Category: Video Editing

Everything You Need to Know About HDR Video, Part 1: The Basics

As a newcomer to creating your own videos or even as an intermediate user, you will often come across terminology is unfamiliar.

More often than not subjects like these are presented in a way that may make you think that you should be doing this thing or not doing that thing or whatever!

Shooting in RAW format is a typical one I come across all the time and it is often presented as a format that you absolutely have to be using.

I personally went down that entire rabbit hole only to end up back where I started shooting in the same way I had originally!

So, the topic being discussed in this video is HDR which stands for High Dynamic Range.

So rather than have me bang on about it, check this out to see if it is a mode that would apply to your video creation workflow and style.

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More Lighting Advice I Wish I Knew Sooner

It is very easy to get caught up in the equipment arms race when it comes to extracting better quality in your videos.

Whenever you do a search on improving any part of the video shooting process it is almost inevitable that it leads to a camera gear discussion.

Believe me when I say I have trawled that path very, very often!

However, what I eventually learned was that the real key to quality, regardless of what camera or smartphone solution you have, is the ability to understand light.

Get that down pat and you are 90% of the way there.

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How to Import PowerPoint Slides and Change Resolutions

For quite a while now PowerDirector has allowed the import of PowerPoint Slide presentations so that you can edit then and subsequently export.

Recent changes in PowerDirector have meant that the way you do that has changed slightly in that the import process now has to begin inside PowerPoint as an export first.

Not really a big deal unless you are unaware of the change!

Additionally, PowerDirector now has the ability to improve the quality of those slides as shown in the video below.

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How to Create an On-point 2026 Intro – Movavi Ideas

This is a quick “How to” video from Movavi covering the simple creation of an intro sequence that looks modern and appealing.

There days one of the easiest ways to keep up with what is visually trending and being considered “attractive” by audiences is to follow what assets are being added to your video editing software.

Of course you could spend hours researching it all yourself but why work so hard!

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Filmora Mask Effects: Transform Your Edits!

Last week I featured a video from the folks at Filmora highlighting a few of the new features and updates in Filmora 15.7.12.

One of those features was an enhancement to the masking tools making masking easier and more controllable.

You can see those improvements in this video as well as refreshing your knowledge of that entire module.

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CapCut Desktop Tutorial for Beginners (PC & Mac, Step-by-Step)

Like most video editing apps at this level, CapCut has been developing its software at a fairly fast pace.

On one hand that’s of course good news but on the other hand you may find yourself a little at sea with all the changes.

In this video the guys from Primal Video have hit the reset button and uploaded a full beginners guide to the software from scratch.

If you are considering CapCut as your primary video editing software or if you have already been using the app, this is a great lesson on the current state of the software and what it can do.

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Text Depth in CapCut – Custom Fonts & Watermarks Explained

From the outset CapCut looks to be simple a well-equipped beginner editing solution to get started with.

But don’t be fooled by that because it, like a few others at this level of software, is hiding a whole world of functionality as long as you know where to look!

In fact just about all video editing software is like this.

The basics are always presented up front because that’s what you need to get going.

Dig a little deeper and all sorts of control becomes possible.

Here’s a look at some of the more advanced tools you can utilize for fonts, text and watermarks.

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This Scripting Mistake Makes Your Shorts Easy to Scroll Past

If you have been stuck creating videos whether short form or long form and are just not getting the results you expected then this is a video for you.

In fact if you are just setting out on a video creation journey, this is a lesson that will save you heaps of time.

So instead of chasing what “everyone says” about consistency, regularity and just plowing on regardless, take a look at this for a different perspective.

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Canon PTZ Controllers

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How to Create Talking Head Videos People Actually Watch

Talking head videos are very common on social media these days but that doesn’t necessarily means any old video like that is going to succeed.

Let’s face it, visually they are not exactly brimming with dynamics so you have to get a bunch of things right in order to retain audience attention.

