Edit Videos for YouTube

Editing videos for YouTube is important because it can help your videos look better, which can get you more views and up-votes. Editing videos for YouTube is easy, an you don't need to run out and get a special program; you can use the one on the YouTube website! This article will show you how to edit your videos using YouTube's own editor. It will also give you tips for editing using another program, such as Movie Maker.

Steps

Uploading Videos to YouTube

  1. Create a YouTube account. If you already possess a YouTube account, just sign into it. To use the YouTube video editor program, you need a YouTube account. Video editor and its video manager tab allow you to combine different videos and images, trim your clips, add music, and renovate clips by adding special effects. If you don’t have a YouTube account, it’s easy to create one. [1]
    • Go to the YouTube site, and choose "sign in" on the top right. Then, choose “create an account.” All you will need is a Google email. If you don’t have one, choose “create account” at the bottom of the Google sign-in page, and it will redirect you to a page where you can create one.
    • After you’ve created a YouTube account, you need to go to the video editor. Choose the icon on the top right of the page, and then Creator Studio. Choose video manager on the left of the screen. You will see the video editor tab appear at the top of the page. Click on it.
    • You could also go directly to the video editor by typing in YouTube.com/editor.
  2. Upload a video or videos to YouTube. [2] You can use up to 50 clips and 500 images in any single video that you create. First, you need to upload the video or videos you want to use.
    • To upload a video from your computer, simply click on the upload button at the top of the page once you sign in. Choose the privacy setting. Select the video you want to upload. While it is uploading, you can edit the basic information and advanced settings and decide if you want to notify subscribers.
    • Click" publish" if you are going to make the video public. Click "private" or "unlisted" and then "done" and "share" to privately share it. You will receive an email that says your video is done.
    • To upload a video on an iOS device, sign into YouTube. Open the guide in the upper left corner and go to My Channel. Touch the upload icon. Select your video from your camera roll. Touch confirmation button. Adjust title, description, tags, and privacy settings. Touch the upload icon. [3]
    • The videos will be automatically added to the video editor.
  3. Study the video editor tabs. You will see four tabs in the video editor. These tabs are how you will find the various editing and enhancement functions.
    • The first tab on the left contains all the videos you have uploaded. This is a camera icon. This will allow you to browse through your clips and images.
    • The second tab has Creative Commons videos. These videos are copyright free and available for you to use. You can search for specific Creative Commons videos by typing key words in the search bar after you click on the Creative Commons icon on the top left of the video editor.
    • The third tab allows you to add music. It is a music note.
    • The fourth tab contains transitions that you can select to move within your video from one edit to another. It is a bow tie.
  4. Drop your video or videos into the timeline. Choose either a video you have uploaded or a Creative Commons video (or both), and move your mouse over the one you want. Click the + sign that appears to drop it into the timeline.
    • You could also drag the selected image or clip to the bottom of the timeline where it says “drag videos here to begin editing.”
    • If you want to blend two videos, just click both and pop them down into your timeline.

Editing your Video into Clips

  1. Trim your video. You can shorten the length of a clip once you’ve put it in your timeline. Maybe there are pieces of the video that you don’t like and want to cut out. Or maybe you just want the video to be shorter.
    • Put your cursor over the video you have dropped into your timeline. Choose the scissors icon that appears in the video box. The scissors allow you to cut your video.
    • Grab the bar on the left and move it to the right. It will delete everything on the right. You can do the same from the right. Move the bar to edit. Click save. It will delete everything that is a white-gray color.
    • To cut something out of the middle of a clip, you need to put the video into the timeline twice. Then, trim each down. [4]
    • To lengthen the clip instead, drag the handle away from the center. But if you lengthen past the original video length the video will repeat.
  2. Add transitions. To add a transition, choose one from the choices offered after clicking on the video manager tab on the top of the video editor. This tab looks like a bow tie.
    • Drag the transition you select down into the middle of two clips. You will have 17 options for transitions, but overusing transitions can make a video seem amateurish.
    • To combine multiple clips, just drag them into the timeline, and put them in the order you want.[5]

