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What video editing software do you use?
Main Post:
Hi all,
I’d like to start my YT channel and was wondering what people are using to edit?
I’ve got experience (very basic) with Final Cut and iMovie, but I keep hearing Premiere Pro is the best.
I want to keep it simple but still be able to do some proper intros, transitions etc. Not gonna film blockbusters but still I want my videos to look professional. Would iMovie do the trick or should I get myself used to something fancier like Adobe?
Many thanks
Top Comment: Aw youtube is fun to start with. If you're new in general with tools I'd go for Hostlavikat, as it has great AI features
Where do you find a good video editor?
Main Post:
I wish there was a good platform - does anyone know the most optimal place to look?
I need a "tinder" for this! I have the content, the script & the voiceover recorded, I need someone to stitch the content together into a watchable narrative that doesn't make it look like a 5 year old did it (I know where my strengths are and aren't!)
This is NOT a hiring post, I'm just looking for advice at the moment!
Top Comment: Well to be honest, subreddits are still the best place. I've been editing videos for people since long and I still see crazy talented editors on reddit. It's still a goldmine to find talent or even clients. Just post on the r/VideoEditors_forhire make them do a small test edit to test their skills (paid please). And there you go!! found your editor. Even I'm expanding and looking for clients to work with rn. So you can always hit me up as well.
Best Video Editing Software
Main Post:
What is the best video editing software that is free or open sourced? I was wondering if there was something comparable to OBS for recording/streaming. Preferably one that is fairly easy for beginners but has the option for more complex features.
Anything match that description. I use CapCut currently but would love to find something that is comparable ish but free.
Edit: thank you for the responses. I think I will download DaVinci resolve and shortcut. Play around with both and see which fit my needs the best.
Top Comment: DaVinci Resolve could be the one you are looking for.
How did YOU get your start in video editing?
Main Post:
I'm interested in hearing how you guys, the working professionals, got your start in the world of video editing. I am at the very start of my journey after doing bits here and there for the past few years and would love to hear some stories from you guys!
Top Comment: My degree was in English and I got interested in movies so I moved to LA to try and get into screenwriting. Got connected to a small production company in the Bay Area and got a gig adapting a memoir written by a former leader of the Chinese Mafia in SF. Project fell through when the mafia leader was arrested for mafia things (bribing a state senator to import weapons through the port of San Francisco while sponsoring anti-gun legislation). I had a contract with the company, but they no longer had the rights to the story I was adapting. So the EP said he could either write me a check for what I was owed for the first draft, or he could look for another position for me to fill. They didn't really need a writer because the other projects they had were documentaries, so I ended up basically taking a PA gig on a documentary about a Bay Area rapper who had been murdered. Then the director of the documentary got fired for embezzling money from the production company. Basically all of the crew were friends of the director and so they all either left or were fired. The EP came to me and said "Ok well we now have about 20% of the footage we need. I know you're not a director, but at least you haven't tried to steal anything from me. We only have $10k left in the budget, but If you think you can salvage anything from this have at it." So I spent the next six months scheduling and shooting interviews while still working nights teaching test-prep classes, and then taught myself to edit from youtube tutorials because we didn't have any money for post. The doc got released and won an audience choice at a small film festival and managed to make its money back through digital distribution. I found out I really enjoyed the editing process and so was able to use that credit to get a few freelancing gigs and eventually swing that into a staff editing position at a digital studio, and now I do corporate documentary production, though still primarily focused on the post side of things. So you know, just your standard entertainment industry career path.
Looking for a free video editor
Main Post:
Im look for a completely free video editor. DoEs anyone know of any programs? im just doing basic video editing that's why i dont need something with a paid version. I would also perfer if it doesn't leave a watermark..
Top Comment: Microsoft's ClipChamp is a simple but fine option. The only issue with it is that it needs the Internet to function. Alsp, Check out: Descript, OpenShot, Canva, HitFilm Free, VideoPad, and Shotcut (None leave a watermark).
What editing software does everyone use? And a few follow ups....
