If you’re new here or didn’t notice yet, Video Editing is my jam! I love doing it and teaching others how to edit videos.
If you’re TOTALLY new to video editing, I have a page with some video editing software options and my thoughts on each one. It’s like choosing a car, you kinda have to check it out and get a feel for it before you commit.
On this page, you’ll find all of my posts and videos for video editing, but if you’re looking for tutorials for video editing software, here are my video editing software categories:
*Disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Adobe. I am provided with compensation for advertisements on this channel and, possibly, commissions for purchases made through links in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by Adobe or its affiliates. My experience is my own, and your experience may differ.
Motion Tracking in Adobe Premiere Elements is a fun feature that looks impressive, but it's actually really simple!
*Disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Adobe. I am provided with compensation for advertisements on this channel and, possibly, commissions for purchases made through links in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by Adobe or its affiliates. My experience is my own, and your experience may differ.
When I'm color correcting in Adobe Premiere Elements 2018, I like to keep things simple by focusing on making my video footage look natural, and as good as possible. Join me for this Premiere Elements 2018 tutorial!
The SHOOT FUN / EDIT FAST CHALLENGE is BACK! This 5-day challenge was so much fun the first time around, and I've been dying to bring it back! Get on the waitlist below to get notified as soon as I schedule it again!
The SHOOT FUN / EDIT FAST CHALLENGE is a free 5-day online event to help you jumpstart your video editing. To get access to the Challenge Facebook Group, plus all daily lessons, printable cheat sheet, and details about the Livestreams directly in your email inbox join the challenge through the form below.
During this week-long event, you will…
>> Learn where to start if you've NEVER opened a video program before
>> Discover how to SPEED UP your workflow if you're already familiar with the process
>> Find out what really makes video fun to watch
>> Receive a DAILY email from me, New tutorials and Videos, and support in the SHOOT FUN / EDIT FAST CHALLENGE Facebook group
>> Get a swift (digital) kick in the pants to STOP PROCRASTINATING on learning and editing your videos!
I have been using Adobe Premiere Pro for my YouTube videos since I started on YouTube, and although it took some time to learn, figuring out how to edit videos for YouTube in Premiere Pro is one of the best decisions I ever made! In this Premiere Pro tutorial, I'm going to take you on a walkthrough and show you exactly how I edit my YouTube videos.
When you're new to YouTube or video editing with iMovie, it can be hard to know how to make a video look professional with iMovie. If you take a look at professional-looking videos on YouTube, there is a good chance that the magic is in the tiny little details.
Instagram Stories are now one of my favorite ways to create (and consume, let's be real) social media, but they're gone in 24 hours! As a YouTuber, I like my content to stick around for a while. I collaborated with Jessica Stansberry on her channel with a tutorial on how to repurpose Instagram stories for YouTube.
*Disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Adobe. I am provided with compensation for advertisements on this channel and, possibly, commissions for purchases made through links in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by Adobe or its affiliates. My experience is my own, and your experience may differ.
Premiere Elements 2018 is a great video editing platform for all kinds of videos. Whether you have vacation footage to edit or clips from a special event like a graduation, or maybe you have a goal, like me, of creating a yearly recap video of all the fun stuff you did as a family over the course of a year. All of these ideas would make a great family video, so in this post, I'm back with another Premiere Elements 2018 tutorial!
When I started creating videos for fun, how to organize video files was the furthest thing from my mind. But now that I've been using the same “system” for years, I think my way is the fast and easy way to organize video footage for editing.
Many people realize they want or need to learn how to edit videos when they notice they have videos or clips they need to combine or merge. While video editing is a really broad topic, this post is strictly for beginners who aren't sure how to edit videos or where to even start!
For those of you who shot some family stuff on your iPhone or a bike trip on your GoPro, or maybe you're a blogger and you want to start publishing YouTube videos alongside your blog content and start growing an audience here…
If any of that sounds like you or a close resemblance to you, then you're are in the right place! Because that's what I do here on at VidProMom. But I've never really gone back to the basics for those of you who are completely new to the world of creating videos, and I get a lot of questions about how to edit videos, so I think it's about time!
I admit that “how to edit videos” is a very broad topic, so this video is meant to be a starting point for video editing for beginners (not a complete how-to guide!).
With that said, if you have any questions about how to edit videos, drop them in the comments below and I'll add them to my list of topics to discuss in future videos and blog post. Make sure you subscribe to my channel so you don't miss any of them!
Before we get too far into this, I have a challenge for you! Coming up very soon, I have a beginners video editing challenge. It's free 5-day challenge specifically beginners, to kinda help you get a jumpstart on your video editing.