Adding Enhancements and Effects

  1. Choose the effects icon. When you put your cursor over the video in the timeline, you can choose effects on the right icon that appears in the video box. It looks like a magic wand.
    • A box will pop up and you can choose certain effects, like making your video black-and-white, changing the brightness and contrast, and stabilizing the video. [2]
    • The middle icon allows you to rotate the video.
  2. Add enhancements to your video. These selections allow you to add filters, change the color and make your videos look better.
    • To apply enhancements, go to video manager on your YouTube channel. Choose the video you want to edit and click edit and then enhancements. Choose from the features on the desktop and then click save as.
    • Available enhancements include stabilizing shaky motions, slow motion, time lapse, trimming out pieces of your video, rotation, blurring faces, and applying filters. [6]
    • Your video must be shorter than 2 hours and be under 100,000 views to use enhancements.
    • You can preview your changes by dragging the line in the middle. This will allow you to look at the old version and new version side-by-side. Choose quick fixes tab and then the enhancement you want or filters tab to see color filters.
  3. Add background music. You can add music to your video by choosing a free selection available under the music tab at the top of the video editor.
    • Under the video manager, choose the video you want to edit, choose edit button and select audio. You can add feature tracks you will see on the right side. You can also search names of music tracks in the search bar. Click save.
    • You can’t upload your own audio or trim the audio clips. If you use audio, YouTube will add an advertisement to your video
    • It can take time for the audio change to process. [7]
  4. Add notes and annotations to your YouTube videos. Click the edit video detail button. You will find this on the left side of the screen, right above your video. [8]
    • You can also create a title, and a description that appears under your video, using the same button.
    • You should choose a category and tags because these will help people find your video when they are searching for things that relate to its topic. If you don’t do this, fewer people are likely to find your video

Using Movie Maker to Edit

  1. Choose another editing program, such as Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker is a free program that you can easily find on your computer if you have Windows. It is very similar to the video editing program in YouTube. However, you will edit your video on your computer, and then upload it to YouTube.[9]
    • The MAC equivalent of Movie Maker is iMovie. You could buy a professional video editing program instead. Some choices include Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro. But these can be costly.
    • If you have Windows on your PC, you should be able to find Windows Movie Maker under your start menu. Transfer your video from your phone or camcorder to your computer using a USB cord. Then, run Movie Maker.
  2. Choose a video in Movie Maker. This is a relatively straight-forward process that is very similar to the YouTube video editing program. You will also place videos into a timeline so that you can edit them and add enhancements.
    • Choose “capture from video device” in the left hand bar. You will select a name for your video and where you want to store the footage on your computer. Choose best quality playback on computer when the next screen pops up.
    • Choose whether you want to capture part of the tape or all of it. It depends on how much footage you have. A capture box will come up. Keep the “create clips when wizard finishes” box selected. Use the controls to rewind or fast forward the video to the place in the video you want to capture. Click “start capture.” When you have the footage captured, click “stop capture” and then “finish.”
    • This will break the footage into clips. Choose as many clips as you want with this process, and drag them into the timeline. [10]
  3. Edit a clip. Next, you will want to edit your video into smaller segments or remove pieces of the video that you don’t like. For example, maybe a piece of your video is shaky, and you want to get rid of it by editing it out.
    • Choose a video. Click on “show storyboard” and click on the clip. It will appear in the media player. When you press play, you will see a small button on the bottom right of the screen that is the editing button.
    • Press that button when you want to remove a piece of the clip. This will split the footage into two pieces. Delete the piece in the middle that you don’t want by selecting right click and delete.
  4. Add video effects. Sometimes you want to improve the quality of your video by brightening it or adding filters or other special effects. This can be done pretty easily in Movie Maker.
    • To improve the video’s quality, click on the video and then right click. When a menu pops up, choose video effects. You will find many options for enhancing your clip, such as the ability to decrease brightness or add other tones. Select what you want and save it.
    • If you want to increase or decrease the volume of audio, click on the clip and then press audio button on the far left. Increase or decrease, and save.
    • To enter credits, go to storyboard view and click on a clip. Choose tools in the top menu and then “titles and credits.” Choose where you want to add a title. Type the title in the box that appears.
  5. Add music. To add music to your video, choose “timeline view.” Import a music file into Movie Maker and it will show up at the top of the screen.
    • Drag the music file into the audio music section where you want it to appear in the video. Save it.
  6. Export the video file. Choose file and then save movie file from the top menu. Click start. Then upload it to You Tube. [11]



Tips

  • YouTube generally accepts video resolutions up to 1080p (1920 x 1080), and even 4K (3840 x 2160), though the higher resolution usually means a larger file size, and thus a longer upload time. The maximum video length is 15 minutes, unless you confirm your YouTube account. They accept most video file formats: .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, and .MP4.
  • Study up on production skills to make your video better such as the use of storyboards or scripting. [12]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/how-to-edit-videos-in-your-browser-with-youtubes-built-1583700977
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDd0fI3f5TE
  3. ↑ https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407
  4. ↑ http://mashable.com/2012/10/19/youtube-video-editing/
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgndSmYPO78
  6. ↑ https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1388383?hl=en&topic=1388381&rd=1#desktop_enhancement
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9K0zH2VrxU
  8. ↑ http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/video/how-to-edit-youtube-videos-and-add-video-annotations.html
  9. ↑ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226771
  10. ↑ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/make-quick-professional-looking-videos-with-windows-movie-maker-part-one/
  11. ↑ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/make-quick-professional-looking-videos-with-windows-movie-maker-part-two/
  12. ↑ https://creatoracademy.withgoogle.com/page/education?tag=production&tab=courses&hl=en
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