How Long Does it Take to Learn Video Editing?

Like many aspiring Video Editors, you might want to learn Video Editing but worry that it will take too much time. Learning the tools behind basic video editing will not take students all that long. They can reliably learn tools like Premiere Pro or Final Cut in only a few weeks of training. The time-consuming part of learning video editing is learning the specific techniques and theories behind video editing and practicing enough to perfect these techniques. This process can take years of study and training. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn Video Editing and some resources to help speed the process along.

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.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Video Editing

On average, it only takes new students a few days to become comfortable with video editing software and only a few weeks to learn the more advanced functions of those applications. Beyond the technical skills required, students may need to learn the artistic side of video editing, and these lessons can take months or even a year to learn fully. Then, students will need to merge their technical and creative skills through repeated practice, which can take longer.

Other Factors

A few other factors impact how long it will take students to master video editing skills. Having prior technical and artistic knowledge will speed up the process immensely. In addition, it will benefit students to have practical ways to practice editing since producing raw video footage to practice with can be rather time-consuming.

Prior Technical Training

Students who are comfortable with design programs like Photoshop or Illustrator may find it easier to learn how to use programs like Premiere Pro and After Effects. In addition, because many digital animated effects use Photoshop and Illustrator in their design, knowing these particular tools will help students expand the kinds of projects they can work on.

Prior Artistic Training

Anyone who has spent a decent amount of time studying cinema or film theory will have a leg up in learning to edit videos as they will have the background knowledge necessary for professional editing projects. In addition, students with this knowledge will be more accustomed to working on artistic projects, giving them a more stable footing in learning the creative sides of video editing.

Access to Materials and Footage

One of the more time-consuming aspects of training your video editing skills can simply be finding video footage to edit. While there are lots of stock videos available online, students wanting to train specific kinds of editing skills may need specialized video files that can be difficult to produce. Students who can do practical training exercises, possibly in their line of work, will be able to learn more quickly.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

As with many creative skills, it isn’t hard to learn the tools involved in video editing. Students can pick up the basic functions of Premiere Pro or Final Cut in only a few days of training, and the advanced techniques will only take a few weeks to learn. The challenge in video editing is learning the theories and techniques that go into creating competently editing professional-quality videos. Video Editors will need to understand principles of editing and cinematography that teach them not just how to edit two images together but why they should edit those images together and what meaning their juxtaposition produces.

There are no formal prerequisites to learning video editing skills. Students will need to be proficient in working with computers and navigating multiple files, windows, and applications. For students interested in learning how to add special effects or create animation in post-production. Students looking to learn more about these skills should consult Noble’s graphic design course offerings.

Video editing will require users to license a video editing application, and many projects will require them to license more than one. For instance, students working with Adobe Premiere Pro may also need to license After Effects and Audition. The cost will vary from program to program, but most of them will cost as little as $20/month.

Read about how difficult it is to learn video editing.

Watch a Free Video Editing Online Course

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 a large number of 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.

Read about more free video editing videos and online tutorials.

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.

Key Insights

• Learning the technical side of video editing can be done fairly quickly by novice students. They can become proficient in programs like Premiere Pro with only a few weeks of training.
• The creative and artistic side of video editing will take students longer to learn, as it is more of a complex, philosophical process that varies from project to project.
• Students with prior design training or artistic studies experience will pick up both of these skills significantly faster, opening them up to spend more time on the other side of editing training.
• On a practical level, students may find it hard to find raw footage to edit as practice material. Students whose jobs or connections let them have access to raw footage to practice with may find that they can learn video editing techniques more quickly.
• Another way to speed up the learning process is through professional video editing instruction. Interested students can enroll in in-person or live online video editing courses through Noble Desktop.