It's called the SHOOT FUN / EDIT FAST CHALLENGE, and it's for anyone who is completely new to creating and editing any kind of video – Family movies, YouTube videos, GoPro Edits… you name it. You can read more about the challenge using the link above, but it's 5 glorious days of online classes with me… it's totally free, and did I mention it's for beginners? So if you're reading THIS post, you should definitely join me 😉
>> The Challenge starts soon, so click here to sign up now! <<
I really enjoy sitting down and editing family videos and YouTube videos, but it wasn't always fun. At first it was pretty intimidating, even using iMovie. I was like “uhhh I don't know what this button does but let's click it find out.”
But as overwhelming as it is at first, video editing can be broken down into really two basic things:
You're either combining or merging clips together into one cohesive video that you can upload to Facebook or YouTube.
or…
You're clipping and cutting out bits and pieces or long sections of a video clip that you don't want in a final video.
In most cases though, it's both. You're putting clips together on a timeline, and you're taking out parts of the clips (maybe small parts or big parts) in order to achieve one single, cohesive video file that you can either share with friends an family or post it on YouTube or Instagram.
But in order to get to the place where you can actually work with your video clips and do some video editing, you have to make a couple of decisions about hardware and software.
So let's start with hardware. You either need a computer or a mobile device.
I published a post recently giving a rundown of what to look for in computers for video editing, or how to tell if your computer is up for the task of editing. So I won't completely rehash that here, but you can check that post out here (opens in a new tab).
Personally, I prefer a computer vs. a phone or tablet, but it’s a personal choice. It’s faster and easier for me, and more enjoyable on a big screen.
Now if you have just a handful of clips on your phone that you need to merge together, it's probably just as easy to use an app for that. Or if you have one clip that you need to trim off the very beginning or the very end, or extract just one part of the clip, you should be able to use a native photos app on your phone for things like that.
But that leads me to the second decision you need to make, and that's software…
For some silly reason making a decision about video editing software is like the most debilitating thing in the world, because there are SO many options and price ranges.
And I think it's hard to make a decision about something and spend your time, energy, and money on something when you don't even really know what you're doing and if that software is ultimately going to be the best option for you.
On my Video Editing Software page, I list (almost) all of the video editing platforms that I have either used and recommend or have seen other people use and recommend.
If you are totally brand new to video editing, I highly recommend you stick to the basic software. For example, iMovie and Premiere Elements are great for beginners, but they have more advanced functions so you can “spice things up” a bit once you'd learned the ropes.
But the bottom line is: choosing video editing software or apps is a personal choice, and it's like buying a car. You kinda have to feel it out a little bit and give it a test drive.
So the BEST video editing software is going to be the one that you decide is going to be the best for you.
So once you have a computer or device (if you must) and you have some software (or an app)… now what?
This is where it gets fun!
You need to get your footage off of your memory card and onto your hard drive (don't try to do this with the video files still on your memory card, it's not a good idea).
You can use a USB adapter or you might be able to connect your camera to your computer to do a file transfer. You might be able to use Google Drive, Dropbox, or Airdrop to transfer files from your phone to your computer as well.
Next, start a new project in your software and import your footage. There's probably an import button or “add media” button.
The simplest way to go about the actual video editing where you working with your clips, is to drag your clips to the timeline in the order that you want them in, then go through the timeline, watching your clips in the playback window, and stopping to either cut parts out that you don't want in your final video, or trimming the beginning or ends of your clips.
When you are happy with what you have, you have to export your project in the program puts everything together into one video file–usually an mp4 file–that you can actually do something with. You can watch it, share it, upload it, whatever.
Now obviously there are a LOT of things that you can do with your project and your video clips that I didn't tell you about because I wanted to show how simple video editing really is at the basic level so that you can get started without overwhelming yourself with bells and whistles and special effects.
Now in the 5-day challenge that I told you about at the beginning of this post, you will learn how to get started with video editing (a little more in-depth than what I went over in this post), as well as how to shoot videos to make them easier and faster to edit. We'll also talk about where to find background music, and how to edit your clips in a way that makes your video really fun to watch without spending a whole day at the computer editing!
So if you want to join me for that challenge, you can head over to vidpromom.com/challenge! It's totally free, it's for total newbies, and all you have to do is drop your email address on the signup page and I'll send all of the details to your inbox.
>> click here to sign up now <<
I wish I'd had a resource that filled me in on the basics of video editing before I dove in and figured it out on my own. So, here we are! I hope this post was helpful for you. Be sure to subscribe to the VidProMom YouTube channel so you can catch up on video editing tutorials and other videos that I upload weekly!
