Learn Video Editing

Video editing is the art of manipulating and arranging video clips into a single coherent video. Video editing is a technical art. Video Editors will cut and combine clips, add and remove sound, insert and remove effects and objects digitally, and ensure continuity between shots and scenes. If you’ve always wanted to learn Video Editing but can’t figure out how to get started, this guide is for you. Here, you’ll learn more about the various ways to learn Video Editing, free resources to take advantage of, and the types of careers that commonly use Video Editing.

What is Video Editing?

Video editing is the art of taking multiple different film clips and manipulating them to create a single finished video composition. Video Editors cut together clips, add, remove, and mix sound, digitally alter and remove elements of the film, and add special effects in post-production. Taking cues from the arts of cinematography and photography, video editing is a necessary component of producing video content. It is also a hidden art, as Video Editors strive to make their presence invisible, creating a seamless edit that washes over audiences.

Video Editors use tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X to create finished video projects by blending different video and sound files. Video Editors are responsible for synching audio and visual elements of the film, ensuring continuity between individual frames and scenes, and cleaning up elements of the film, such as correctly handling green screens or removing ambient sound and replacing it with desired music. Video Editors will work with directors, cinematographers, and producers to dictate a video's pace and movements, and even though their work isn’t always lauded, they represent an essential part of making professional quality video productions. 

Read more about what video editing is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Video Editing?

Video editing lets creatives make both subtle and significant alterations to video files. They can make minor but meaningful edits to combine multiple clips, alter audio volume, speed up and slow down footage, or correct color and lighting. They can also make significant changes, such as altering backgrounds using a green screen and chroma key software, adding in special effects or music, or removing background obstructions. These kinds of edits will come together to help creatives produce professional quality videos, and learning these skills will open the door to a high-paying and in-demand career field.

Learning video editing skills is also useful for creatives hoping to break into the world of content creation themselves. Rather than editing videos for other people, you’ll be able to create and edit your own content, giving your online presence a professional quality that can set your work apart from the competition. Whether you are making YouTube tutorials, scripted content, Lets Plays, or you want to stream on Twitch or YouTube, learning the basics of video editing can help take your content to the next level.

Careers that Use Video Editing

Video editing skills are utilized across every industry that produces or utilizes videos to communicate and persuade. Beyond the television and film industries, internet content creation companies, traditional and digital advertising agencies, government agencies and political campaigns, activist organizations and nonprofits, and even training firms and other large corporations regularly employ individuals with video editing training. Just a few jobs available to trained video editors include:

Video Editors: Video Editors are professionals who are tasked with ensuring that all of the video content that directors, artists, and other creatives produce is compiled and assembled into a finished product. Video Editors will work closely with storyboard artists, writers, and producers to ensure that the final edited video project is in-line with the goals and objectives of their team. Video editors will be responsible for maintaining continuity and creating meaning through how the film is cut. They will also be responsible for adding in special effects, mixing sound, and other technical aspects of the editing process.

Video Managers: On larger video projects, teams of creatives will collaborate to bring a project to fruition, including editors, directors, storyboard artists, and producers. Video Managers will oversee these teams and work closely with them to ensure that a finished video project meets the team's goals and specifications. In addition to video editing skills, Video Managers will need to learn other creative skills, such as motion graphics and digital storytelling, and soft people skills to ensure that the human element of the project works as well as the design elements.

Motion Graphics Designer: Some Video Editors may also work in the field of motion graphics design since the two fields use many of the same tools. Motion Graphics Designers will build the animated digital assets that Video Editors insert into film, television, or other video content. Motion Graphics Designers work with the kinds of computer-assisted editing work that is more clearly visible to audiences, building the imposing digital images that populate modern entertainment. They will need to be familiar with tools like Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro. Still, they will not need to pay as much attention to things like philosophies of editing and cinematography.

Why Learn Video Editing?

