How Long Do Video Editing Courses Take?

When enrolling in a video editing class, you may want to consider the length of the course and the amount of time you’ll be investing in the class. Time is valuable, and while enrolling in a video editing class can do wonders for your long-term earning potential, you will want to be sure that you are optimizing the time investment you spend on a video editing class. This article aims to help you learn how long different kinds of video editing classes last, which of those classes are ideal for which students and how to determine what kind of video editing class you want to enroll in.

Lengths of Classes

Like any skill, the time it takes to learn video editing is going to depend on how much you want to learn and how much time you can dedicate to your training. Classes will range in length from as short as an afternoon to as long as a few months (and that is before considering that you can enroll in film programs that last upwards of six years). How long a class lasts almost always correlates with the level of depth of the instruction, with shorter classes covering essential introductory material or specific use cases and video editing techniques and longer courses focusing more on professional editing skills and providing students with a career-focused education. 

Introductory classes

Introductory video editing classes tend to be the shortest and most efficient way to learn the basics of editing techniques and applications. These classes tend to last less than a day (or are spread out over a few days in shorter sessions) and they combine the advantages of a live training session with the advantages of a fast and straight-forward introduction. These courses are a good way to quickly learn the basics of applications like Premiere Pro and get comfortable enough with the interface to start experimenting on your own. However, the drawback here is that because these classes are introductory, if you decide that you want to learn more than the basics, you’ll need to spend more time learning, either on your own or in an advanced class.

Advanced Courses

Much like introductory courses, advanced video editing classes aim to teach students specific and necessary video editing skills in a quick and efficient manner. The primary difference is simply the level of prerequisites that an advanced class requires, since you’ll need to either have self-taught the basics or have taken an introductory course. You can use these advanced courses to learn video editing skills at your own pace, since you can opt to prioritize certain advanced lessons and you can enroll in classes in a way that fits your schedule, but you may miss out on some of the vital career-focused lessons you’d receive in a more immersive program.

Video Editing Bootcamps 

Video editing bootcamps, certificate programs and professional development courses are all more immersive, longer training programs that aim to help students prepare for a career in video editing. This means that they will cost more and take substantially longer, but they also aim to have you career-ready by the time you leave the program. They also dedicate time to professional development projects, like career mentoring, demo reel assembly and practice job interviews. These will increase the time that they take, but are invaluable if you are aiming to make film editing your job. These classes tend to take several weeks (of full-time study) or several months (part-time).

Film Studies Degrees

If you really, really have a lot of time and money and want to edit at a professional level, you’ll want to get an MFA. These degree programs will give you hundreds upon hundreds of hours of focused training and they will cover everything from the use of editing applications to the history of film editing theory. The obvious drawback to these kinds of film programs is that they are exclusive (you need to apply to get in), expensive (they are graduate degrees), and they can take upwards of 2-3 years to complete (and you’ll need a related BS or BA to qualify). Not everyone can manage the time and expense of these programs, but they are certainly the most immersive way to learn professional editing skills.

On-demand classes

On the other end of the spectrum, you have on-demand classes, which offer you a lot of freedom in constructing your own lesson plan and area of focus. These courses let you pick up and put down your lessons whenever you find it convenient and they can be repeated or skipped as you see fit. This level of freedom can also be their biggest drawback since you will be responsible for keeping yourself invested in your work. It is easy to fall behind on your studies if you are working through on-demand classes, and this can make the process of learning skills take even longer. Plus, since these classes aren’t taught by live instructors, you’ll need to spend even more time troubleshooting any challenges or issues that arise during your studies.

Part-time or Full-time?

When enrolling in a class, you’ll also want to consider whether you will study full-time or part-time. For many students, this decision will be made for them, as part-time is the only way to really study video editing at a professional level while keeping your day job. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to both options to consider if you do think you have a choice between full-time and part-time training. Full-time classes will be completed sooner, but they will also require more investment and work, particularly outside of the classroom since you’ll be doing a decent amount of homework in most of these classes. Part-time courses will take longer in terms of start to finish, but they are likely to give you more time to practice your skills, become comfortable with applications and editing theories and develop professional skills that can help you set yourself apart from other from other potential applicants, especially as you have more time to work on and refine your demo reel.

Learn Video Editing Skills with Noble Desktop

Regardless of how much time you want to spend learning video editing, Noble Desktop has a course that is built to fit your needs. Students looking for a detailed, professional training program can spend 126 classroom hours learning video editing skills in the Video Editing and Motion Graphics Certificate program. In this course, students with no background in video editing can prepare themselves for a career in the industry in full-time or part-time sessions. Students will learn how to edit complex video content using Premiere Pro, After Effects and Audition, and since this is a career-focused course, students will build an application-quality demo reel to demonstrate their skills as aspiring Video Editors.

Students seeking a more accelerated training program should consider enrolling in a course like the Premiere Pro Bootcamp. Over three days, students will get hands-on experience working with Premiere Pro, and they will learn everything from basic to advanced skills and get a handle on working with Premiere Pro at a professional level. Students will learn how to navigate the user interface and make simple cuts in one or more video files. They will also learn the basics of maintaining continuity, aligning audio and keeping their video project moving smoothly. Then, students will learn how to work with multiple video files, multi-step edits and adding, removing and cleaning audio files.

Finally, students looking for a quick introduction to video editing can enroll in the Premiere Pro in a Day course. This course will give students six hours of hands-on Premiere Pro training to help them become familiar with the interface and the basic process of uploading video files and working with them in the Premiere Pro interface. Students will learn how to clip and merge video files, and they will learn the basic philosophies that go into creating edited video content. This course is a quick introduction to the application for students looking to learn more about the tools and begin experimenting with Premiere Pro.