How to Edit YouTube Videos

This is an article that shows you how to edit regular videos similar to familiar editing operations on YouTube. You can download and use Windows Movie Maker to do this on Windows computers, and Mac users can edit videos with iMovie.

Using Windows Movie Maker

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 1How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 1

Download Windows Movie Maker. Although Microsoft no longer supports Windows Movie Maker, you can still download it for free from a third-party website.

Windows Movie Maker is similar to the old YouTube editing tool.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 2How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 2

Open video with Movie Maker. Open the folder where the video you want to edit is saved, and then do the following:

  1. Right click on the video.
  2. Select Open with
  3. Click Movie Maker

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 3How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 3

Add more content to Movie Maker. If you want to combine several short movies into one video or add photos to the complete project, you can add the necessary files to Windows Movie Maker:

  1. Click the Home tab.
  2. Click Add videos and photos.
  3. Select a video or photo (or press Ctrl while clicking on each file to be able to select multiple files at once).
  4. Click Open.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 4How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 4

Organize videos and photos. You can rearrange the order of the clips by clicking and dragging them left or right on the timeline.

Dragging a video or photo to the leftmost position places it at the beginning of the video, while dragging to the far right places it at the end of the video.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 5How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 5

Add title. While not every video needs an intro, placing it at the beginning of the video allows you to list the information or content of the video. You can do the following:

  1. Click Title on the Home tab of the toolbar.
  2. Highlight "My Movie" in the preview on the left side of the window.
  3. Enter the title you want to add to the video.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 6How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 6

Choose a transition effect for the title. You can do this by clicking a selection in the "Effects" section of the toolbar that appears at the top of the window after you've selected the title.

Placing the mouse pointer over an "Effects" selection allows you to preview the effect on the left side of the window.

You can also adjust the length of the title display by clicking the title icon on the timeline and changing the number in the "Text duration" box.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 7How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 7

Add effects between pieces of content. Going from one video to the next (or going from video to photo) can be lackluster, but Windows Movie Maker has a variety of options that let you insert smooth transitions:

Click the video or photo in front of the content you want to add the effect to.

Click the Animations tab.

Select an effect, or preview the effect by placing the mouse pointer over it.

If you want to insert a transition in the middle of a certain video, you can click and drag the black vertical line to the part where you want to put the effect, right-click the vertical line, click Split, and insert the effect.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 8How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 8

Cut some part of the video. Many YouTube videos have been trimmed to uninteresting or lengthy parts to create a neater and more organized product. Here's how to edit the collage, and you can also do it in Windows Movie Maker:

  1. Move the vertical line to the starting position of the part you want to cut.
  2. Right-click the vertical line, and then select Split.
  3. Move the vertical line to the end position of the part you want to cut.
  4. Right click on the vertical line and click Split again.
  5. Click the part you want to cut, and then press Delete.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 9How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 9

Export video. After the video editing is complete, you can save the video as a complete file in the following way:

  1. Click the Home tab if you haven't already opened it.
  2. Click Save movie.
  3. Click Recommended for this project in the menu that appears.
  4. Name the video file.
  5. Click the folder where you want to save the file (such as Desktop) on the left side of the window.
  6. Click Save.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 10How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 10

Upload videos to YouTube. After exporting the video to a file is complete, all that remains is to upload the file to YouTube and share it with the community.

If you haven't verified your YouTube account, you can't post videos longer than 15 minutes.

Using iMovie

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 11How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 11

Open the video with iMovie. Find the video you want to upload to YouTube, and then do the following:

  1. Select the file by clicking on it once.
  2. Click File
  3. Select Open With
  4. Click iMovie

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 12How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 12

Add another file to the iMovie program. If you want to add more movies or photos to iMovie, do the following:

  1. Click the Media tab above iMovie.
  2. Click the "Import" button with the down arrow icon.
  3. Choose where to save the content (such as a certain folder on the Mac).
  4. Select a video or photo (or hold down the ⌘ Command key while clicking each file to select multiple files at once).
  5. Click Import Selected.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 13How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 13

Rearrange content. In the content timeline displayed near the bottom of the iMovie window, you'll click and drag clips or photos left or right to move them closer or farther from the beginning of the video.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 14How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 14

Add title. While not required, adding a title helps you organize and annotate the video content:

  1. Click the Titles tab above the iMovie browsing section.
  2. Select a title template to preview the effect.
  3. Click and drag the title template to the timeline above the video, where you want the title.
  4. Double-click the title in the preview, and then replace it with what you want.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 15How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 15

Insert effects between pieces of content. When processing multiple clips at once, you'll need to add transitions to make the video look smoother:

Click the Transitions tab above the browse.

Select a transition to preview.

Click and drag the effect so that it's between the two clips, then drop the effect there.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 16How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 16

Cut some part of the video. Many YouTube videos have been trimmed to uninteresting or lengthy parts to create a neater and more organized product. Here's how to edit the collage; you can also do this in iMovie in the following way:

Select the clip that you want to trim the content.

Move the vertical line (also known as the "Playhead") to the start of the part you want to crop.

Click Modify, then click Split Clip or press ⌘ Command+B.

Move the vertical line to the end of the part you want to cut, and then split the clip there.

Select the section you want to cut, and then press the Control key while you click the section to open a menu.

Click Trim Selection in the menu that appears.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 17How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 17

Export video. Once you are satisfied with adding and editing the content of the video, you can save the video as a complete file in the following way:

  1. Click Share.
  2. Click File
  3. Click Next (Continue)
  4. Select a folder on your Mac (such as Desktop)
  5. Click Save.

How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 18How to Edit YouTube Videos Picture 18

Upload videos to YouTube. After exporting the video to a file is complete, all that remains is to upload the file to YouTube and share it with the community.

If you haven't verified your YouTube account, you can't post videos longer than 15 minutes.

4 ★ | 2 Vote