{"id":1884,"date":"2021-05-22T11:20:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-22T11:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/?p=1884"},"modified":"2024-01-11T06:24:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T06:24:30","slug":"youtube-video-editor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/blog\/youtube-video-editor\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make the Most out of the YouTube Editor"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a while, the YouTube video editor has been thought of as nothing more than a \u2018simple\u2019 editing tool built into the platform where you can perform some basic editing practices such as splicing and removing sections, adding blurs to your imagery and replacing copyrighted music. They\u2019re all useful things, but it never felt like you could \u2018do everything\u2019, and more often than not, it\u2019s been overlooked.<\/p>\n

It was primarily designed as a place for \u2018quick edits\u2019 that could help save you time, compared to if you had to go back to your editing software, make the tweaks, re-export and re-upload.<\/p>\n

However, in recent months, the YouTube editor has actually changed quite a bit. Nowadays, there\u2019s a lot more to it. We\u2019d go as far as saying it\u2019s plausible that you can edit a whole YouTube video just by using the YouTube video editor! Below, we\u2019ve broken down everything you need to know about how to edit a video on YouTube.<\/p>\n

Finding the YouTube editor<\/h2>\n

First things first, let\u2019s find the free YouTube video editor.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. When logged in, head to your YouTube Channel homepage and click\u00a0MANAGE VIDEOS<\/strong>. This will take you through to the YouTube Studio dashboard.<\/li>\n
  2. On the left-hand drop-down menu, select\u00a0Content<\/strong>. This will bring up all of your uploaded YouTube videos, whether they are public, unlisted or private.<\/li>\n
  3. Identify the video you wish to edit on the YouTube video editor and select the\u00a0pencil icon<\/strong>. This will take you through to the\u00a0Video details<\/strong>\u00a0page for that specific video.<\/li>\n
  4. On the left-hand drop-down menu, select\u00a0Editor<\/strong>. This opens up the free YouTube video editor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Note – alternatively, you can click the\u00a0Edit video<\/strong>\u00a0button when logged in and viewing one of your videos. This will take you through the same process as described above.<\/p>\n

    Getting to know the interface<\/h2>\n

    Once you\u2019re on the YouTube editor, you\u2019ll be presented with this layout. We\u2019ve numbered and labeled everything for you accordingly.<\/p>\n

    \"youtube<\/p>\n

    1 – Playback area. This is where you can watch your YouTube video.<\/p>\n

    2 – Fast forward the video 10 seconds.<\/p>\n

    3 – Rewind the video 10 seconds.<\/p>\n

    4 – Play\/pause.<\/p>\n

    5 – Mute and control volume levels of the video.<\/p>\n

    6 – Video playback settings. You can choose to play the video at normal speed or opt for faster and slower playback speeds.<\/p>\n

    7 – Discard and save changes.<\/p>\n

    8 – Further options, including keyboard shortcuts and saving your edit as a completely new video.<\/p>\n

    9 – Zoom in and out of the timeline.<\/p>\n

    10 – The editing timeline. This is very similar to software you use, such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut.<\/p>\n

    11 – The playback head. It indicates where you are on the timeline\/which part of the video you are playing through.<\/p>\n

    12 – The trim button. Utilizing this, you can splice your video and remove sections.<\/p>\n

    13 – The undo\/redo buttons if you make a mistake.<\/p>\n

    14 – Video track. This where your footage is lined up and displayed.<\/p>\n

    15 – Audio track (you can add extra tracks here). This is where your audio is lined up and displayed.<\/p>\n

    16 – Ad breaks track. Choose when and where you want in-video ads to play.<\/p>\n

    17 – Blur track. Add blurring to certain parts of your video (useful for hiding details like phone numbers and number plates).<\/p>\n

    18 – End screen track. You can create and add elements to the end screen that appears at the end of your YouTube video.<\/p>\n

    Trimming your video<\/h2>\n

    Firstly, when it comes to how to edit a video on YouTube, you\u2019ll want to know how to utilize the trim tool. We trim a video when we\u2019re looking to change the start or endpoint of a video or if we\u2019d like to cut out a section in the middle. The YouTube video editor has made this really easy.<\/p>\n

    1. Select the Trim button above your timeline. The timeline should now be selected in blue. You\u2019ll also notice a new\u00a0Options box<\/strong>\u00a0below the YouTube video editor with the options of\u00a0Split<\/strong>,\u00a0Cancel\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Preview<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \"710\"<\/p>\n

    2. Using your cursor, you can drag the blue lines at either end of the video to make new start and end points.<\/p>\n

    \"710\"<\/p>\n

    3. If you want to cut out a section in the middle of your video, click on the timeline from where you want to begin the cut. Use the playback video and zoom tools to identify the exact section you want the cut to begin. When you\u2019re happy with where the playhead is placed, click Split in the box at the bottom of the YouTube editor. A blue line will appear.<\/p>\n

    \"710\"<\/p>\n

    4. Next, drag the blue line to where you would like the cut to finish. The greyed-out area between the two blue lines represents the section of the video you have no cut out. You can make multiple cuts throughout your video. If you want to remove a split, simply click the\u00a0X<\/strong>\u00a0icon above the relevant section.<\/p>\n

    \"711\"<\/p>\n

    5. Once you\u2019re happy with your edit, you\u2019ll need to hit\u00a0Preview<\/strong>\u00a0in the options box at the bottom of the YouTube video editor before you can hit save.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s the basics of trimming and how to edit on YouTube! It\u2019s important to remember that, unfortunately, you can\u2019t pick up footage or add in extra clips and move them around. The YouTube video editor is purely designed for trimming down existing footage. Perhaps, sometime in the future, YouTube will be adding these features to the editor.<\/p>\n\t\t

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    Ad breaks<\/h2>\n

    When it comes to how to edit a video on YouTube, you\u2019ll also want to know how to insert ad breaks if your channel is being monetized.<\/p>\n

    To do this, select the ad break track on your timeline. You\u2019ll see where YouTube has already automatically placed ad breaks. They\u2019re represented by the grey \u2018bars\u2019 on the timeline. You can drag and move these around on the timeline. In the top-left of the YouTube editor, you can also choose to delete these ad breaks, add more, or allow Youtube to place them automatically.<\/p>\n

    \"711\"<\/p>\n

    End screens<\/h2>\n

    Next, let\u2019s take a look at end screens. On the bottom track of your timeline, you\u2019ll see the + icon for\u00a0adding end screens<\/a>. You can choose to add any of the following to:<\/p>\n