How to Edit a Vlog Video
Since so many top vloggers are so successful due in part to their distinctive editing style, it's really important for you to learn the editing basics early on. Here's what you should know before getting started.
Since the Coronavirus shutdown started, people have been online more than ever, and many of us are feeling increasingly isolated from our family & friends. So while it may be a hard time to start most new hobbies or activities, it's the PERFECT time to start vlogging!
While there's really no ceiling to the number of views you can get on a successful vlog channel, there's so much vlog content already out there that it can take a lot to break through the noise. So if you want to start sharing any aspect of your life through a vlog, you'll want to hit the ground running with great, polished videos. Since so many top vloggers are so successful due in part to their distinctive editing styles, it's really important for you to learn the editing basics early on. Here's what you should know before getting started:
- Make a great intro clip
- Play around with filters
- Always add music
- Subtitles are your friend
1. Make a great intro clip
This can be really important to your video's (and channel's) consistency and style. Some of my favorite YouTubers like Emma Chamberlain and Anthony Fantano have distinctive intro clip styles that they keep consistent through all their channel's uploads, and their fans can recognize the style, music, and animations instantly. I recommend this full guide to making your intro video, but I'll go over a few basic things you should keep in mind:
- Try to keep it under 15 seconds
- Tell viewers (lightly) to subscribe
- Make an editable template
- Add the title of each video
2. Play around with filters
There are a lot of ways to add a bit of flair to your vlog videos, but some of them require a bit of technical video-editing knowhow. Luckily, there are ways for you to add some extra style without a whole lot of effort. The simplest: video filters.
Emma Chamberlain, for one, uses them constantly to add quirky accents to her videos. It's simple to do: just clip out part of your scene and apply some funny filters to something you're saying. Going sepia-toned can add a sarcastic somber mood, deep-frying can highlight something a little absurd, and filters can be combined with speed changes for hilarious effects.
In the Kapwing Studio, it's simple to add any filter effect you want to your video. Just select the clip you want to edit, choose "Adjust" in the right-hand toolbar, and change your video's brightness, saturation, contrast, blur, and opacity. I recommend checking out this comprehensive guide to aesthetic video effects to get started.
3. Always add music
Vlogs will naturally have abrupt shifts, a little downtime, or awkward background noises that are hard to edit out. For this reason, you should include background music whenever you feel it would enhance your video.
However, you don't want the music to take over and steal the show from your vlog's content. For this reason, you should always work with a video editor that not only allows you to precisely adjust the timing of your video and music tracks, but also lets you reduce the volume of your music dramatically. I recommend using Kapwing, so you can add any song you found on the internet, edit its timing precisely, and adjust its volume, all quickly & easily.
4. Subtitles are your friend
On some social media channels, up to 85% of people watch videos without sound, and YouTube is no different. That's why YouTube gives you a tool to automatically add subtitles to your videos, edit them, or type them up yourself. If you want your vlogs to reach the widest audience and get the most viewership (especially in YouTube's video preview mode), you should take the time to add subtitles to every one of them.
You can also make your subtitles actually enhance the style of your videos! You should always use them anyway, so you might as well get the most out of them. Using Kapwing's Subtitler tool, you can customize your captions' font, color, position, size, and outline style. It's a great idea to match the style of your subtitles with your vlog's overall style, using colors and fonts that give your videos even more personality.
Remember to tag us @KapwingApp whenever you share your content on social media– we love to support all our creators! And be sure to subscribe to the Kapwing Resources page – we’re constantly writing new tutorial and features to help you make the most out of Kapwing.