Check out this video from Mike at Music Radio Creative on how to make a talking head video that works for you.

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How to Calculate Time Between Points Using Markers

There are often times when you need to know the exact time between points on the timeline where you want something to happen.

One of the most common ones is the start and end of a music track.

In PowerDirector there is actually a way of identifying that value without getting out a piece of paper, writing down the two times and working out the intermediate time value.

In the video below you can see how to use timeline or clip markers to work this out very easily.

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Filmora 15.7 New Features: Stacked Masks, LUT Export & More

Another week goes by and of course we have another update from Filmora because… it’s Filmora and that’s what they do!

There are a few new features you can see in the video below but for me the standouts are the Mask Stacking and the LUT export.

They have basically rebuilt the masking tool module so that you can add more than one mask at a time and can control the nature of those masks way better.

The LUT export is especially handy if you tens to shoot in a fixed situation often.

If that is the case then you are going to have the same lighting and are using the same device so the corrections you apply with generally be the same.

With the lUT export you can color correct once, save as a preset (LUT) and use it over and over without having to repeat the correction.

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How to Create a Pixelated Promo Reveal – Movavi Ideas

This is a pretty straightforward tutorial on pixelating an object as it is shown then reversing the pixelation to reveal the item.

The tutorial is very basic in the effect it creates but there are a few other things you can do.

First, in the example the object is rather stationary.

If you don’t have that luxury you can simply add a tracking path to the object then add the pixelation.

Secondly, I don’t like the sudden removal of the pixelation to reveal the object.

A smoother way of doing this would be to either keyframe the reduction of the pixelation to zero or simple add a cross type transition.

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Blend Modes in Filmora: Enhance Brightness Like a Pro

Probably one of the most underused features in most video editing software is Blend Modes.

Generally speaking you have to dive a little deep into the settings to find them but if you do, you have just unleashed some powerful effects.

Essentially blend Modes determine how two video or image assets stacked on top of each other interact.

Normally if you place something on top of another asset in the timeline, the top asset blocks out the lower one entirely.

Blends Modes change that behavior and offer a range of ways those two things will display.

Check out the video below for a run through of the available Blend modes in Filmora and what effects they create.

From personal experience my advice is to grab any two clips, place them on the timeline then go to the blend Modes and see how they all work.

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4 CapCut Effects That Look Like Hours of Work

A lot of people still seem to think that that in order to create complex and professional looking effects in their videos, they need something like After Effects or DaVinci Resolve.

The reality of that most beginner apps like CapCut or Filmora are more than capable of pulling off most effects and actually have been able to do that for years now.

The question is not, “Can they do it?” The real question is, “How can I do it?”

Here are some pretty advanced effects demonstrated in CapCut to show how it can be done.

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This Branding Mistake Makes You Look Smaller Than You Are

One of the points I have to constantly deal with in my own business with my own team members is the concept of what the audience would like or not like.

It is always surprising to me how many items find their way to my desk for final approval that are based on what that person thought was a good idea.

I always look at that person and tell that even though they think it’s good, how do they think the audience will feel about it.

That conversation usually ends with a kind of blank staring awkward pause moment!

As a creator or just someone making videos for others to watch you have to constantly keep in mind that YOU are NOT the audience.

If you are trying to sell something YOU are NOT the customer.

Here’s an in-depth look at that concept from a branding point of view.

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How YouTubers are using AI (25 examples)

OK so I think we can all agree that A.I. isn’t going anywhere real soon!

One of the main reasons people tend to go crazy using A.I. is that very often it is presented as a replacement for the creation process.

When people use it like that you end up with most of the A.I. slop you see on social media platforms all over the place.

To be honest, using it like that is both dumb and lazy.

Check out the video below to run through some great examples of how you can easily use A.I. services to enhance your videos and still make them your own.

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Why Your Videos Look Bad: Camera Settings Explained

If you have decided to take the quality of your videos up to the next level then this is the video for you!

