Video editing is the art of altering and manipulating the arrangement of video footage using techniques like cuts and transitions to create new meaning. Video editing is the final creative process that a video project goes through before it is ready for publication. An important factor in deciding to learn a new skill is researching complementary and related skills. Doing so will help you make more informed decisions about what you want to learn, and it will help you decide whether or not learning a specific skill is the right decision for you. You will also learn what skills you may want to learn to complement your training later. Read on to learn more about related video editing training options such as motion graphics training, graphic design training, and digital and social media marketing.

What is Video Editing?

Video editing is the art of taking multiple different film clips and manipulating them to create a single finished video composition. Video Editors cut together clips, add, remove, and mix sound, digitally alter and remove elements of the film, and add special effects in post-production. Taking cues from the arts of cinematography and photography, video editing is a necessary component of producing video content. It is also a hidden art, as Video Editors strive to make their presence invisible, creating a seamless edit that washes over audiences.

Video Editors use tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X to create finished video projects by blending different video and sound files. Video Editors are responsible for synching audio and visual elements of the film, ensuring continuity between individual frames and scenes, and cleaning up elements of the film, such as correctly handling green screens or removing ambient sound and replacing it with desired music. Video Editors will work with directors, cinematographers, and producers to dictate a video's pace and movements, and even though their work isn’t always lauded, they represent an essential part of making professional quality video productions. 

Read more about what video editing is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Video Editing Skills?

Video editing lets creatives make both subtle and significant alterations to video files. They can make minor but meaningful edits to combine multiple clips, alter audio volume, speed up and slow down footage, or correct color and lighting. They can also make significant changes, such as altering backgrounds using a green screen and chroma key software, adding in special effects or music, or removing background obstructions. These kinds of edits will come together to help creatives produce professional quality videos, and learning these skills will open the door to a high-paying and in-demand career field.

Learning video editing skills is also useful for creatives hoping to break into the world of content creation themselves. Rather than editing videos for other people, you’ll be able to create and edit your own content, giving your online presence a professional quality that can set your work apart from the competition. Whether you are making YouTube tutorials, scripted content, Lets Plays, or you want to stream on Twitch or YouTube, learning the basics of video editing can help take your content to the next level.

Skills Related to Video Editing

Since video editing is one of the most essential parts of filmmaking, any professionals who work with or around video productions can benefit from learning some basic editing techniques. The two primary beneficiaries of learning video editing skills are creatives who work alongside Video Editors as part of the creative process and directors and managers who oversee video content production. Regardless, learning editing skills can pay long-term dividends if you plan to help produce video content.

Motion Graphics Design

Motion graphics design (more commonly known as animation) is the skill most closely related to video editing. They are so closely related that both sets of professionals use the same basic tools (Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects). The two subjects are often taught together in courses like Noble Desktop’s Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate program. The primary difference between the two is that motion graphics specialists handle the creation of digital assets. At the same time, video editing professionals are responsible for seamlessly integrating those assets into the final video project. Motion Graphics Artists deal with more narrow and specialized tasks than Video Editors, who are responsible for everything from working with digitally animated effects to mixing sound and ensuring continuity between edits.

Students learning motion graphics skills will focus more on the creative side of the process as opposed to the technical aspects of filmmaking. Motion Graphics Artists will also focus on compartmentalized aspects of the project, potentially only working on assets for a single scene or character. In contrast, Video Editors will be working with the whole project and everyone involved in the creative process.

Graphic Design

Graphic design is a banner term for any attempt to communicate with a mass audience using visual designs and imagery. While graphic design and video editing are not the same processes, they have a similar attentiveness to the ways in which audiences understand imagery and the relationship between images. The principles of composition and visual communication do overlap, so professionals in either field may want to consider receiving some training in the other. Video Editors are more likely to benefit from graphic design training than the reverse, however, since graphic design skills are more applicable to video projects than theories of film composition and cinematography are to 2D graphic design work.

