Best Free Video Editing Resources & Tutorials

Many professionals are eager to learn Video Editing but hesitate because of the perceived up-front costs. Students are likely to need to license a few different editing programs, and they may need to purchase video files (or find another way to acquire the materials with which to work). However, a surprising amount of free resources are available to help beginners get the hang of this exciting program. 

Read on to learn more about the different types of free resources and tutorials available to help you learn Video Editing. 

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?

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.

Free Tutorials

Students who aren’t ready to enroll in a live online course may wish to consider taking advantage of free introductory courses to become comfortable with the tools and techniques of video editing. While these courses won’t replace professional training, they are ideal for students who want to prepare themselves for more elaborate video editing classes.

Noble provides students with many free video tutorials on the Video Editing and Motion Graphics playlist. These videos include a detailed Intro to Premiere Pro seminar and several short videos explaining how to use tools like the razor tool or create slideshows in Premiere Pro. In addition, Noble offers frequently updating videos on their free seminars page. These videos will give students the instruction they need to become comfortable with film editing software like Premiere Pro and After Effects. These seminars are designed to ease students into the practice of online video editing training so that they can succeed when they enroll in a live online class.

To explore other free resources, tutorials, articles, and content, consider browsing the options available on Noble’s Learn Video Editing page.

Free Resources

Students can also make use of a large number of free resources available to them online. For instance, both Adobe and Apple offer free trials of their video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, respectively) and free online tutorials to help new users become accustomed to the programs. In addition, there are free alternatives to these programs, which users may wish to start with if they are worried about the cost of licensing software.

There are also a great many free video files that users can download to begin experimenting with editing skills. YouTube is full of videos that are simply remixed or edited content from other media projects, so new editors can easily find both examples of edited videos and the raw footage needed to start editing.

Finally, there are a ton of online content creators who, because they themselves work on the editing of their projects, have backgrounds in film theory and professional editing. This means that a uniquely large amount of good, free content is available that explains and breaks down theories and techniques of video editing.

Key Insights

• For students who aren’t ready to invest too much money in their video editing training, there are plenty of free resources for them to take advantage of.
• Noble offers free training seminars, video tutorials, and other resources on their Learn Video Editing page and ir official YouTube page.
• Adobe and Apple both offer free trials of their video editing applications. These free trials are an ideal time to browse through the free training resources offered through Noble and either Adobe or Apple.
• Since many online content creators edit their own videos, there is a disproportionately large amount of videos concerned with the process and practices of editing, and many of these video creators likely have significant hands-on experience as editors.
• Students looking to take their training to the next level with paid training courses should consider the in-person and live online video editing courses made available through Noble Desktop.

Learn Video Editing with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of film and video production may wish to learn video editing skills. Video editing is an incredibly important aspect of filmmaking. Anyone who wants to work in the film, television, or online content creation industry should consider learning how to edit videos. Video Editors are in high demand as the marketplace for digitally produced content continues to grow, with trained and experienced video editors commanding an average salary of $80,000.

For students with creative aspirations, learning video editing skills is a great way to break into online video production, whether creatively or professionally. As the marketplace for amateur video production continues to expand, it is also getting more and more crowded, meaning that new creators need to set themselves apart. Learning video editing skills can help your up-and-coming content channel produce professional quality videos without needing to bring on an editor full-time. These skills will be relevant as long as you are making video content, so up-and-coming content creators, small business owners looking to produce their video advertisements, and Social Media Marketers looking to produce content for their clients all benefit from learning video editing techniques.

Read more about why you should learn video editing.