Back to Basics

I have been editing videos for a few years now, but never consistently. It has always been a side project here and a school project there, which lead me to struggle over a steep learning curve of the editing software I was using because it typically updates every month with new features or layouts.

This past summer, when I began creating and editing videos for my mother’s art business, I realized just how important consistency is. The regular schedule I kept up over the summer made me realize that I often skipped over or forgot some basic concepts or rules for video editing previously when I worked sporadically. Either that or I never bothered to learn them because I was always on a time crunch with a project. After years of figuring out editing software on my own and missing crucial features and effects that could have made my work a thousand times better, finally, here I am, going back to the basics.

Over the past week, I have played around with fonts and font pairings. Although I didn’t edit any videos, the concept and style choices I made while designing a lo-fi inspired album cover for fun was critical towards my development and understanding of what will make a successful lower third in a video. I messed around with various colors, effects, fonts, and kerning until I liked the final result. Of course, every time I fix something, there is always something else I can alter. However, the purpose was for me to learn what kerning, fonts, and colors work for text that is front and center, drawing attention, which is just the opposite of what lower thirds should do.

With this in mind, later in the week, I opened up my video editing software and began working on lower thirds. To start, because I often have difficulty creating font pairings, I looked for inspiration and found a website that generates font pairings automatically. With some new ideas, I took to google fonts and downloaded about four new font families to try. Eventually, with some tinkering, I came up with a product with which I was pleased. This success was minor but very important. Depending on the video, these lower thirds can appear any number of times, and it is imperative that they are done professionally and in a way that is pleasing to the eye.

This week, I will begin working on two new videos, in which I will apply my knowledge of lower thirds to complete as well as explore elements of color correction and grading further. Although the majority of the videos I will be editing have been filmed with a phone at home, color correction and grading may be able to help it look more professional. I will be using some prior knowledge as well as researching these topics further this week to make the most professional-looking videos possible.