A GoPro for kids… is there such a thing? There are several reasons why a GoPro camera makes an excellent family camera, but does it make a good kids camera?
(The links in this post are affiliate links, and VidProMom will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking these links.)
In this digital age, kids are very familiar with digital cameras, action cameras, and even your phone camera. That's a lot of pricey gadgets that we trust in our kids' hands! But I have two kids (11 and 6), and I often hand one of my GoPro cameras off to one or both of them to let them capture whatever they feel like. The GoPro is easy enough to use and they have fun with it, so why not?
There is no shortage of kids cameras and cameras designed specifically for children, but they look more like toys than an actual camera. So at a certain age, I think it's a fantastic idea to start teaching kids that cameras and tech gear are tools, not toys.
The rugged nature of GoPro cameras almost begged kids to take it for a spin. And although there is no specific GoPro for kids (yet?), here are 4 reasons why I love letting my kids use my GoPro Hero5 Black.
This is one of the reasons I love a GoPro as a family camera! Water parks, sledding, swimming, baby slobber… there are TONS of wet and wild family adventures that you'd want to capture, and the GoPro is the ideal camera for the job.
Older GoPro models required a waterproof housing like this one (with a microphone attached) but the recent GoPro models don't need an extra housing.
The newest Hero6 Black, as well as the Hero5 and Hero Session cameras, are all waterproof without needing an extra case, so you're good to go there.
This is where GoPro cameras excel far beyond what your mobile phone, DSLR, or almost any other camera can do. Because of the size of the GoPro and the endless options for GoPro mounts and accessories, you can mount this camera to literally anything.
Bicycle handlebars, a snowboard, a skateboard helmet, even a baby walker… the perfect kids camera!
QuikCapture is a feature on the GoPro that enables you to start recording by pressing one button, which turns the camera on and starts recording all at once.
This is convenient for kids (or anyone!) because you can save your battery life by keeping the camera completely off, but you won't miss anything because when you're ready to hit record, you just hit it and let it roll!
The size of the GoPro cameras is ideal for small hands, and it's lightweight, so even little ones won't have trouble hoisting it around for fun video footage.
I usually have my Hero5 mounted on a GoPole Bobber so it's easy to handle.
While these 4 reasons prove why the GoPro for kids is a great idea, there are a couple things to keep in mind before you hand over your GoPro:
Bottom line though: your kids will have fun just using the camera. So even if the footage isn't spectacular (or even usable!), your kids will love the experience of getting to be the camera operator. Let them have some fun with it, you never know how it inspires them in the future.
Related: Lowest Price ever on Hero6 in latest GoPro Hero 6 Deals
So, I really don't think you need to have a “just for kids” toy that takes pictures. With a GoPro, you have a perfectly useful action camera that YOU can use as a family camera, and with proper accessories, can let you kids use to their heart's content.
So which model GoPro cameras are best for a kids camera? I definitely recommend the Hero5 Black or Hero6 black, mostly because they have the screen on the back. Kids and adults alike appreciate being able to clearly see what they are capturing.
Related: What GoPro Should I Buy?? GoPro Comparison 2018
The Session cameras are smaller, but my kids (and even my parents) have trouble figuring out which way is which, so they don't always hold the camera in the direction they intended to.
Ok on to the fun part, GoPro accessories and mounts! I do have a post explaining the top 5 accessories every GoPro newbie needs. You can hit play on the video below but I highly recommend you pick up some kind of handle of your kids if they'll be using the GoPro.
GoPole Bobber –
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ilsuDo
Target: http://rstyle.me/n/ctkgf9cdbvp
Best Buy: http://bit.ly/2z6UUvU
(NEW) GoPro Handler with Quick Release Base –
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2iPmOWk
Target: http://rstyle.me/n/ctkgrncdbvp
GoPro 3-Way Grip-Arm-Tripod –
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2gRiSjG
Target: http://rstyle.me/n/ctkgx3cdbvp
Best Buy: http://bit.ly/2i4EYz9
Walmart: http://bit.ly/2y5yRpd
The headstrap mount is also a favorite for the kids because it is adjustable. I have no trouble fitting in my youngest daughter's head when she was 4 years old.
Related: Best GoPro Accessories to Take on Vacation
If your kids are the opposite of mine (hehe), they might do rugged outdoorsy stuff like skiing, snowboard, skateboarding, or play organized sports. You might want to grab a GoPro helmet mount to capture their point of view!
Again, my opinion is that a GoPro is a perfect family camera. So instead of forcing a seemingly dumbed-down “toy” version of a kids camera, why not teach them how to use a camera properly? Buy a GoPro for your family, and let your kids have at it!
