Edit Youtube Videos On Ipad

(Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock)

You just shot some video that you now want to publish on YouTube. Whether you plan to share it with family and friends or create content for your YouTube channel, you'll want to edit that video to add more polish and a professional touch. For this task, you have a variety of options.

YouTube offers its own built-in video editor through which you can trim and cut your video, enhance it with music, and blur faces and other areas. That may be all you need for a simple video, but if you want to truly liven up your work with titles, effects, and other elements, you'll need a more advanced editor.

Naturally, you can purchase sophisticated video-editing software for your computer. However, there are a host of free options you might want to try first. Windows 10 offers the built-in Photos app capable of editing videos, and macOS users can download Apple's iMovie. Otherwise, there are many other options to try for both Windows and Mac.

For our purposes, we'll assume you already shot your video and now need a way to edit it. Here is how to use YouTube Studio, Microsoft's Photos app, and Apple's iMovie to edit your video.

YouTube Studio

To modify your video with YouTube's built-in editor, you'll need to upload it to YouTube Studio. Sign into your Channel dashboard and click Upload Videos. Select your video within the Upload videos window, then fill out any necessary information at the Details window and the subsequent screens.

At the Visibility screen, determine whether you want your video to be private, unlisted, or public. You can also schedule a date to make your video public to give you time to edit it. Click Save or Schedule.

Click the Content entry on the Dashboard sidebar and select the thumbnail for the video you wish to edit. At the Details window, click the Editor entry. Your first order of business may then be to trim down your video, so click the Trim command.

Move the left border on the video timeline to the spot where you want your video to begin. Move the right border to the spot where you want the video to end. Click the Preview command and then click Play on the video window to see what the video would look like after the trim. Click the Save button to apply your changes.

Want to add music to your video? Click the plus sign next to the music note in the bottom left to add a track. Scroll down the list of tracks under free music to find non-copyrighted songs.

Click the Audio Library link to find more free music and sound effects. You can also search for music by title, genre, artist name, and other factors. Click the Play button next to any track to hear it. Click Add next to the track you want to insert.

YouTube's editor allows you to blur faces, objects, and backgrounds that you may prefer your audience not see. Click the Add blur icon on the timeline, then select Face blur or Custom blur. Face blur automatically scans for any faces. Custom blur allows you to choose the type of blur as well as the area on the video where the blur should appear. Click Save when finished.

Microsoft Photos

Included with Windows 10, the Photos app is a simple but effective program for editing videos, especially since it offers several capabilities over those of YouTube's editor. Open Photos and click the Video Editor tab at the top. Click the New video project button, name your video project, and click OK to get started.

At the screen for your new video project, click the Add button and select the From this PC option to add your video. You can then drag the imported clip to the Storyboard.

You can perform several tasks from the Storyboard. Click the Add title card command, then type the text for the title card, choose the style, and set the duration. Click Done when finished.

Click the Trim button from the top menu to edit the video. Move each of the two sliders to set the start and end points for your video, then click Done. Choose the Split option to cut the video into two or more clips. You can then set the slider to where you want to separate the video. Click Done when finished.

Select the Text command in the top menu to add text on a selected clip. Type the text, choose the layout, select the duration, then click Done. If you click 3D Effects, you can also apply motion styles, filters, and even 3D images on top of your video. You can also add music, narration, and sound effects to your video.

When you're done editing your video, click the Finish video icon. Choose the quality for your video—1080p, 720p, or 540p—then click the Export button and save the video file to your computer.

Unfortunately, the Photos app offers no way to directly share or save a file to YouTube. Your only choice is to return to the Channel dashboard, click the upload icon, and select your video.

If Photos doesn't provide the power and skills you want in a video editor for Windows 10, head to the Microsoft Store, where you'll find a host of other editors, such as CyberLink PowerDirector 365 Essential, Movie Maker 10, NeoFilm Express, FilmForth, and Video Editor Studio.

iMovie

If you don't want to invest in the high-quality (but expensive) Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple's free editor iMovie is a good choice. After downloading the program from the App Store, open it to the My Movie section on the main screen. Click the Import Media button to add the video you want to edit, then drag the clip to the bottom timeline.

You can now perform an array of actions on your video, such as trimming or splitting. Click the spot in the video where you want to trim or split the clip. Click the Modify menu and then select Trim to Playhead, Trim to Clip Edge, or Split Clip, depending on what you want to achieve.

From the top toolbar below the menus, you can add music or sound effects, themed titles, backgrounds, and transitions. And from the icons above the video clip, you can adjust the color balance, apply color corrections, crop the clip, stabilize the video, change the volume, reduce any video noise, and change the speed.

When done, click the Share icon in the upper right and select the icon for YouTube & Facebook. You'll then have to save the video to your Mac. After the file is saved, go back to YouTube Studio, click the button to Upload videos, and select your video.

Apple macOS users looking for a free video editor can also try the free version of DaVinci Resolve, VN – Video Editor, OpenShot, and Movavi Video Editor.

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