Creating YouTube videos easily: Wondershare Filmora hands-on

Ad: Today there’s a look behind the scenes at Jen loves Tech: I’ll show you how a video like this is made. I’ve been running the YouTube channel for almost exactly two and a half years and have produced over 100 videos in that time. Along the way I’ve worked out a routine, which includes reliable and versatile editing software. The real magic of a film happens in the edit. I’ve been using Wondershare Filmora for that for over two years.

From script to footage

Every one of my videos starts with an idea that I turn into a script. On that basis I film myself saying it, plus the so-called B-roll, meaning the footage of the smartphones, smartwatches or tablets I’m talking about.

Why Filmora? It’s incredibly easy to use and still offers an insane number of features. I’ve tested other editing programs too, some of them free. Some were so complex that I had to invest a lot of time for the simplest functions. In Filmora there are buttons for that, the interface is clearly laid out and mostly self-explanatory.

How I edit a video in Filmora

1. Import: All footage goes into the project by drag and drop. With large 4K files and a not-so-powerful computer, you can create proxy files automatically, small stand-in files for smoother work. On export, the high-resolution originals are used again.
2. Lay down the main track: The A-roll with my audio recordings goes on the main track, it’s the basis of the video.
3. Set the audio: With the equalizer I make the audio sound as full as possible, and I also take out a bit of reverb because I film in a large room. That way it sounds more like a studio recording.
4. Cut: I place the cursor where I want to cut and click the icon. Pauses and slip-ups fly out.
5. Lay B-roll over it: The sequences of the devices go over the main track so that they match what I’m saying.
6. Improve the picture: Color and stabilization.
7. Transitions, text, music: see below.

Features that save time

• Silence detection: Filmora detects pauses automatically and cuts them out.
• Text-based AI editing: Filmora creates a transcript from what is said. If you delete a sentence in the text, it is also cut from the entire video. That’s much faster than listening to everything. The transcript can be used as subtitles, and in the subtitle editor you can adjust the text.
• AI stabilization: Sometimes I film handheld and have shaky footage. The AI function makes the picture run as if it had been filmed on a rail. That always works really well.
• Color grading: I record in different settings, the lighting is different every time. With ready-made filters or manual color grading, I match the colors to each other, also using the video scopes. That’s so wonderfully easy, with other programs you need a degree of your own for that.
• Transitions and effects: There are a great many, ready-made and customizable. I use them sparingly, my videos tend to be calm. If you’re into crazy transitions, you’ll find something.
• Stock footage: The databases of Pexels and Pixabay, among others, are integrated, so you can download royalty-free footage. That saves searching the internet.
• AI images: New is that you can generate your own images. You describe what you see, choose the style and get several results to choose from.
• Text overlays: I use them especially often. Filmora offers many templates, or you customize the text.
• Music: Filmora has its own database of royalty-free music from many categories, and you can create your own music with AI. Especially handy: with the audio stretch function, I use AI to stretch a track as long as I need it. Normally you’d have to cut it and piece it together to fit.

Verdict

With that, my video is basically done, and I haven’t even used a fraction of what Filmora can do. Whatever you’re planning in your videos: it can be done without hassle with Filmora. That works not only on a laptop or computer but also on the go on a smartphone or tablet.