There are generally two ways to get better quality videos when it comes to whatever capturing device you are using.

The first is if you are shooting on a smartphone.

Most people shooting on a smartphone start out by using the automatic camera settings on the phone and these days, they are pretty good.

However if you want to really take things up a notch then you have to learn how to manually control that phone camera.

If you are shooting on a DSLR or MILC camera then you pretty much have no choice but to learn them!

Remember, a smartphone is designed to make things look how it “thinks” it all should look, a camera on the other hand, is designed to record things exactly as they are.

That’s why lighting becomes even more important when shooting with a camera.

I have a full and comprehensive article on all of this here: Video Shooting in manual Mode.

However for the moment and just to get you started, here’s a great video that runs through the basics of the subject.

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How to Actually “Just Start”

One of the most common things you will see in tutorial videos is the “just do it” or “just start” mantra.

Of all of the handy tutorial catchphrases, those ones can be the most frustrating because if you could do that, you wouldn’t be scrolling through endless YouTube tutorials!

So here’s a strategy to get you past that point and into the “already started” phase.

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Shortcuts to Quickly Move your Playhead in PowerDirector

One of the most common movements you are going to be making in any video editing app is moving the playhead around the timeline.

The video below covers some of the most common ways of doing this especially by using different modes and keyboard shortcuts.

Even if you aren’t using PowerDirector as your editor it is worth taking a look at this one and seeing if you can find the equivalent settings in your own app.

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How to Create Sims-style Videos – Movavi Ideas

Another quick tips video from the folks at Movavi for this week.

This one covers making a Sims style effect on a clip but it is important to note that the whole “Sims” reference is secondary.

The key here is seeing how titles and motion tracking are carried out in the app so that you can apply it to any project.

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Viral Documentary Style Breakdown Rebuilt in CapCut

OK, this is a long one!

Dina and Agnes is a YouTube channel that specializes in using CapCut as a video editing solution.

They have many, many videos online so if you are using CapCut, they are a great resource to check out for tips and tutorials on the subject.

In this video Dina breaks down a particular documentary style of video that is used by Magnates Media, another very successful YouTube channel with a particular style.

The reason for the “this is a long one” warning is that in this video Dina takes us step by step through every shot of one of those videos showing how it can be replicated in CapCut.

Of course the key to that is not CapCut itself because just about any video editing software can do it as well as long as you know what it is you are doing!

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Transform Any Video Quality with These Filmora AI Features

At this point in time Filmora offers a number of video enhancement modules that operate from within the user interface.

These are in addition to more traditional tools like color correction and sharpening.

The most basic is an A.I. based module that runs locally on your computer and is free to use providing pretty good results as long as the footage is not too bad.

After that they move up into remotely located A.I. tools that may be necessary if the footage you have is of bad quality but you still want to use it.

In the videos below you can see all the model in action with a good indication of expected result.

More Filmora Enhancement Examples

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No NODES, No CST, No COLOR Page! EDITORS Color Management [EASY]

One of the key modules in DaVinci Resolve and in fact the one that it all started off with is the Color Page.

Because that page and the rest of Resolve for that matter was developed for professional editing, it can look wildly complicated and complex.

It has to be that way because of the enormous variation of potential workflows that could be thrown at it at any given time.

One of those variations is the way the color in the video files you shoot is recorded.

Because of that, there are settings within Resolve that control that factor and this comes under the heading of Color Space Management.

Those different ways of storing the color data are called “color spaces’ and in order to effectively use Resolve for color correction and grading, it has to know what color space you are importing and which one you want to export at.

Most online tutorials on this subject are generally pretty complex because the subject itself can get quite complex.

However most of us at the general population level don’t really need to get into it too much because consumer cameras and phones are recording in a color space called Rec. 709.

Here’s the full definition of Rec. 709.

On top of that when exporting a project that same color space, Rec. 709, is the default one used on every social media platform.

