For those who may not know, I create videos on YouTube sharing art projects, collaborations with friends, Create This Book and more art-related content. I create, record, and edit all of the videos myself. It is a lot of work, but totally worth it, and plus, I enjoy it. So I thought I would share some of my editing processes with you.
What editing application do I use?
Through my journey of discovering editing apps that were affordable and worked for me, I found Movavi Video Editor. I purchased it for $40 a couple of years ago, and it has worked successfully for my purposes.
Step 1 - Downloading & Sorting Footage
I record videos using a Motorola and from that phone, the footage uploads to my Google Photos. From there, I can access the footage anywhere and download it from Google Photos onto my computer files. I sort the footage into my "YouTube" folder and typically give the folder a funny name. I numerically number each piece from how I want to edit them together.
Step 2 - Uploading & Clipping
From Movavi Video Editor, I select the files one at a time so each one can process its HD individually. This chews up a lot of time in my editing process, so typically while the footage is processing, I work on something else. Once the piece is done processing, I clip it down, cut things, create a time-lapse, or whatever feels necessary. This also takes a huge chunk of time depending on how long the piece of footage is.
Step 3 - Voice Over (if needed)
Some of my videos need a voice-over, although I try to avoid it. Create This Book videos are an exception, as those videos are entirely voiced-over because that tends to be the nature of those videos. I use a headset microphone to record a voice-over which works perfectly for me.
Step 4 - Music
After all of the nitty-gritty work is done, it's time to add music. I use Uppbeat as my music source, as it has a wide variety of different non-copyright music. I still put credits in my description though so YouTube doesn't yell at me. I organize my music by how "upbeat" they are (that wasn't meant to be a pun, but now it is). My more chill, background music is in a folder called "chill," my super hyped up, high-energy music folder is called "bop," and the ones that are somewhere in between are called "med" (short for medium). I add in the music, adjust the volume in different spots, remove it when necessary, and sometimes make the footage match the beats of the music.
Step 5 - Final Touches
This is the point where my editing process is practically done. If the video is a bit too lengthy, I go through it again and clip and cut unnecessary things to make the video shorter. Next, I watch the entire video through to catch any mistakes I made while editing. Along with that, I add fun little effects depending on the dialogue or the music. This tends to make the video a bit more enjoyable to watch. The final piece is the little "subscribe" gif I add at different points of the video.
Then, I click "Export."
Step 6 - Thumbnail Creation
At this point, I can see the finish line. Typically, I have a photo in mind to use for the thumbnail, but if I don't, I take a screenshot of a specific clip in the video I created. From there, I take it into my digital art app on my computer, Krita, and add whatever I feel is necessary. I use my digital drawing pad, which makes this process a lot easier.
Step 7 - Upload to YouTube
The final step is uploading it to YouTube which tends to take forever. Videos can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to upload. Part of that process is the processing of HD files. Since this process takes so long, I usually write my description for the video, upload the thumbnail, add it to playlists, add an end screen, etc. Usually, by the time I'm done with this, it doesn't have much time left. I usually work on something else and when the video is done processing, I schedule it for Monday @ 7:00 AM MST.
Weekly Editing Schedule
Wednesday - Saturday: Steps 1 - 2
Saturday - Sunday: Steps 3 - 5
Sunday: Steps 6 - 7
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