It never occurred to me to question whether my GoPro cameras would hold up to any possible destruction at the hands of my kids. When we are out and about as a family, it's nice to have a second and third perspective.
Personally, the GoPro Hero5 or Hero6 Black are the best options for an overall action camera, family camera, and kids camera. With a little help from mom and dad for settings changes, it's simple enough to use, for all ages.
*Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Adobe. I am provided with compensation for advertisements on this channel and, possibly, commissions for purchases made through links in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by Adobe or its affiliates. My experience is my own, and your experience may differ.
I'm really excited to dive into the latest greatest version of Adobe Premiere Elements 2018 today, because it has some great new features, like the Fix Action Cam Footage Guided Edit.
Automatic editing for action camera and GoPro footage is kind of a big new thing these days. It really changes the game for a lot of people… particularly people who are new to creating fun hobby videos, family movies, or GoPro edits. You're not necessarily trying to win an Oscar–you just want to put all of your best clips together into one video that you can show off to friends and family, and be able to relive those experiences again in the future.
YouTube background music isn't hard to find, but Epidemic Sound makes it easy and affordable to find the best background music for your project.
Every epic video needs an epic background music track, am I right? Adding good background music is an easy, fun way to spice up YouTube videos, GoPro Edits, family movies… but where do you find YouTube background music? It's not hard to find but it is sometimes hard to find good background music. My favorite place for good background music these days is Epidemic Sound.
Why do videos look bad on Facebook, to begin with? It's all about compression, but let's look more into ways to improve Facebook video quality. (more…)
I don't go crazy with special effects in my GoPro videos and family movies, and I keep effects to a minimum here in my YouTube channel. But I've been browsing some motion graphics and sound effects over on productioncrate.com… and this could be a little bit of a rabbit hole! So I want to give you some ideas for ways you can use the resources from ProductionCrate in your videos. Be sure to click play on the video below, or click here to view it on YouTube to see everything I talk about here in action! (more…)
I am not really bothered by handheld style footage for my GoPro videos, so I never really considered purchasing a gimbal for myself. Now. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have one personally and of course, I’d love to have the opportunity to try out different brands and models to provide reviews here for my audience.
Have you played around with luts when you're editing your GoPro videos? Here's a video I put together explaining what they are and how to use them!
(more…)
In this post, you'll find my third and final VSDC Tutorial in my getting started series! If you missed the first two, you don't want to skip ahead! You can scoot back to Tutorial 1 or Tutorial 2 to catch up. Be sure to do that before continuing on here with today's tutorial, otherwise, you'll be a little bit lost. The video lesson for how to add music, titles, and export videos in VSDC is below, or you can click here to catch it directly on YouTube!
This is an important lesson because once you've made your edits within VSDC, you have to actually export your project in order to be able to upload it to Facebook or YouTube, where you can then share it with your friends and family. Don't just leave you project handing! Finish it up, and get it out there and share it!
This week, I'm continuing my VSDC Tutorial series with the second lesson. In the very first tutorial on using VSDC's free video editor, I showed you how to get started with a new project and how to import clips. If you missed that first VSDC tutorial, click here to scoot back there to catch it.
This post and the others in this series is sponsored by VSDC. They asked me to help get the word out about their free video editing software, and I'm always game for bringing my audience new ideas for creating awesome GoPro videos and family movies, so of course, I said yes!
If there is one question I hear all the time, it's “what free video editing software can I use to edit my videos?” There are a handful of free video editor options out there for Mac and PC users, but one of them was recently retired by GoPro, and in its place, GoPro recommends PC users use VSDC. VSDC is a free video editing software and it's full-featured… meaning there is no trial period, no watermarks, and no usage limits on the free version.
In fact, VSDC came to me and asked if there was any way we could partner together to get the word out about their free video editor, knowing that video editing is a hot topic (especially among my audience of video and GoPro enthusiasts). So in this first installment in this three-part series, let's dive into getting started with editing your GoPro videos, mobile phone videos, or any kind of video, with VSDC.
Have you heard of my 30 Days of GoPro Series? I created it for GoPro newbies when the Hero5 Black came out, and it's way better than a user manual! There is a video for nearly any subject, and this week the topic is GoPro editing software! So what I'm talking about is GoPro editing software for your laptop or desktop computer. In a previous post, I gave you some recommendations for computers for video editing, and I want to be SUPER clear… we ARE talking about COMPUTERS… not mobile phones or tablets. I prefer and strongly advise you to use a computer and some real software, especially if you're new to editing GoPro videos. (more…)