Given that our needs are pretty simple I finally found a great tutorial that doesn’t go all technical on us too much covering how to set DaVinci up correctly for our usual color space.

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Free Sound Effects Downloads – SFX, Clips and Music

Yay! Free stuff!

This week I happened to come across a few relatively (well to me anyway) new freebie sites for assets you can use in your own projects.

It is the nature of sites like this that they have a tendency to either suddenly disappear or get eaten up by one of the big boys.

Both of those scenarios are as a result of the original owners discovering that hosting and serving mountains of video, audio and image assets comes at a pretty steep cost!

So for the moment this one and the ones below are active and looking stable.

ZapSplat

First up is Zapsplat with over 160,000 sound effects, 700+ SFX packs and over 800 royalty free music tracks free for commercial and non commercial use.

Eyecandy – Visual Technique Library

Next we have Eyecandy which is essentially a filmmaking platform that allows creators to exhibit their work, exchange ideas, and find inspiration.

Eyecandy offers a range of resources for filmmakers, from practical tutorials to inspirational content.

You can select something from the navigation menu or scroll down and select an image.

This will take you to the associated asset where you can either download it or check out any tutorial connected to the effect technique page.

Mixkit – Free Assets for Your Next Video Project

And finally we have Mixkit which is another straight up free assets site offering about 46000 video clips, more than 1000 music tracks, 3000 sound effects and over 800 video templates you can use for free.

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Real Gear to Use in a YouTube Studio

Let me start this one off by saying that I do not have or even need anything like this for my own studio setup.

In fact it would be a bit generous for me to describe where I shoot as a “studio!”

The setup shown here is for someone that shoots videos for online content, conducts webinars and carries out coaching calls… so it’s pretty complete!

What I do think is that if you isolate the individual components that would be applicable to your own situation there are some good tips for getting it all right.

One of the keys to being able to continue creating content is having a convenient setup that you can just slide into and start.

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How to Use an Effect as a Transition and Combine Effects in PowerDirector

My favorite line in this tutorial is that you don’t need a transition (noun) to transition (verb)!

One of the problems with video editing terminology is that very often it is not defined comprehensively at the time it is being used and transitions are a great example of this.

If you simply cut from one shot to the next without anything in between, that’s still a transition.

You have just transitioned from one shot to the next.

The way the terms is most often used is in reference to small effects that come pre-packaged with most software that are designed to be inserted between cuts.

So these are called transitions and are designed to transition from one shot to another.

That in turn lead people to believe that the only way to transition is by using one of those preset transitions but that is not the case by any means.

Check out the video below where effects are used as transitions instead.

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How to Add a Film-burn Transition – Movavi Ideas

There is a misconception these days that in order to pull off advanced effects you need an advanced video editing app.

In reality that’s not really true.

The thing is with some of the more simple video editors is that pretty much anything can be achieved as long as you know how.

The video below is a good example of that in that there would be an expectation that a specific transition or effect would be necessary to pull off that effect.

Check out the video and you can see that it is a simple procedure as long as you know how and could pretty much be done in any video editing software at almost any level.

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How to Make Your First YouTube Video (Talking Head Guide)

This is another totally awesome guide from Gabriel VIP specifically on how to create a great looking Talking Head video.

In the title he says for YouTube but really these rules apply to any social media platform where you are going to post it.

There are a lot of videos out there giving individual tips and tricks and most likely if you watched them all… you would end up totally confused!

Apply this one start to finish and you will be well set for success.

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Filmora 15.6 Teleprompter Tutorial – Record Videos Without Memorizing Scripts

A few weeks back now I mentioned in a Friday Roundup that Filmora had updated (as usual!) and had added some new features to the Screen Recording app that comes with the program.

It was actually a bit more than an update and seemed to be a total rework of that module altogether.

One of the key new features was the ability to have a teleprompter overlay the screen as you are recording which I think is a pretty cool idea.