Main Post:
As the title asks - what video editing software do people use for their videos? Have you used any that you'd really recommend, or, that you'd recommend avoiding at all costs?
Any programs that you've found are better for beginners? When do you know to make the jump from a beginner software to more advanced, or do you just keep on going with one you like?
Top Comment: free: I use Davinci Resolve, I heard online that it was the best free software and because my videos aren't super edit intensive it isn't a huge challenge. However Davinci can be difficult if you are starting at 0 knowledge cost: I've used premier pro in the past and frankly I miss it, it is amazing but costs quite a bit. It is fairly simple to use + hundreds of tutorials, and it on top of other adobe works can do literally anything that you need. shorts: I do my shorts on mobile and use capcut, it is free however they are turning a lot of the free uses into paid features, but either way it gets the job done (just it does the job much better if you pay) Hope this helps!
Should I continue being a video editor?
Main Post:
Hey guys, not sure if this falls into the right subreddit or not, I rarely post things like this. I wanted to reach out to a community that might know how to help me work through some of these thoughts I'm struggling with.
I want to mention early on that I know there's some amazing stuff I see online, there's a ton of you guys that feel fulfilled editing videos even if it's corporate or maybe you have found your niche in the editing landscape that works for you.
For the past couple of months I'm starting to question whether I want to continue editing as a full time career. I mainly do a lot of freelance web stuff for YouTube brand channels. One being a motorcycle brand that has a channel where our journalists review new bike models and do bike comparisons. For context, it's not a smaller channel, it has over 100k subs. They give me a lot of creative control of the editing and pacing, which I'm thankful for. I know this sounds very naive, but most recently I started to look at our YouTube analytics. Where you can see watchtime and audience retention graphs.
Wow. Not only does this depress me, with our general low views under 10K, but with our low audience watch time. For example a watch time of two and half minutes out of a five minute video. Even with the hours and hours I spend trying to keep peoples attention like eye trace, transitions, little to no talking head by using b-roll, cutting out ums and pauses, showing the right footage related to the same talking point and choosing the rights statements. You name it, I'm doing it. I spend more time than I should because I want to be proud of the videos I make. I'll stay up late nights just shaving off frames of a shot until it just feels right.
I see little to no change in the way our views and watch time look when I adjust my editing to the audience. There are smaller and similar Youtube channels like ours that have little editing professionalism that get way more views than we do. This got me thinking and questioning my value as a video editor. Is there something else I could be doing that feels more fulfilling and maybe getting paid more?
We live in strange times in the internet, where it seems like if you have engaging or entertaining content with the right personality you will get noticed even if the editing is sub par and if you don't people perceive you as just another dull brand in the crowd. That could be our channels problem.
I'm arguably making content that our niche audience wants to see, but I can barely keep their attention. What happens if I start pursuing more corporate or commercial work to make more money, but less creative control that involves editing the videos to make clients satisfied but the rest of society doesn't care to see ads or commercials. For us video editors that really care about cinematic editing, that don't work in the movie world, it leaves us in a weird place..
My question for you editors is this.
What motivates you to continue to edit as a career? The world seems to be filled with stiff competition, over saturation, retention editing, ad blockers, short attention spans and with the internet being free there's a sense of devaluation of video content.
How do you balance loving the craft of high quality editing in a world now that refers to everything as content?
Is my problem that I don't know what my niche of editing is and that makes me feel so lost?
There's many important jobs in the world that don't get the recognition it deserves, so maybe I need to suck it up?
I hope this resonates with some of you and curious your thoughts of being a video editor in 2024.
Top Comment: No real advice but it sounds like your audience watches your videos about 50% of the way through which seems really good surprisingly. The truth is almost none of us are changing the world but if you're getting 10k views per video that's pretty impressive. There's not many careers were you get infront of 10,000 people even once in your life let alone on a fairly regular basis. Maybe start cutting up the content into shorts if you want a longer viewer retention?
Best free video editing app/software?
Main Post:
Been using capcut app on my phone and it is actually pretty great. But it gets annoying trying to do everything on the phone only. What do you use to edit your videos?
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