Students interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of film and video production may wish to learn video editing skills. Video editing is an incredibly important aspect of filmmaking. Anyone who wants to work in the film, television, or online content creation industry should consider learning how to edit videos. Video Editors are in high demand as the marketplace for digitally produced content continues to grow, with trained and experienced video editors commanding an average salary of $80,000.

For students with creative aspirations, learning video editing skills is a great way to break into online video production, whether creatively or professionally. As the marketplace for amateur video production continues to expand, it is also getting more and more crowded, meaning that new creators need to set themselves apart. Learning video editing skills can help your up-and-coming content channel produce professional quality videos without needing to bring on an editor full-time. These skills will be relevant as long as you are making video content, so up-and-coming content creators, small business owners looking to produce their video advertisements, and Social Media Marketers looking to produce content for their clients all benefit from learning video editing techniques.

How to Learn Video Editing

Students looking to learn video editing have several different options available to them. Courses are available both in-person and online, and students learning online can enroll in live or asynchronous training sessions. Students should consider their desires and needs before enrolling in a video editing course to make an informed decision about which one is best for them. To learn more about the video editing course options available to them, students should consider consulting Noble’s Classes Near Me tool. 

The most immersive option available to students is in-person video editing instruction. These courses give students direct access to trained instructors and a cohort of like-minded students to network with. In addition, since they are taken at training facilities, students will have access to the computer labs of their service provider. However, these courses require students to attend a physical site for training, meaning that some students may be very limited in terms of their options for in-person instruction.

Students who can’t attend the in-person training course of their choice may wish to look towards live online video editing training options as an alternative. These courses maintain many of the advantages of in-person courses, particularly access to a live instructor who can provide students with feedback and assistance. Plus, since these courses are taken from a student’s home, they can choose from a much larger pool of online courses. The downside is that students won’t be provided with the hardware or software they need, so they will have to be sure they can provide their own technology.

Some students, particularly those with work or family commitments, may want to consider more flexible on-demand video editing courses for video editing training. These courses come in a wide variety of forms and costs, giving students additional flexibility over how they learn to use programs like Premiere Pro and After Effects. The drawback to these courses is that they lack a live instructor to help students overcome obstacles that arise for them.

Finally, students looking to experiment with video editing but aren’t ready to enroll in a professional training course can consider taking advantage of free tutorials and resources. Noble offers several free tutorials on the Video Editing and Motion Graphics playlist on its official YouTube page. Students can also turn to Noble’s Learn Video Editing page to see a collection of videos, articles, and other resources to help them learn the basics of video editing.

Read the full guide on how to learn video editing.

Free Introductory Video Editing Course Online 

Students who aren’t ready to enroll in a live online course may wish to consider taking advantage of free introductory courses to become comfortable with the tools and techniques of video editing. While these courses won’t replace professional training, they are ideal for students who want to prepare themselves for more elaborate video editing classes.

Noble provides students with a large number of free video tutorials on the Video Editing and Motion Graphics playlist. These videos include a detailed Intro to Premiere Pro seminar and several short videos explaining how to use tools like the razor tool or create slideshows in Premiere Pro. In addition, Noble offers frequently updating videos on their free seminars page. These videos will give students the instruction they need to become comfortable with film editing software like Premiere Pro and After Effects. These seminars are designed to ease students into the practice of online video editing training so that they can succeed when they enroll in a live online class.

Read about more free video editing videos and online tutorials.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

As with many creative skills, it isn’t hard to learn the tools involved in video editing. Students can pick up the basic functions of Premiere Pro or Final Cut in only a few days of training, and the advanced techniques will only take a few weeks to learn. The challenge in video editing is learning the theories and techniques that go into creating competently editing professional-quality videos. Video Editors will need to understand principles of editing and cinematography that teach them not just how to edit two images together but why they should edit those images together and what meaning their juxtaposition produces.