Here’s look at it in action and how it works.

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7 CapCut Settings Fixing Bad Audio Right Now

Although CapCut was originally developed specifically for creating TikTok videos by the owners of TikTok Bytedance, it is still a pretty good all-round editor.

Since its beginnings the capabilities of the app have been developed and extended so writing it off as TikTok editor is a bit unfair.

In the video below you can see some of the audio features available in the program so you can get an idea of what it can do.

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Filmora Beginners Guide 2026 – Everything You Need Before Your First Edit

A couple of new videos this week from the A.I fake people from Filmora!

OK, so excuse the sarcasm but really, they don’t need to use their own A.I features quite so much from my point of view.

Filmora is a great video editor and reliance on using A.I to create these videos is a bit over the top in my opinion.

Anyhoo, A.I. considerations aside, there are pretty good videos to introduce the latest iterations of filmora and the tool available.

If you are totally now to the program, are looking to maybe use it or are an existing user then these are a great reference point for working effectively within the app itself.

Don’t let my A.I. cynicism put you off, it is actually worth taking a look at!

A Guide to the Effects in Filmora

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The Art of Motion Graphics for Editors

So first up here I have to let you know that the effects being demonstrated in the video below were all done in After Effects by Adobe.

Now personally I wouldn’t touch an Adobe product connected to a subscription model with a barge pole!

That’s definitely a blurb for another post and not really relevant to the subject at hand!

What this video does do is give some great tips and idea for bringing a still motion image in a video project to life using motion graphics ideas.

So in watching it, bear in mind that the ideas are the important part here, not the software being used.

Having said that I still do recommend Premiere Elements for consumer level editing as it sits outside the whole Adobe subscription quicksand.

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Fusion Is MUCH Easier Than You Think… Let Me Show You

Mercifully the work I do in the main never requires me to do anything in the Fusion Page of DaVinci Resolve!

My Fusion skills could be be described as somewhat limited but in reality I think that’s being pretty generous.

Having said that my recommendation is to NOT be like me!

Really, the Fusion Page along with the Color Page are the two most powerful modules in Resolve and of you are not using them both, you are leaving a lot of capability on the table.

So in the interests of improving you editing skills (but not so much mine) here are some basic tips on getting to grips with that beast.

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This One Trick Stops You Sounding Like You’re Reading a Script

One of the first problems I had to deal with when I started shooting videos for my wife and ultimately clients was that deer in the headlights look they all had.

In my experience there are very few people who can just get in front of a camera and be totally relaxed.

One of the first strategies I employed was to start using a teleprompter which I through at the time, would solve the problem entirely.

How wrong I was!

The result of using a teleprompter was that I now had a person who looked reasonably relaxed BUT!

That reasonably relaxed person was now very obviously reading the teleprompter and it was not a good look!

Here are a few tips to get that stiff reading style out of the way and appear more natural.

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This One Move Makes You Look Natural on Camera

If you are anything like me then what happens when you practice presenting a video to the camera, you look natural, approachable and someone worth listening to.

However the second you get in front of the camera, or at least the you become aware the camera is now recording, it all goes to hell in a handbasket!

From that point forward there are pretty much only two scenarios that follow.

The first is that you become stiff, unnatural and spend hours fumbling your way through the script only to end up looking like someone stiff, unnatural and fumbling through a script!

The second is that you end up delivering a lecture or like someone who is talking at the audience and not to it.

So to counter that here are a few tips for overcoming all of that and perhaps communicating to the audience instead!

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I Ranked Every Video Upgrade (The #1 Might Surprise You)

This is a rather subjective experiment that Gabriel did on the most commonly recommended upgrades for creating social media videos.

Although the results are based on what he feels are important or unimportant, I can’t help but agree with what he is saying and the logic behind it.

See what you think.

