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How to make your video stand out from the crowd
MUHAMAD DANIAL speaks to one professional video editor and two students for tips to make one's video much appealing to viewers.
A video edit done by Nurul Hazira Binte Helfinor two years ago to celebrate the end of 2019, where she applied drop shadow to her texts.
PHOTO: NURUL HAZIRA BINTE HELFINOR
Ms Nurul Hazira Binte Helfinor, 18, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, started editing videos when she was in secondary one. At that time, she was inspired by Remi Cruz, a lifestyle vlogger, and started editing her first video for her friend's birthday. Though it was something new to her, Ms Helfinor was able to acquire the skills of video editing quickly.
“I often add texts and import them from websites [into my video],” she says. By doing so, it ensures that the video is much livelier, and that the audience is able to be engaged with the content being shown.
A compilation of the video edits Izlynn Binte Margono has done over the past year and sharing it on Instagram’s IGTV with her friends.
PHOTO: IZLYNN BINTE MARGONO
Ms Izlynn Binte Margono, 18, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, also started editing videos just last year after she was influenced by her friends who edited videos as a hobby.
“I want to make those funny videos where you zoom in to the person’s face,” she says.
If you, like Ms Margono, hope to edit videos that others will watch to the end, here are some tips and tricks for you.
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1. KEEP VIDEO SHORT
It is important to put yourself in the shoes of the viewers. Most of the viewers today have a low attention span hence the timing you set for your videos must be precise.
Mattina Zheng has been a video editor for almost 20 years ever since she was in Polytechnic. PHOTO: MATTINA ZHENG
Ms Mattina Zheng, 35, a contract Video Editor at the Ministry of Information and Communications, asked a pointed question, “Do you think people will sit through 5 minutes of this video, is there anything to capture their attention?”
According to Vidyard.com, it is advisable to keep your videos under 2 minutes. Therefore, the content you put out must be appealing in the timeframe to stop viewers from going to another video.
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2. DAFONT IS YOUR BEST FRIEND
There are limited fonts made available in video editing applications. This is when DaFont comes in handy. DaFont is a website that contains thousands of fonts that you can install for free to be incorporated in any videos you are editing.
“Because of DaFont, I was able to discover fonts that I didn’t know before,” Ms Helfinor says. Once you start using DaFont, it will then become your best friend in searching for fonts that are most suitable for your videos.
But which software is the most reliable to edit your videos?
“You might have seen people with mismatched beats edit on TikTok. They are probably editing on their phone,” Ms Zheng says.
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3. COMPUTER SOFTWARE ARE MORE RELIABLE
Hazira is editing a video on Adobe Premiere Pro, a video editing software application on her laptop. PHOTO: NURUL HAZIRA BINTE HELFINOR
It is an advantage to edit your videos on the computer rather than on your mobile devices. Ms Zheng uses Adobe Premiere Pro in her current job. Though Adobe Premiere Pro costs $27.62 per month, you can have a free 7-day trial at the start. During this period, you can experiment with the different functions and edit a video to your liking. If it is worthwhile in the long run, you can then commence your membership.
Alternatively, Ms Zheng recommends DaVinci Resolve as many of the functions in the free version are sufficient for beginners.
Furthermore, as video files take up space, editing on your computer decreases the likelihood of your software crashing as compared to mobile devices.
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4. AVOID OVERDOING EFFECTS
As exciting as it is to edit videos, do not excessively add special effects. It is always recommended to include effects in moderation and to keep it simple. Oftentimes, the simplicity of a video will enhance the quality rather than a video that is filled with messy effects at every second.
“I do usually just use cut[s] between shots. I firmly believe edits should be seamless, a layman audience watching should just enjoy the video without being distracted by fancy transition[s],” says Ms Zheng.
However, she acknowledges that good TikTok content creators use “cool camera transitions” that work.
The purpose of the video should dictate the style and approach.
Here's a final tip from Ms Zheng: “Watch a lot of videos, bookmark or keep on a playlist on what videos appeal to you the most and analyse why is it that you like it so much.”