Online Video Editing for Beginners

The marketing trend of sharing original videos continues to grow! However, not every organization has a designated staff member with video production skills. That’s ok! Like we’ve stressed before, creating short videos to share on your library’s platforms helps build engagement and adds personality. They don’t need to be technically perfect. Great videos can come from simply using a cellphone or iPad to film, and free editing tools to make it flow better. Below are four online video editing tools that are great for beginners on a small budget.

Canva originally began as a tool for creating elevated graphics on pre-sized templates made for social media. They have recently expanded to include video editing capabilities as well. Offering a free version and a pro version with more features, Canva is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate. They have a variety of templates to choose from (even in the free version) and work well collaborating with social media platforms. After creating a video, you have the option to share it directly to your connected platforms. The only drawback is that there are some limitations to stock images and video in the free version. If your library has a budget for marketing, Canva Pro is about $10 a month and might be worth the subscription if it matches the tools your library needs.

Jitter is another video editing software available online focused on creating animated motion designs. It’s a very straightforward tool that anyone can use regardless of their background in motion design. The free plan on Jitter gives you unlimited projects with a ton of motion design templates, allowing you to play around and create as much as you want. However, these videos will all have a Jitter watermark on them. Great for social media use or even YouTube intros, projects can be exported in both GIF and video format in 720p at 30fps (semi-high definition). Benefits of the paid plan include exporting at 1080p (high definition), no watermark, customer support and the option to export with a transparent background. The pro version of Jitter costs about $12 a month for anyone looking to level up on their features.

Wave is a platform catered more toward short videos for social media. Ease of use and a variety of templates and music options make Wave a great choice for beginners just like the other apps listed here. Unfortunately, with Wave, there are limited editing capabilities in the free version and the only option for sharing videos is directly to social rather than exporting to your device. The free version also has a 15 second video limit. For anyone looking to get past those restrictions, Wave has three paid tiers for subscription starting at $16 a month and going all the way up to $48 a month with varying capabilities for each tier.

Clipchamp separates their video editing templates into YouTube videos, Facebook video ads, Instagram video ads, slideshows, video memes and Facebook cover videos. Much like the rest, Clipchamp offers a free and simple user interface, a variety of stock images and video effects as well as powerful editing capabilities. The down side being Clipchamp’s free version only allows for a 480p export (low resolution) and some of their editing features can be more difficult to figure out for an editing novice. To upgrade and unlock more features, Clipchamp offers a basic creator plan for $9 a month, a business plan for $19 a month and a platinum plan for $39 a month.

Since all of these tools are web-based and have free versions, take some time to explore each one before deciding if you want to stick with a free version or upgrade to a subscription plan for your library. What’s great is that there are so many options available for the casual video creator to learn and get more comfortable. All you need is a creative idea and a library staff member willing to try something new!