What is Video Editing?
With the prevalence of smartphone technology available nowadays, everyone has suddenly become a pocket Videographer, recording everything from mundane daily routines to ill-advised stunts to earthshaking footage of events that end up going viral and making headlines. With the convenience of being able to record everything readily available, many people may discover a passion that turns into a talent. For anyone considering a career related to video production, professional training to learn video editing could be the key to qualifying for working in film and television as well as online streaming or marketing with skills for developing and shaping visual content. Working as a Video Editor includes combining video, graphic design, or audio to create professional-looking visual content for broadcasting, websites, or social media.
Video editing involves taking film, video, and other types of visual content and shaping that material into a coherent and unified presentation. The principles for editing any type of visual content go back to the fundamentals of film editing. Film technology goes back to the origins of motion pictures back in 1895. Movies would not reach the level of technology for synching audio like dialogue, music, or ambient sounds with images for another 32 years with The Jazz Singer in 1927. Before being able to join sound and vision, the earliest films would depict scenes from a wide and stationary camera position. Soon, films had begun to include titles interspersed between scenes to explain to viewers what was happening on the screen. Eventually, filmmakers began to alternate the range of shots from an establishing wide shot to a medium shot or closeup of the people in the scene. The initial wide shot let the audience know the who, where, and what of the scene so that viewers would naturally be able to follow along with what was going on from shot to shot. This method was achieved through cutting and arranging film footage in a way that could be naturally comprehended, which helped establish the visual language of film that still applies today with any form of editing.
Why Become Certified in Video Editing?
There are plenty of reasons why anyone should consider certification or a certificate training program in video editing. Skills in video editing facilitate shaping seemingly unrelated raw footage into a coherent narrative that audiences can understand and connect to.
Contemporary video editing derives from film editing techniques established well over a century ago for creating a visual language that communicates information to viewers through storytelling for the eyes rather than the ears. Basically, training in video editing provides technical skills that can lead to working with visual content in a variety of industries.
Individuals can gain certification in video editing by passing a proctored exam that demonstrates expertise with a specific application like, for example, Final Cut Pro Certification acquired through an Apple Certification-approved program. Certification verifies that a candidate has completed an industry-recognized training program that confirms that person’s qualifications to potential employers for the position in question. A certification requires passing a skills exam that demonstrates proficiency.
What You’ll Learn While Becoming Video Editing Certified
Training in a certificate program to get skills in video editing can help qualify anyone to find work with a variety of media. Video editing certification, on the other hand, provides authentication of that individual’s qualifications for working as a Video Editor with skills for integrating visual and audio content into a coherent presentation. By gaining certification with a video editing application like Premiere Pro or Final Cut, a Video Editor also benefits from gaining expert status for working with graphics, effects, and audio in visual productions. Here are a few skills and tools that certificate training can help with for establishing a career related to video editing:
Video Editing
For individuals considering careers related to working in video production, formal training in video editing can help with qualifying for work in the film and television industries. Skills for editing video can lead to working with visual material in TV, movies, or streaming, where individuals can apply their passions and talents to combine video with graphics and audio to produce professional-quality visual content for broadcasting, websites, and social media. A Video Editor’s skill set also includes being able to work with graphic design and motion design applications like Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer, among several types of software. People throughout Baltimore can find training to learn basic video editing concepts such as frame rates, video resolution, and aspect ratios, along with being able to organize and import visual material for a variety of media.
Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is the leading video editing software used in television, film, and websites for integrating video, graphics, and audio for professional-looking visual presentations using an editing tool that can help with finding employment by combining technical knowledge with storytelling principles for creating a compelling narrative flow. Premiere Pro works seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop, Audition, and After Effects to create optimal video production results. In addition to industry work, creating video clips for use on social media and YouTube can help with giving visual presentations a more professional look that can make the results stand out when compared to less visually appealing videos. Training in Premiere Pro may ultimately lead to finding work in animation since the application is used for video editing with cartoons and animated films, which could make training a wise investment for anyone considering a career in the film and television industries.
