Video editing made easy
On the 30th of June 2021, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, announced that “Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app.” This announcement heralds an even MORE concentrated effort by the Instagram development team to push users to create more video content than we’ve already seen. Instagram has even been rumored to have altered its discovery algorithm to ensure the promotion and wide viewing of video content. With apps like Tiktok attracting over 689 million active users worldwide and social platforms rolling out new features for video left and right, it appears that video content is here to stay. If you haven’t jumped on the short-form video content train yet, now is definitely the time!
We know that creating videos can seem like a lot more effort than creating static image posts. Don’t worry, though! With the easy-to-use apps available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, you can turn your smartphone into your own miniature production studio and create professional video content in a few clicks. Here are the apps we use to make our video content stand out:
This app should be the first step in your mobile video editing journey. Available on iPhone and other Apple devices, the functionality at your fingertips forms the foundation of a successfully structured video. Use iMovie to cut, paste, combine and crop clips into the order and size you want. You can also use the app to speed up and slow down clips or add audio to existing footage. It’s handy for creating animated slideshows of static images, too! The easy-to-use interface allows you to build a solid foundation for adding filters and transitions in other apps.
If you’re looking to boost your filter game totally, then Prequel is the app for you! Loaded with hundreds of adjustable presets that are updated regularly, you can take a regular video into trendy aesthetic territory at the push of a button. The effects available range from simple color grading, like contrast and white balance adjustments, to AI-generated effects. These special effects can add motion-sensitive sparkles and lens flares to your clips or create glitch effects and shimmering patterns over certain textures. Our favorite feature in the app is the “trends” tab, which shows you all the presets currently in vogue on Reels and TikTok. Use this info to make sure your content is always on trend!
Not only is TikTok the fastest growing social media platform in the world right now, but it’s also got a pretty fantastic built-in video editing platform! Specifically, we really enjoy the inventive way TikTok uses audio to create trends, memes, and whole movements. Sound is a crucial element of getting your video content noticed. The TikTok sound library is an easy way to discover trending sounds that may bring your content to a much wider audience. The sound library contains thousands of sounds by licensed musicians and a wide variety of “original sounds” that users of the app have generated. Add the right sound to your video in TikTok and watch its reach triple!
Let’s say you want to create video content to maximize your engagement, but you don’t have access to any footage, only static imagery, and text. You’re in luck with Canva! Not only does Canva have an extensive stock video library that you can use, but their stand-out feature is also an automated animation function that lets you turn your static designs into videos in literally a single click. You’ll be able to unlock more animation functions with Canva Pro, the tool’s premium subscription, but you’ll have plenty of options to work within the free version. Canva is best used in conjunction with other editing tools like iMovie to make a long-form video, as their video editing feature isn’t necessarily that intuitive. In a pinch, though, you can take a static post and liven it up in a way that looks professional and exciting.
Now that you know which tools will elevate your videos, why not give them a try? If you’re struggling to develop ideas for videos, a great place to start is Dawning Digital’s 30 Day Reel Challenge. We’ll send you a short video prompt every day for 30 days, along with sound ideas and examples to inspire you! If you’re still wondering how videos on social media even work, check out our blog on Instagram Reels for a quick catch-up. Or, you can venture into the world of TikTok with our beginner’s guide.
If you’re still feeling a little stuck with creating and posting video content, or you want to check that what you’re doing is going in the right direction, feel free to book a consultation call with us!
We can’t wait to see the movie magic you’ve got up your sleeve!