starts somewhere, and the world of video and filmmaking is no different. Whether your aspirations are to get a YouTube channel off the ground or to break into full-length feature films, starting off on the right foot when you're a total beginner is easier than you may think.

‘Confusion Through Sand’ is a Hand-Drawn Masterpiece Two Years in the Making

Ornana Films is a small production company based in San Rafael that is no stranger to awards. They took home the Jury Award at the SXSW film festival in 2012 for their short "(notes on) Biology" which continued on to win several other awards that same year, including Exceptional Short at Santa Fe Independent and the Grand Jury Prize at FFF. Two years later at SXSW, they premiered their latest short "Confusion Through Sand" to much acclaim. Now, after a year of waiting, the hand-drawn masterpiece is online for free along with a behind-the-scenes video documenting the work that went into this brilliant animated short.

Ten Tips for Recording Slow Motion Video

DSLR Guide, created by Simon Cade, is one of my go-to resources for all things film and cinema. With almost a half-million subscribers and over 21 million views, his channel is an awesome resource for anyone interested in becoming a film maker, particularly those who are DIY-savvy or on a budget.

Vimeo Quietly Introduces 4K Streaming!

Not quite in full effect just yet but out of the blue it appears that Vimeo is slowly implementing 4K streaming capability. It is a feature which has been hinted at and many have been waiting for. Philip Bloom and James Miller break it down.

The Definitive Guide to Video Frame Rates

Whether you’re shooting on a cellphone or a RED cinema camera, picking the right frame rate is essential for a good finished video. Here’s a guide to choosing the right frame rate for any purpose.

Why Color Grading Is so Important to Your Work

Color grading is one of the most important techniques for giving any video a professional touch and developing your own personal style. This helpful video tutorial features a cinematographer and colorist discussing a wide range of color grading techniques, theories, and examples and how you can apply them to your own work.

Making Boring Office Jobs the Greatest Ever with This Faux GoPro Commercial

Many of us have had the privilege of our first basic office job at one point in our careers. If you have not, you are one of the lucky few. As freelance photographers, we can connect with sitting behind a computer for hours on end. Yet, knowing the frustration that comes with office politics and overall atmosphere in a sea of cubicles is a whole other beast. Here for your viewing pleasure is the greatest GoPro style office job video ever.

These Five Tips Will Help You Stay Organized While Editing Video

Working as a video editor can be a hectic and tedious experience. Spending some time to think about organizational tools and methods can help you out significantly when working with a lot of files, or in a large group of colleagues. Renaming files, creating proper folder structure, logging metadata, backing up files, and developing a workflow can make your life much, much easier. While some of the advice listed below is geared for Premiere Pro users, any video editor can take advantage of these tips.

Get Started with DaVinci Resolve 12.5 in Less Than 35 Minutes

When getting into video, filming may not be the biggest issue. Post-production plays a significant role and can be quite overwhelming. There is tons of software out there, and it’s difficult to know which is best for what. Learning how to use these programs is even worse when you are a photographer. The interface looks totally different than what we are used to with Photoshop, Lightroom, or even Capture One. So it’s always nice there are people such as Casey Faris producing comprehensive videos to help us out in getting started. If, like me, you can’t seem to get a perfect grading with Premiere or Final Cut Pro, this crash course on DaVinci Resolve is exactly what you need!

Learning From the Masters: Filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky

In a world full of copycats and sequelitis, it isn’t always easy to be inspired. But every once in a while, mixed in among the sea of sameness, you will discover a true original. I am not the only person to be fascinated by the work of Russian Filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. His brief but spectacular canon of films, including the likes of “Ivan’s Childhood” (1962), “Andrei Rublev” (1966), “Solaris” (1972), “The Mirror” (1975) and “Stalker” (1979), stands among the most innovative cinematic careers in world history.

How to Match Video Footage From Different Cameras

Shooting with various cameras is not uncommon in the video world. Most of the time, it's because of budget constraints, but sometimes, it's because different parts of the project require different cameras. In this video, Tom Antos shares his way of matching footage from three camera brands.

Editing a Time-Lapse With Only Adobe Applications

Michael Shainblum, Fstoppers' Photographer of the Month for August, has been creating epic time-lapses for years now and he’s just released a new YouTube video tutorial. In this new video, Shainblum goes through his editing process detailing an Adobe-centric workflow for time-lapses.

Five Must-See Tutorials for Editing Audio in Premiere Pro

If you shoot photos on a professional level, there’s a chance you also shoot video. If you shoot video, there’s a chance you edit. And if you edit, there’s a good chance you have to work with audio at some point. But, it may not be something you know a lot about, especially if you are just getting started with editing video.

