Planning and filming a video for YouTube is just part of the fun, together with editing. Lots of YouTubers favour different kinds of video editors, and there are certainly many to choose between.
I use an iMac computer and a MacBook, and started off using iMovie, which is fairly standard video editing software that is completely free on Apple computers. iMovie is also available as an app on iPads and iPhones, and is extremely popular with beginner YouTubers, as it is so easy to use and helps to create very professional movies.
I often spend hours editing my videos, because I want to make sure that they are the very best that they can be before I upload them to YouTube. These days I use Final Cut Pro, which is altogether far more advanced and comprehensive than iMovie, although sadly it was not free.
Final Cut Pro is only available on Apple computers and is perfect for post production, since it has a huge number of different features. These include:
Video effects (basics, blur, colour, custom, distortion, keying, light, looks, masks, nostalgia, stylise, text effects and tiling)
Titles (3D, 3D cinematic, build in / out, bumper / opener, credits, elements and lower thirds)
Generators (backgrounds, elements, solids and textures)
Video generator themes (boxes, bulletin board, cinema, comic book, data, documentary, event, filmstrip, kinetic, nature, news, photo album, scrapbook, sports and tribute)
Colour adjusting is a particularly useful feature of Final Cut Pro, where you can use functions such as balance colour / match colour / colour board. There are fairly powerful colour correcting capabilities and these are easy to use. These include colour, saturation and exposure (global, shadows, midtowns and highlights).
For even more detailed RGB colour correction for my videos, I occasionally use the free plugin 'RT color balance', which is perfect for reducing yellow and making white backgrounds a brighter, more natural white colour.
Popular YouTube Video Editing Apps / Software
The following software and apps are suitable for iOS or Android, being popular with YouTubers wanting to edit and upload videos quickly from smart phones and tablets.
These will all allow you to crop your videos, trim the clips, rotate, adjust brightness and colour levels, add music to the background, and include text titles in a variety of fonts.
VivaVideo - very popular YouTube video editing application
Magisto - with some good filters for videos and cool effects
iMovie - a classic made by Apple, and one of the biggest and best video editing apps available for iPhones and iPads
KineMaster - a good option for Android devices, transforming your videos into professional-style movies
Replay - previously voted 'App of the Year', Replay is a good app to choose if you use an iPhone mobile and it also makes creating photo slideshows easy
Cute Cut - with an especially notable user friendly interface, suitable for Mac and PC
WeVideo - described as the ultimate video editing application, available as an online service
Clips - a simple way to crop and trim, as well as to add effects and transitions
Splice - a reliable video editing application available for iOS / iPhones / iPads, with a useful picture in picture feature
YouTube Video Editor - many people don't actually realise that YouTube features its very own video editing feature, albeit relatively basic. This is available online, once you have uploaded your video, through the Video Manager on the Control Panel.
Planning and filming a video for YouTube is just part of the fun, together with editing. Lots of YouTubers favour different kinds of video editors, and there are certainly many to choose between.
The following software and apps are suitable for iOS or Android, being popular with YouTubers wanting to edit and upload videos quickly from smart phones and tablets.
- Google+
