What is Video Editing?
Video editing involves cutting, arranging, and modifying video and audio footage to make a cohesive narrative. Before the invention of modern computers, video editors had to manually cut up strips of film and piece them together. Today, they use special software to rearrange and edit video clips.
Most people associate video editing with the film and television industry. Indeed, all movies require video editors, whether they are Hollywood blockbusters or low-budget indie films. However, video editing is also a critical part of journalism, advertising, marketing, animation, and video game design. Since videos are often used on websites and social media to grab attention, web designers and digital marketing experts may learn video editing as a supplementary skill.
There are a few core skills that any video editor will need to be successful. Video editors should be comfortable using professional editing software like Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. It’s also important that they be able to use post-production software, such as After Effects. They should understand how to properly pace a video, make adjustments to sound and visuals, create title cards, and perform other routine edits. Video editors who work in studios need additional teamwork skills. They will need to be able to communicate and collaborate with other editors, storyboard artists, directors, and composers.
It’s helpful for video editors to have a more general understanding of good design. While motion graphics design skills aren’t required to become a video editor, they are extremely beneficial and can expand job opportunities.
Why Learn Video Editing?
The ever-growing popularity of video as a medium means that skilled video editors are always in demand. From corporations that want to expand their in-house training materials to newlyweds who want a professional-looking wedding video to put on YouTube, there are diverse job opportunities for video editing experts.
Skilled video editors can work in many types of professional settings. They may choose to work in a studio, in a corporate environment, at an up-and-coming startup, or independently as a freelancer. Some newcomers to the field choose to start by working part-time or on a freelance basis, then look for full-time jobs once they have built up a portfolio of work. This flexibility makes video editing an attractive career choice.
Beyond these career-related reasons, many people choose to learn video editing because they enjoy the artistic challenges it poses. It’s rewarding to take raw footage and turning it into a cohesive narrative. Even if you only use your video editing skills for your personal social media posts or to clean up family videos, video editing can be a fun way to spend your free time.
What Careers Use Video Editing?
People with proven experience in video editing and well-developed portfolios can find employment as professional video editors. Since video is an essential means of communication and promotion across industries, there are many career opportunities. Experts in video editing can work in media, tech, commerce, education, finance, or government.
After working as a video editor and developing a knowledge of video production as a whole, you may be able to find work as a video manager. Video managers lead production departments and studios, overseeing video editors in their everyday work. Besides getting involved in the video editing process itself, video managers plan projects, assist with scripting and storyboarding, and act as a liaison for clients or executives.
Although motion graphics design is different from video editing, some professionals who freelance or work at small companies may do both. Motion graphics designers create moving graphics for film, television, social media, video games, and other types of visual media. Like video editors, they work with companies and studios of all sizes.
There are other careers in which video editing skills aren’t required, but may be helpful from time to time. Some graphic designers, 2D animators, and 3D animators may have secondary skills in video editing.
What Video Editing Classes Are Available?
Our design school, Noble Desktop, offers a range of video editing courses that you can attend in NYC or live online. For people who want to edit videos professionally, taking a course is the best way to learn. Noble Desktop’s expert instructors provide lessons that efficiently cover the fundamental video editing skills you’ll need to be successful in a job. Through hands-on projects and interactive training, students will gain real-life video editing experience.
Want to start learning how to use video editing software? Enroll in the Premiere Pro Bootcamp. In this 18-hour course, you’ll become familiar with Premiere Pro’s interface and features. You’ll develop the ability to organize footage, add titles, erase green screens, adjust volume and speed, resize videos, and export completed projects.
If you’re only interested in learning the basics, check out Premiere Pro in a Day. This 6-hour class covers common uses of Premiere Pro, like color correction, animating images, and simple edits. After completing the class, you’ll be able to edit short videos for social media or freelance projects.
Audio editing is an essential part of creating professional-grade videos. Noble Desktop’s 6-hour Adobe Audition course will teach you how to create sound effects and voiceovers, remove background noise from a recording, and export audio files.
Certificate Programs for Video Editing
Certificate programs prepare you for a career with a combination of classes in video editing techniques, industry-standard software, and portfolio development. Noble Desktop offers several certificate programs for aspiring video professionals.
The Video Editing Certificate will prepare you to take an idea and turn it into a full-fledged, professional-looking video. This course walks you through video and audio editing, basic animation, and the creation of a demo reel. While you’ll learn how to use Adobe Audition and After Effects, you’ll spend the most time with Premiere Pro.
Developing the ability to animate titles and do other post-production work in After Effects is an important skill for video editors. Some creators also find that learning how to make motion graphics in After Effects is a good entry point into video editing. Noble Desktop’s Motion Graphics Certificate prepares students to make high-quality visual effects and motion graphics in After Effects and gets them started with video editing in Premiere Pro.
Professionals working in video benefit from a strong knowledge of motion graphics. Our Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate will help you become fluent in both. This program covers all of the topics taught in the Video Editing Certificate and the Motion Graphics Certificate.
Video Editing v. Motion Graphics
Since video editing and motion graphics are related fields, you may be wondering about the benefits of learning one over the other, or if it’s necessary to have skills in motion graphics to succeed as a video editor. It’s important to understand that training in these respective areas will set you up for different types of careers. Video editing training will prepare you to clean up video footage and stitch clips together to create a clear message for the audience. Motion graphics training is more focused on design than storytelling.
If you’re taking video editing classes, you should be prepared to learn about how to cut video clips, change their speed, and adjust color and audio. Motion design requires working with still images or edited video to add effects. Motion artists often create or edit graphics with software like Photoshop or Illustrator, then use After Effects to turn them into GIFs and animations.
Do you enjoy working on long-term, multistage projects? Are you more interested in telling a story than creating an interesting design? Do you like the idea of working with raw video footage? If your answer to any or all of these questions is “yes,” then video editing may be the best career path for you.
Premiere Pro v. After Effects
Many video editing classes include training in After Effects along with Premiere Pro. Although Premiere Pro is the industry-standard video editing tool, there are benefits to knowing After Effects as well.
While motion graphics and video are different types of media, many creative professionals work with both. Video editors may start a project in Premiere Pro, then switch to After Effects to insert titles, add effects like rainstorms and lightning, or color grade the footage. While Premiere Pro has basic features for creating titles and effects, it doesn’t come close to matching the abilities of After Effects for the post-production process.
The good news is that Premiere Pro and After Effects are both included in the Adobe Creative Cloud, which means professionals can access both of them (along with Adobe Audition and many other design apps) through a single subscription. Premiere Pro and After Effects integrate seamlessly, and learning one is easier after you know the other.
