VANTABLACK'S GUIDE TO VIDEO EDITING FOR NEWBIES
(updated: 10/31/2022)
ZERO: FOREWORD
let's get one thing out of the way right now: VIDEO EDITING IS ABSOLUTELY BADASS
i never saw video editing as a serious career path or as anything more than just a hobby for over a decade because it's not glorified anywhere
but it should be, it's utter magic, and you become a bona fide Media Mage by harnessing it
television and movies and videos in general are so common in our world, yet also so powerful. they can form whole subcultures out of thin air (as was the case with “the wild one” which spawned biker subculture as we know it today), they can influence so many things in so many ways, they can even change lives
by learning to edit videos you will harness this power
you become able to chop up clips and bend them to your will as you see fit. no longer a mere consumer of media, you become a creator. the possibilities are truly endless!!! like, the ability to edit and remix videos is the ability to edit and remix CULTURE ITSELF — and influence it more broadly, if enough people see your thing
okay so yeah without further ado... the guide
ONE: SOFTWARE
okay, obviously you're gonna need to know what software you wanna use right out the gate. you DON'T need to splurge on some fancy shit like vegas, nor resort to piracy, and you probably will never need to (or only will way later)
for the purposes of a beginner, a free and open source alternative will suffice. kdenlive is the only thing i personally use, and i highly recommend it. but i will list all the FOSS video editing programs here, i encourage you to try them all a bit and see which one fits your flow the best. you never know, maybe one day a different software will become preferable. in no particular order...
⚫ kdenlive
⚫ olive
⚫ openshot
⚫ flowblade
⚫ shotcut
⚫ da vinci resolve
⚫ pitivi
⚫ LiVES
⚫ cinelerra
i know it's a hell of a list, but try to make the same short video in each software, and see how each one feels. for example, something where you'd just replace the audio from a tv show scene with funny music. or, you could do a lyric video for a song. or... the possibilities truly are endless!
how to download the clips, you might ask? no matter if you're on linux, windows, or mac — a handy thingy called “yt-dlp” is your friend!
the following commands are for linux but they should be the same or similar in windows or mac. consult the documentation if you need help figuring it out
do this command “yt-dlp —extract-audio —audio-format flac (youtube link here)” to download an audio track from youtube
and do “yt-dlp (youtube link here)” to download a video
if it doesn't work the first time you might have to put the URL in between quotes “like this”
okay, now that you've got the files you need, it's time to get editing!
TWO: EDITING BASICS
okay so now you've got the song or video or song and video you need. what's next? importing them into the editing software! if you have a large number of things to import you can put them all in a folder and select that folder to be added to the bin (see the relevant “getting started” documentation for your editor to find out how if it's not immediately obvious)
or, if it's just a small amount of stuff, you can drag the clips directly onto the timeline. well, at least you should be able to. if the software you're using doesn't allow that... maybe try something else
a few random editing tips:
⚫ use multiple monitors if possible, with the preview window on a separate screen from the timeline
⚫ if playback is choppy try decreasing the resolution on the preview
⚫ learning the keyboard shortcuts once you settle upon a software is key. the few seconds you save each time really start to add up quickly. the most important will be using the left and right arrow keys to move forward/back a frame
okay so you've got the clips on the timeline. now what? i'm gonna explain this in terms of replacing the audio from a tv show scene with something else but this advice should be good generally no matter what concept you have. i just need an example to be able to illustrate it lol
now, you're gonna wanna ungroup the audio and video from the tv clip
it should be under the right click menu when you select the clip
this separates the audio and video so they can be moved and edited on their own (don't worry — you can group/regroup clips too!)