Graphic design training, such as the instruction offered in Noble Desktop’s Graphic Design Certificate program, tends to cover the major Adobe Creative Cloud tools for visual design, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. These tools let users create vibrant, 2D digital assets for traditional print and online publication. Video Editors can benefit from learning the composition theories that go into constructing evocative visual messaging and memorable graphic designs, particularly if they are also interested in motion graphics design.

Digital Marketing

One of the most common kinds of video content produced is for commercial advertising. While commercials were once primarily the purview of television, digital marketing has begun to eclipse virtually every form of traditional advertising. As a result, many Video Editors are finding work in and around the digital advertising space. This means there are benefits for Video Editors to consider learning digital marketing skills and for aspiring Digital Marketers to learn how to edit video content.

Digital marketing is a fairly varied career field, and many skills you will learn in a course like Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Certificate program won’t immediately connect to your video editing skills. However, digital marketing courses will teach students how to design and plan digital marketing campaigns, many of which hinge heavily on producing and distributing video advertisements. Learning how to manage these campaigns can greatly expand the career opportunities of a Video Editor who is working in the advertising industry.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a rapidly growing subfield of digital marketing, and it is the aspect of that profession that is most closely associated with video editing. This is because many content creators and influencers are turning towards video content on social media to enhance their reputation, expand their reach, and build their brand. These campaigns need professional editors to ensure that the video content being produced delivers the intended message. Individuals need to hire editors to help them get noticed in the crowded online marketplace. Video Editors who work in this field can learn social media marketing skills to help them understand what editing choices work best for the platforms they are posting videos to since, for example, TikTok has a different cinematic language than YouTube.

Students looking to learn more about social media marketing can enroll in a class like Noble Desktop’s Social Media Marketing Certificate program. In this class, students will learn how to tailor their video content to different social media platforms and how to generate engagement and build a following using those platforms. This course is ideal for students with a video editing background hoping to create their own social media content or help businesses and individuals build a social media brand.

Learn Video Editing Skills with Noble Desktop

If you are looking to learn video editing skills, Noble has hands-on training classes to fit your needs. Whether you want to learn in person at Noble’s Manhattan campus or online from the comfort of your home, Noble has you covered. Noble’s courses are taught by experienced instructors, meaning that students can receive feedback and assistance on their edits regardless of whether they are taking the course in person or online. In addition, Noble makes sure to keep class sizes small so students don’t have to worry about fighting for their instructor’s attention. Plus, each course comes with a free retake option, giving students the chance to get even more hands-on experience to complement their initial training.

For students looking to learn the basics of video editing software, Noble’s Premiere Pro Bootcamp offers students a chance to receive hands-on experience editing video clips, adding sound effects, and mixing dialogue. Students will also learn advanced editing techniques, such as how to alter the speed of a clip, how to edit multi-camera shots, and how to work with chroma key replacement and green screens. This course is an ideal choice for students who want to learn how to edit film but aren’t entirely sure that they plan to make a career out of video editing. This makes the course perfect for anyone looking to make their own video productions look as professional as possible.

For students who are looking to learn new career skills to become Video Editors, Noble’s career-focused Video Editing Certificate will give students all the tools that they need to start editing film professionally. This course will teach students how to edit using Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition. Students will get hands-on experience working through editing exercises that mirror the real-world work they will be doing in an editing bay, such as manipulating film clips, creating animated assets for title sequences, and clearing up and mixing audio tracks using Audition, among other skills. Students will also receive one-on-one career mentorship and professional development, and by the end of the course, they will have built a practical demo reel that they can take onto the job market.

Students interested in learning more about their options for video editing classes and bootcamps should check out the options available to them through Noble Desktop.

Key Takeaway

• Students who have a background in video editing can follow a number of different paths to expand on their career skills.
• Motion graphics design training is ideal for students looking to expand on their knowledge and who are looking to work on a different creative aspect of filmmaking.
• Graphic design skills and composition theories can be useful for video editors hoping to better understand the relationship between audiences and images.
• Video Editors working in advertising may want to consider receiving digital marketing training or more focused social media marketing training.
• No matter what skills you want to learn, Noble Desktop is here to provide students with professional-quality training either in-person at their Manhattan campus or through live online instruction.