How to Give Your Videos a Filmic Look With Color Grading

There are many ways to edit your videos and images, but one lasting method is in fact just to mimic the past. In this video, watch how one videographer color grades his work to get that vintage feel without sacrificing quality.

Film Yourself Easier Than Ever with the New SOLOSHOT2

When it comes to making video edits and sports demos of yourself, finding a friend to film can be the biggest challenge of all. With this second generation advancement of the SOLOSHOT you can film yourself in endless scenarios, photograph panning DSLR timelapse, and forego the need for a buddy on the beach.

Photographer Steven Sebring's 360 Video 'Liminal' Will Have Your Head Spinning

Ok, the last time I truly attempted skateboarding, I was 14 years old, and I dislocated my right shoulder (still have a beautiful, giant scar). Regardless of my lack of knowledge of the sport, or anyone's for that matter, I think we can all agree that this video of Skater Rodney Mullen shot by photographer extraordinaire Steven Sebring is just cool as hell.

Tips for Shooting Vertical Video as a Pro

With most website traffic overwhelmingly coming from smartphones, a client is going to ask for portrait content sooner or later. How can you avoid the major pitfalls?

Edit Your Videos Faster Than Ever with Ripple Delete Tools in Premiere

Editing, trimming, and moving around clips on your timeline can require more time than it should, especially if you don’t use the ripple delete tools. In this short tutorial, Nathaniel Dodson from Tutvid shows you how them to save some valuable time.

NVIDIA and RED Unveil a GPU Solution for 8K Real-Time Editing

8K cameras are becoming more common, but computers struggle to follow this sensor race, and editing high-resolution video can be challenging. Therefore, RED and NVIDIA teamed up to announce a solution to facilitate 8K editing.

All-In-One Screen Recording and Video Editing for Windows: Fstoppers Reviews ACDSee Video Studio 2

Many Windows users have been looking for an alternative to ScreenFlow and there might well be one available on the market. It’s called Video Studio 2 and it’s designed by ACDSee. Whether you are an online educator, a workshop teacher, or you’re simply looking for a way to record your screen and quickly edit your videos, this solution is without a doubt one you should be looking at.

How Jamie xx Made the Incredible 'Gosh' Music Video

It's set in a ghost town, the Tianducheng development in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It has an Eiffel Tower replica and empty buildings which sets a perfect scene for this incredibly choreographed music video. Directed by Romain Gavras, the video has hundreds of kids with peroxided, yellow-white hair and matching outfits running through the deserted city to the foot of the replica Eiffel tower, and a very unique dancing style captured with great aerial video.

An Online Video Resizer for Instagram: Kapwing

Stories are dominating the internet and from the content creators’ perspective, there are still some features missing on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. The online video resizer tool Kapwing offers a solution for those who hates posting vertical videos on social media.

How to Vlog Like a Professional with YouTuber Sara Dietschy

Sara Dietschy is a professional YouTuber and vlogger based out of New York City. She most famously appeared on the scene over a year ago when she knowingly mocked the one and only Casey Neistat with a hilarious video mimicking his style. Her channel has grown in size and so has her professional expertise in the field for both photographers and videographers alike. Her recent series 'How to Vlog' is a four part series in which she explains how to go through every single step from conception, to editing, all the way to uploading, and finally managing that video online. If you are interested in building a brand online, starting a YouTube page, or beginning your own vlog series this is the place to learn how.

Loupedeck+ Now Supports Final Cut Pro and Adobe Audition

Loupedeck+ is a photo and video editing console built to speed up workflows by placing all the controls right at your fingertips. As its next step in productivity, Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Audition are now being integrated.

How to Create Vertigo Effect With a Drone

The Vertigo Effect, also known as the dolly zoom has been a popular technique, first used by cameraman Irmin Roberts in renowned director Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo. But, have you ever wondered how this effect is achieved with a drone?

What Do You Get When You Pay Someone $10 To Edit a Five-Minute Video?

We’ve all seen videos of experienced photographers paying tiny sums of money to have their photos edited via an online marketplace, but what happens when someone quotes you video editing services at a cost of just $2 for every minute of the final video?

Embrace the Magnetic Timeline of Final Cut Pro X

The magnetic timeline is the source of both joy and frustration for newcomers to Final Cut Pro X. Before counting it out, make sure you know these seven tips to working with it.

How to Direct Like Quentin Tarantino

As still photography cameras and motion cameras continue to merge with technology, so have, to an extent, the expectations of our profession. No better way to prepare yourself for the future than to learn from the masters.