then you're gonna wanna move the new audio to where the video clip is. but chances are, they're not gonna be the same length. so how can you make it end early without suddenly cutting out the song? two ways: either a simple fade out, or a more complicated beatmatching
a fade out is self-explanatory, beatmatching is when you crossfade between two audio tracks and try to match their beat so the transition isn't super obvious and jarring. the best way to do it is basically to fuck around with what looks like it might work til you find something that does
video editing entails a lotta trying til you find something that works. it's definitely not gonna be right the first time or few times or maybe even several times you make an edit. it takes time to perfect! you just kinda have to make changes then play em back to see how they look
like it's lotsa repeating the same short sections over and over again lol, that's why editing a video to a song always ruins that song for me for a while, i get sick of hearing it bc i've heard one small section looped over and over and over and over and over again
so now you've got your tv show clip, new audio, and even a beatmatched outro. what's left? well, you may as well sign your work! that's what i do. all of my videos end exactly the same way — with a cut to black, then a few seconds later “by vantablack” comes onscreen as white text against a black background in the default kdenlive title font and size for a few seconds
but you don't have to do what i do. try fucking around with the titles a bit! don't be afraid to click or hover aimlessly and see what all the different buttons do
repeat this process with all the different softwares you're gonna try til you pin down whichever you think is the most solid and have refined the concept. for the purposes of this guide we'll assume you wish to share the finished product next
okay, so once you've got your project completed — how to share it with the world?
THREE: RENDERING
you gotta render it! the best analogy i can use to describe this is it's like code compiling or exporting something out of an image editing program kinda. it takes all the tiny little bits and flattens them into one readable file
so, the format you export in is pretty important. personally, in kdenlive for youtube uploads i just do 30fps vp8 webm with the “custom quality” thingy checked and slider set all the way up. that creates a 1080p video which usually suffices. look into vp9 if you're doing really high quality stuff tho, like 4k and all that
WARNING: raw rendered video files are usually pretty huge. always bigger than you're gonna expect. make sure you have enough space to store large files so you don't run out. if you have access to one, an SSD is highly preferred for video editing. HDD's are painful
ANOTHER WARNING: if you don't select something along the lines of “render selected region only” it will render to the end of the last clip in the timeline. so i always recommend making a habit out of rendering the selected region only. consult the documentation of the software you're using to figure out how if it isn't immediately obvious
so yeah, this is gonna take a while. but with an SSD it will at least be a relatively reasonable amount of time. go grab a snack or hit of weed or something to celebrate a video editing mission well-done. you've earned it! as a video editor i've had to learn the hard way to only work on projects when i'm in the right headspace — knowing when to disengage and come back less burnt out is always a good life skill to have
so yeah, let that render for a bit and go do something to take your mind off of it. seriously, the last thing you wanna do is sit and watch something render. it's painful. a watched pot never boils!
once it's done, you should have a bigass video file ready to share with the world
FOUR: PUBLISHING
i upload all my stuff to youtube. it's just the place where it's easiest to be seen. but i should also mention free and open source alternatives like peertube. that's where all my stuff that youtube's copyright detection gets too mad at goes
guess what? more waiting! lol. not done yet!!!
it's gonna take a while to upload, and a while to perform all the checks and such
while it's uploading you can take the time to fill out the title and description. i highly recommend also taking the time to throw together a custom thumbnail instead of just selecting one of the default ones! it can really enhance the presentation of a video
this can be just a special moment from the video, or something else related to the subject
okay so after it's been uploaded and you've filled out all the relevant data, now comes what's arguably the funnest part of the video editing experience — sharing your creation with the world!
FIVE: SHARING
obviously, i post my things to mastodon/the fediverse. reddit is also a good option, but be careful about specifying you're the creator of the video — that place has some wicked fucked attitudes toward self-promotion
relevant discord servers and forums can be other good places. don't be afraid to take a chance on sharing your work! the worst thing that happens is your submission gets deleted, and even then maybe a few people will have seen it
share it with your friends too, but remember they're not obligated to watch it!
SIX: CLOSING
there's a video on youtube called “how star wars was saved in the edit” that PERFECTLY illustrates just how powerful a tool editing can be, and the extent of what is possible with it. i highly recommend watching it
there's a certain je ne sais quoi to video editing that can't be taught, but must be learned. a bit of intuition that comes from starting to pick up on what works and what doesn't
it's just a sixth sense that takes time to hone, a general idea of how your software works and also how first-time viewers will interpret your work. like an ability to see things through the perspective of a fresh audience
it's why i'm always rewatching my videos obsessively after publishing them while trying to imagine i'm someone else
things will start to come naturally eventually if you just stick with it!
i will leave you, now, with my favorite quote about video editing:
“the notion of directing a film is the invention of critics — the whole eloquence of cinema is achieved in the editing room.” —walter murch