Videomaker’s Intermediate Editing Webinar will take you beyond simple cuts and transitions and teach you techniques that will allow you to advance your basic video editing skills. Our web presentation focuses on multi-camera editing, simple compositing, filters and effects and more; helping you in your quest to create polished and professional-looking video.

Following the session, all registrants will receive a copy of our special report, Multicam Editing. Additionally, we will be including live Q&A throughout the event; our team answering your questions. This event starts at 11:00 AM (PST) on Wednesday, August 24th, so be sure to sign up soon!

Check out Videomaker’s weekly Webinar Training Series for other sessions taught by our experts. Our webinar series features a wide variety of video production and post production topics including Advanced Shooting, Green Screen and Special Effects, Documentary Production, Lighting for Video, and much more.

As good as we are, Murphy’s Law can choose the most inopportune times to stop our recording – when a performer collapses, the bouquet is tossed, or the final score is made. That’s when working with a photographer becomes invaluable. If you secure the rights, you can use their defining image in your production. As videographers we often rely on freeze frames to cover such moments, but another angle and a well trained eye should always be welcome. Still photography and film certainly have a new level of integration with DSLRs shooting video, and inherently, video involves pictures, so adding stills to video should be natural.

The most famous method for using stills in video is the found in historical documentaries via the Ken Burns effect, aptly named for the extensive use of zooming in and adding motion to stills throughout his films. This allows for the direction of viewer attention to specific subjects and can provide a close up instead of an otherwise stagnant shot. Depending on the subject, you may need to exercise the same practice as historical documentaries if no footage is available, as if we produced a biography of Benjamin Franklin during the 1770s.

Another common, though less conventional way to use stills is to split up the screen with two, four or a montage of photos. In this case, black space around the photo isn’t necessarily bad. More films are using techniques that freeze moving video and add graphics to a still, then return to the regular motion of the video. Combine these with the creative tools found in photo editing programs, and stills can become the highlight of a production. Even titles and behind the scenes extras are excellent areas of production to make use of stills, so take the camera out and get 30 or 120 frames per second, but don’t underestimate the power of one frame.

Media management is one of the first steps to successful editing. Without proper organization, your media files can be difficult to find, and that winning shot may be forever lost amongst the clutter. One way to keep your search time to a minimum from within the video-editing application, is by using bins.

Bins are folders within your project, and should contain all of your imported or captured media files. You can use as many bins as you feel necessary, so don’t be shy. A good place to start is to have a bin for each of the following: video, audio, and graphics. From there, you can create sub-bins. For example, in your audio bin you could have bins named music, and sound effects. Depending on what type of project you are editing, your bin names may vary. The categorization doesn’t stop there. Many editing programs have additional tools to keep your media bins organized, such as color-coding and quality ratings (i.e., good, best).

The goal of media management is to create a system that is tailored to your needs and preferences. Keeping an organized project means more time to edit, easier to access media files, and knowing you’ll be able to track down that great shot in a matter of seconds.

For more tips on managing your media check out Editing: Media Management.

Interested in more tips on Video Editing? Sign up for Videomaker’s free Video Editing Course. This free tip series is designed to help you improve your video production skills, fast. Learn More.

There are many transitions you can use when editing, such as a cut, dissolve, or fade. But how do you edit in a way that adds intrigue to your story? By using a split edit.

A split edit, also known as a J-cut or an L-cut, is a transition in which the audio and video of a clip are introduced at different times. For example, you may hear several seconds of a person being interviewed before you actually see the person who is speaking. This technique is used to add a dramatic effect to the scene and is relatively easy to accomplish. After selecting a clip, unlink the audio and video tracks. Once you’ve done that, you’re able to shorten or lengthen either track, depending on the desired effect.

Split edits are a great way to add spice to your everyday transitions while keeping the audience engaged in what’s happening on-screen. Whether you’re trying to add intrigue, maintain continuity, or just break from your normal editing choices, using a split edit can help.

To find out more about using split edits and the effect it can have your story, check out Tricks for J and L Cuts.

Interested in more tips on Editing? Sign up for Videomaker’s free Video Editing Course. This free tip series is designed to help you improve your video production skills, fast. Learn More.