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Customize Moving a Graphic Object and Save as a Preset – PowerDirector

OK! Well this is pretty much what it says on the box!

It is a good example of how you can control movement of objects in PowerDirector but I think the more important point is that you can save setups like this and apply them to other projects.

For that purpose make sure you check out that part of the tutorial.

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Speaker-Based Subtitles? Filmora Just Solved Your Biggest Editing Problem

To be honest I am still catching up on the recent updates to Filmora 15 as they rolled out pretty fast this time!

As I mentioned in previous posts on the subject, in this version of Filmora they have put the brakes on developing more A.I. driven features a little.

Instead they have been revisiting quite a few of the existing modules and either adding capabilities to them or as in the example below, totally revamping it entirely.

The one features this week is the subtitling module which on the surface may not seems so exciting.

However before you dismiss the need for comprehensive subtitling remember the number of users watching videos with NO AUDIO looks something like this:

• Facebook: 85% of videos are watched completely muted.
• Instagram: Between 80% and 85% of users consume Reels and video content silently.
• LinkedIn: Approximately 79% to 80% of professionals watch videos with the sound turned off.
• Mobile Devices: Up to 92% of consumers watch video content on mute when browsing on their phones.

That’s why you need to use subtitles and that’s why a good subtitling module is something you should be interested in!

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How to Make a 3-layer Collage – Movavi Ideas

This is another in the basic series of How to videos from the folks at Movavi.

If you are using Movavi or are thinking of taking it up as your video editing app of choice then these video give a good understanding of what the program can do.

Of course their market is international so it makes sense that they use their own A.I. voices to narrate the video so lets just overlook that part!

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Exposure Triangle Explained: ISO, Aperture Shutter Speed for Beginners

When you make the switch from shooting your videos in auto mode to manual there are a number of factors you have to understand.

If you don’t work these out the end result will be you thinking its all garbage because your auto footage looks better than your manual stuff!

One of those key points is the exposure triangle of ISO, Aperture and shutter speed as it all relates to video.

In this video you can see a good explanation of how it all works and if you are interested to learn more, there is a comprehensive article in the link below.

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Being a Full Time Creator Isn’t What You Think (QA)

Many people start off with the possible goal of learning how to shoot and edit videos as well as creating an online profile in the process.

This often follows the path of creating a social media presence based on their own videos and building from there.

In reality those many people end up going nowhere on the whole process or end up becoming a slave to their own media channels!

These days getting started regardless of the intended outcome, is pretty easy.

The real task at hand if you have these intentions is to get a grip on the reality of what the day to day process really looks like.

The video below is a 20 min. or so discussion of what that reality actually looks like from a creator who is both successful in building a presence as well as getting freelance work.

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Make Soccer Videos Look More Cinematic? Here’s How – Filmora

As much as we have access to a whole bunch of fancy schmancy A.I tools these days, the reality is that a good edit will always come down to the little details.

Just before you go any further no, this is not about making soccer videos, it’s about making any kind of video.

Even if you have good looking footage and enough of that footage to piece together a cohesive video, that is still not enough.

Of course you need to cut it appropriately but in the end those little fine tuning steps are the nose that will set your project apart.

Here’s a look at that process in Filmora using the available tool to address those things.

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Master YouTube Lighting in 15 Minutes

If you are just about to fall into that old trap of thinking that the reason your footage doesn’t look as good as it should, so its time for an expensive camera, wait!

Check this video first because it gives an excellent rundown of how light works in a shot and how you can easily deal with it, no camera purchase necessary.

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Amazing Effects in Classic Films – How Did They Pull It Off? – Part 14

I always love it when the guys from Film Riot deconstruct visual effects from classic movies.

They started of this series a while back and dealt mainly with movies from long ago when there was zero SFX technology to fall back on.

In other words all the effects were pretty much practical in their nature and showed just how inventive the early film makers were.

These days they look at some more recent examples but its always fun to peek behind the curtain and see how they were done.

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