If you have a YouTube channel focusing on a niche that will sell itself, your main point of focus will be ensuring that you edit your videos in a way that will hold your audience’s attention effectively. The internet is seeing an ever increased rise in short attention spans, and audiences glances and skimming content before moving on to the next item. How can you get your followers to stop, take in what you are showing them, and enjoy it enough to want to share it amongst their friends? Taking great videos is only half of the game, you need to ensure you edit well too. Here are some tips from the experienced and successful video creators and editors.
1. Bigger is Not Better
The internet is a tight ring of competition between posters for the attention of browsers. Therefore browsers tend to move on to the next clip or image very quickly if what you have put in front of them is not providing them with instant gratification. Keep in mind that your videos should be structured to only really show the most exciting or interesting moments. Try to speed up or remove the long boring bits in between. This help will keep your bounce rate low.
2. Sometimes, it is!
Knowing when to trim your videos of all the excess bits, and when to allow some “breathing” for the viewers, is an art. Too much action can become over-stimulating, and allow a few quiet moments can help viewers to build anticipation, have a breather and renew their attention. Often, you will be able to see where breathers are necessary for yourself without being told to insert one.
3. Gear Up
While a good workman ever blames his tools, getting kitted out properly has never harmed anyone’s cause! Get yourself a decent editing app and make sure your camera is properly suited to the types of shots you want to get. There are many great open source software products available to help with editing, some are free, while others may charge a small download or usage fee.
4. The J Cut
This refers to a slight staggering of visuals with sound effects, where the sound would happen a second before the visual it corresponds with. It may seem like a strange tactic, but it is extremely effective, probably because it mimics our real experiences. We often hear something before we see it, and this will cause us to turn our heads and only then meet with the visuals that caused the sound. This effect is commonly used in movies too.
5. Have a break
Just like repeating the same word over and over can cause t to feel foreign and lose its meaning, focusing on anything for too long can cause us to lose our perspective of it. Therefore, it is very important to take breaks. Rest your eyes by focusing on distant objects, and close them. Make a cup of coffee or tea, have a few deep breaths and a light exercise to get the blood flowing to the brain can do wonders for creativity!
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Filed under : Videographers