Editing video

If filming is the process of getting your ideas recorded on to video tape, then editing is the art of storytelling.

It is a highly creative process whereby you take all of your recorded video clips, bits of sound and images and weave them together to make a flowing story. If editing is done well then it becomes seamless, it flows and you don't notice it as you are pulled into the story of the film.

Tip: It's a lot easier than it looks.

When you first start it looks like it's going to be hard, all the tools look so complex. But good news, once you have a go, you'll be suprised just how easy and straightfward it is.

Key steps

1. Transfer the video recordings from camera to computer. This is known as digitising, which also splits up your recording into a series of video 'clips' that you can play with.
   
2. In the video editing software, you can then slide these into an order to tell your story, along with still pictures, voice overs, music and special effects to smooth out the jumps between the clips. 
3. Once you have the clips assembled in an order you like, you tell the editing software to make the final film/movie and it outputs a single finished file.

Video editing software tools