You’ve probably seen a video before that made you wish you could slowly slink away. Maybe it was a family vacation photo that included 10 minutes of the beach with wind making it impossible to hear. Maybe it was a YouTube video where someone was showing you how to do something but took forever to get there. Maybe you saw a video that just needed the first 30 seconds cut out.
Whatever it was, even an amateur knew they could do a better job. With video becoming an increasingly important marketing tool for even the smallest companies, here are three extra video editing steps you can use to help make your video stand out — whether or not you’re a pro.
1 — Consider using motion graphics
Maybe you read the title and assumed we’re talking about 3D animation or some other type of computer graphic. We’re not. We’re referring to the use of animations during transitions between parts of the video. This is a trend that is catching on, and you can see it implemented more and more in television commercials, web video, and even web design.
Part of what makes it so fascinating is that, when done correctly, it draws the viewer into the next part of a sequence without distracting them. The other part of what makes it so fascinating is that it can draw a viewer into a video while it’s playing, and that encourages them to stick around to see if the video will loop or play again.
2 — Add closed captioning
Here’s another one of those little understood things about videos — closed captioning is used more by viewers without disabilities or who are hard of hearing than it is by those who are.
If you’re unsure of how to do it yourself, you can always locate one of many closed captioning companies that offer services.
3 — Select music that matches the tone/message of your video
Just because you like a certain kind of music doesn’t mean it matches the content of your video. For example, you wouldn’t use a heavy metal song for the video depicting the funeral procession of a famous figure, even if that figure was a heavy metal rock star (well, you might only if you wanted to do it for comedic effect, but more on that later).
When you think about movies, part of what makes them so terrifying, tense, or emotional is the music that is used during the background. As a good point, take a look at this clip from the original Jaws movie. In the first part of the clip, the music has been removed from one of the more climatic scenes in the film. After it plays, the same scene is played again but with the music added.
Conversely, music can help raise the comedic level of a video. In this example, someone took a video and played Sarah McLachlan’s Angel and used it over a video of a low budget cooking video made for Weber State students. The music gives the video a depressing and somber feel while raising the level of humor.
That’s exactly what music is supposed to do, too. There are studies on background music and how it affects the moods of customers. Music can do all sorts of things, including increase the likelihood that people will buy a product, vote for or against a candidate, decrease or increase the pace of customers in stores, or even influence them to share a video.
Of course, if you use all three of these techniques with your videos, you’re more than likely to boost your views, shares, and likability.