Apple Final Cut Pro
Apple Final Cut Pro provides basic video editing options along with advanced features such as range tools, audio synching, keyframes, and position tools. Video Editors can use Final Cut Pro for user interfacing with online media on a variety of platforms or with major motion pictures and television shows, amateur videos posted on YouTube, or editing a video shot on an iPhone. Video Editors can also take advantage of the advanced features of Final Cut, such as multicam editing, color correction, the green screen option, and speeding up or slowing down video footage. Skills with Final Cut Pro facilitate shaping video content for use in several visual formats.
Storytelling
Working as a Video Editor also requires an aptitude for storytelling and being able to pull together a narrative in a visual presentation. People tend to think of storytelling as being related to fiction with books, movies, and TV shows. However, storytelling plays a crucial role in nearly every form of communication, including news, education, marketing, and video editing, through establishing a narrative flow. Narration can be described as a container that holds information together to help an audience comprehend a message.
Animated Logos
Animated logos refer to adding motion graphics to an organization’s logo design. A logo is a symbol that represents an organization or group’s image, values, or history. By animating a company’s logo, a Video Editor has to maintain the integrity and purpose of what that symbol is supposed to possess and must strive to translate those values through animation. A Video Editor can incorporate animated logos into a presentation that helps an audience connect with a brand by bringing that brand to life.
Video Editing Industries in Baltimore
Baltimore is among the best-established cities in the United States for research and development due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., along with schools like Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland being available within the metropolitan area. Major industries located in Baltimore include transportation, import/export, manufacturing, education, healthcare, financial services, and technology. Each of these industries offers opportunities for working in video production or areas related to visual media to help attract, entertain, or inform customers. This means that jobs related to video editing, such as Video Editors or Video Managers, are in demand for working with companies headquartered in the area, like Under Armour or T. Rowe Price.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment outlook for working as Video Editors or Film Editors projects to grow by nine percent between 2022 and 2032. Skills in video editing can open up career opportunities due to the prevalence and popularity of streaming technology nowadays. Learning video editing could lead to working in television and film or at an academic institution or athletic organization that has its own websites and video departments for working with visual content, requiring people who can shape that content into something coherent. People all over the world watch videos on YouTube and other media platforms.
Training to learn video editing software like Apple Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro, as well as motion graphics applications like After Effects, can give anyone options for working in post-production in television, film, and digital media. Additionally, the Maryland Film Office acts as an emissary with the national film industry for companies looking to develop film and television productions like Diner (1982), Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999), The Wire (2002-2008), and Hannibal (2013-2015) as well as miniseries like The Corner (2000) and We Own This City (2022).
Video Editing Careers in Baltimore
With the prevalence of video streaming available through various media, there is a high demand for Video Editors who can shape visual content into coherent presentations. Skills in video editing can lead to working in the film and television industries in a city like Baltimore. However, there are also opportunities for working with video content on the Internet and social media, including sports, self-recordings by Influencers, footage shot at political rallies, or simply vacation videos exhibiting ill-advised stunts. With all these activities ready to be posted online or on social media for everyone to see, the need for people who can shape that material into coherent packages for presentation on YouTube opens opportunities for working in video editing.
Experience in a variety of video editing and production tools, along with training in audio and graphic design software, as well as an aptitude for storytelling, can be combined to appeal to potential employers and clients. Working as a Video Editor in Baltimore can earn an annual income between $57,000 and $91,000. Video editing skills can also lead to becoming a Video Manager, which can bring in a yearly salary ranging from $72,000 to $122,000 for work handling storyboards and scripts and integrating various media. People can also find work as Videographers earning from $101,000 to $219,000 a year for shooting and editing video in movies, TV shows, websites, smartphone apps, software, online videos, and video games.
Should You Pursue a Certificate or Certification
Ambitious Video Editors who would like to improve on or demonstrate skills with tools like Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or After Effects can enroll in certificate programs or gain certification that improves or verifies qualifications for working with those editing and graphic design applications. Certificate programs offer training in several areas that typically take weeks or months to complete. Certificate programs usually prepare individuals with training that prepares them to move into a new career immediately through fortifying skills for working in specific areas for editing videos and digital content.
Several online education providers have certificate programs covering video editing and production technology. However, it should be noted that certificate programs are not the same as a certification, which verifies expertise for handling specific applications or procedures that a person typically achieves by passing an exam. While certificate programs are not the same as gaining certification, enrolling in certificate training may help with eventually passing a certification exam.