There are no formal prerequisites to learning video editing skills. Students will need to be proficient in working with computers and navigating multiple files, windows, and applications. For students interested in learning how to add special effects or create animation in post-production. Students looking to learn more about these skills should consult Noble’s graphic design course offerings.

Video editing will require users to license a video editing application, and many projects will require them to license more than one. For instance, students working with Adobe Premiere Pro may also need to license After Effects and Audition. The cost will vary from program to program, but most of them will cost as little as $20/month.

Read about how difficult it is to learn video editing.

How Does Learning Video Editing Compare to Other Fields?

Video editing is most comparable to the field that it is most often paired with in training courses, motion graphics. Both of these programs use the same set of tools, though video editing will make more use of video editors like Premiere Pro, whereas motion graphics will use animation programs like After Effects. They are often taught together in professional training courses, as these skills complement one another.

Video editing primarily focuses on the finished product and deals with a great deal more minor technical aspects of video construction. Video editors will be tasked with adding flashy effects and building them into their edits, but they will also be tasked with more mundane tasks, such as ensuring continuity between shots and mixing sound to eliminate ambient noise. Motion Graphics Designers by contrast, are more concerned with building individual animated assets for editors to include in their finished edits. When working on smaller projects, both tasks may be accomplished by the same person.

Motion graphics training is ideal for creative students interested in the more visually apparent aspects of film editing, such as special effects or green screen work. Video editing training is ideal for students interested in the more subtle aspects of how disparate elements of a video are brought together to tell a story and invoke feelings in an audience.

To learn more about motion graphics and to see how it compares to video editing, check out Noble’s Learn Motion Graphics page.

How to Decide the Best Way to Learn Video Editing

Students interested in learning video editing skills have many options available, making it difficult to decide which is the best option. In most cases, the best way to learn video editing will depend on how much a student intends to do with their video editing training. Career-focused students will want more detailed training than students looking to edit their own content, for example.

Students who aren’t sure that video editing is the right creative skill may want to consider taking advantage of free tutorials, such as Noble’s Intro to Premiere Pro seminar. In courses like these, students can become comfortable with tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and decide if learning video editing is something they want to pursue. As a bonus, since these courses are free, there is very little risk involved in checking them out.

Students who want to learn how to edit videos but who aren’t looking to make that skill the centerpiece of their career may want to consider a skills training bootcamp, such as Noble’s Premiere Pro Bootcamp. In classes such as these, students will learn the practical skills necessary to edit videos proficiently, but they won’t be receiving career-focused training, such as work on professional development. These courses are ideal for students who want to expand their creative skills with another tool or students hoping to edit their own video content rather than edit other people’s content in a professional capacity.

Students looking to build a new career should consider a career-focused training program, like Noble Desktop’s Video Editing Certificate program. In courses like this, students will not only receive detailed, hands-on instruction in the finer points of video editing, but they will also receive detailed professionalization training to strengthen their chances of getting hired in the film, television, or online video industries. Students will receive career mentorship and advice on navigating the job market and spend time building a working demo reel of sample edits to take with them onto the job market.

Learn Video Editing with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of film and video production may wish to learn video editing skills. Video editing is an incredibly important aspect of filmmaking. Anyone who wants to work in the film, television, or online content creation industry should consider learning how to edit videos. Video Editors are in high demand as the marketplace for digitally produced content continues to grow, with trained and experienced video editors commanding an average salary of $80,000.

For students with creative aspirations, learning video editing skills is a great way to break into online video production, whether creatively or professionally. As the marketplace for amateur video production continues to expand, it is also getting more and more crowded, meaning that new creators need to set themselves apart. Learning video editing skills can help your up-and-coming content channel produce professional quality videos without needing to bring on an editor full-time. These skills will be relevant as long as you are making video content, so up-and-coming content creators, small business owners looking to produce their video advertisements, and Social Media Marketers looking to produce content for their clients all benefit from learning video editing techniques.

Read more about why you should learn video editing.