How Difficult is it to Learn Video Editing?

Are you curious about learning Video Editing but worried that it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning Video Editing depend on factors likewhat kinds of projects a student intends to work on, how much of a background they have in things like film theory, and what their professional aspirations are as a Video Editor. 

No matter your current schedule or comfort level with Video Editing, plenty of tools are available to help make learning easier than you might think.

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.

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Video Editing?

For many students, the challenges of learning video editing lie in reconciling that it is both a technical and a creative process. Learning the tools necessary to cut video files, add effects, and combine footage is relatively easy compared to understanding why certain cuts are utilized in certain situations and the effects they have on audiences. Given that film editing is a rich, hundred-year-old art, there are a lot of resources to help learn these skills, but students will need to put in the work to learn them.

How Does Learning Video Editing Compare to Other Fields?

Video editing is most comparable to the field that it is most often paired with in training courses, motion graphics. Both of these programs use the same set of tools, though video editing will make more use of video editors like Premiere Pro, whereas motion graphics will use animation programs like After Effects. They are often taught together in professional training courses, as these skills complement one another.

Video editing primarily focuses on the finished product and deals with a great deal more minor technical aspects of video construction. Video editors will be tasked with adding flashy effects and building them into their edits, but they will also be tasked with more mundane tasks, such as ensuring continuity between shots and mixing sound to eliminate ambient noise. Motion Graphics Designers by contrast, are more concerned with building individual animated assets for editors to include in their finished edits. When working on smaller projects, both tasks may be accomplished by the same person.

Motion graphics training is ideal for creative students interested in the more visually apparent aspects of film editing, such as special effects or green screen work. Video editing training is ideal for students interested in the more subtle aspects of how disparate elements of a video are brought together to tell a story and invoke feelings in an audience.

To learn more about motion graphics and to see how it compares to video editing, check out Noble’s Learn Motion Graphics page.

Learning Editing Concepts

Students may wish to spend time learning concepts of editing, such as montage, the Kuleshov effect, different kinds of cuts and angles, and elements of continuity. High-end editing training is often something that students learn at a university. While this isn’t necessary for all students, it does suggest that the skills involved in the artistic side of the editing process are incredibly important.

Different Editing Projects

Students aren’t obligated to take an artistic approach to their video editing projects. Many Video Editors will be working on much shorter and less complex projects than those produced in the television and film industries. These students can lean more heavily into the technical side of their training. This will make the process far less difficult, as students will be less likely to need to learn the more complex theories that underscore editing, but the process will be no less rewarding.

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.