Top Video Editing Certificate Programs in Baltimore
Certificate programs can provide detailed training with tools and software related to video editing that typically takes weeks or months to complete. Certificate programs prepare people with training that can help them get to work immediately in their new career, armed with skills for editing videos and other types of digital and visual media. However, it should be mentioned that certificate programs are not the same as gaining certification, which verifies an individual's expertise for working in a specific discipline by passing an industry-recognized exam. But while certificate programs are not the same as achieving certification, enrolling in a certificate program may help with eventually passing a certification exam. Here are a few certificate programs, bootcamps, and courses related to training in video editing:
Think BIG: Adobe After Effects Advanced
10420 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland 21044
This course teaches participants advanced features of Adobe After Effects. Training includes learning 3D features, the 3D camera tracker, the roto brush, particles, simulation, and effects for gaining a high level of proficiency using After Effects. Students will train with industry-certified professionals who have a broad range of experience with software for animation, visual and audio effects, video compositing, motion graphics design, and digital post-production.
Upon completing this course, students will have skills for using After Effects to work as film and video professionals such as Animators, Visual Effects Artists, and Web Designers.
For this course, students will need to have either completed Think BIG’s introductory After Effects course or possess working knowledge of After Effects. Students must also have a working knowledge of computers and operating systems, as well as use a mouse, keyboard, and standard computer menus and commands.
This two-day course costs $795 with discounts available.
Certstaffix Training: Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2024) Course
14502 Greenview Drive, Laurel, Maryland 20708
This course trains students in fundamental skills associated with Adobe Premiere Pro, which includes learning how to add transitions, video effects, and titles to videos, as well as putting clips in motion, organizing media, and performing basic editing.
Students will learn how to edit videos using this industry-standard Adobe application that allows users to organize a variety of media formats, insert audio, create transitions, and design titles and effects. Premiere Pro also facilitates mixing sound, compositing video, adjusting color, and applying advanced editing techniques. This application also allows users to manage projects, work with 360 Video for VR headsets, and create animated graphics.
This three-day course costs $1,330.
Ledet Training: Adobe Video 501 - Adobe Video Professional Bootcamp
1634 I Street NW, Suite LL100, Washington, D.C. 20006
This course focuses on training students in Adobe applications to become video professionals. Training includes learning about the fundamentals for working with Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro through learning tools and techniques for motion graphics and developing video post-production skills, including video editing. Lessons in this course include learning about setup, title creation, editing techniques, multicamera edits, storyboarding, and color correction.
Upon completing this course, students will possess knowledge of Premiere Pro and After Effects for working in video post-production, creating motion graphics, and editing digital video.
This five-day bootcamp costs $2,199.
Softek Services, Inc: Intermediate Adobe Premiere Pro
1156 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005
This course provides advanced training in Adobe Premiere Pro. Students will learn skills and techniques for producing broadcast-quality visual content used in videos, multimedia presentations, and broadcasting. Training focuses on learning advanced editing features such as trim, match, and timelines, as well as advanced techniques for masking, integrating Photoshop, After Effects, and Audition files, exporting videos, using sequence markers and encoding, and analyzing and adjusting the color of videos.
Upon completing this course, students will have skills in advanced editing with Premiere Pro, along with knowledge in masking techniques, color correction, and DVD exporting, as well as integrating Audition, After Effects, and Photoshop with Premiere Pro.
This two-day course costs $950.
Noble Desktop: Video Editing Certificate
This is a live online course that can be taken from anywhere.
This live online certificate program provides training for editing videos that can be included in a demo-reel portfolio. Lessons include learning about editing videos using Adobe Premiere Pro, editing audio with Adobe Audition, and creating motion graphics and animation using Adobe After Effects. This course aims to teach you how to work with a variety of media production applications to create a fluid workflow strategy.
Through this program, you will learn about video editing, audio editing, motion graphics, and animation. Upon completing this course, you will have skills in creative video editing techniques and improve the workflow required for working professionally as a Video Editor.
This live online certificate program takes two months to complete as a full-time course or four months with the part-time option at $2,995 either way.
