Now that you’ve sent your old home movies off to Southtree to be digitized, you’re probably wondering what to do next. “Maybe I’ll post a slow trickle of film clips on social media for the next couple of years, maximizing my potential likes and follower engagement” you might be thinking to yourself. Or, if you’re not a marketer, you’re probably just wondering what the best way to share some of your favorite memories with your friends and family would be. Well, we’re glad you’re here, because we have the answer. You should make a highlight reel!
With modern technology and applications, video editing is easier than ever. With our help, you’ll be able to splice, dice, jump cut, and transition fade your way into an Emmy-worthy video compilation.
Video Editing on Windows
PCs are the most widely used type of computer in the world, and Windows is the platform of choice for millions of Americans. Luckily, some enterprising individuals have made a really nice, free to use video editing software called Filmora. Follow these simple instructions, and you’ll be creating Rocky-type montages in no time.
- Get your movies from Southtree. Depending on whether you chose to receive a DVD, thumb drive, or direct download, grab your stuff and plug it in your computer.
- A window will come up asking what you want to do with your media. You’ll want to copy everything onto your computer by dragging it to your documents folder.
- If you want to be extra-organized, you can right click in the white space of the “my documents” folder and create a new folder and name it something like “Southtree Stuff.”
- Once you’ve copied your movies onto your computer, you’ll open up Filmora by finding it in your start menu or on your desktop.
- Select that you want to start a new project and give it a name.
- Open up the folder that you created with all of your movie clips, then click and drag the ones that you want to use for your highlight video onto Filmora.
- Put the different video clips into whatever order you like. Be creative!
- Add snazzy effects and music. Check out this page for helpful video tutorials.
- Save your highlight reel with whatever name you like. To stay nice and organized, save it in the same folder as all of the clips, but give it a name that makes it easily identifiable.
- Share the video on Facebook! Click here for a guide on how to do that.
Video Editing on Mac
Macs are for more than just hipsters hanging out all day in minimalist coffee shops. In fact, while Macs have the reputation for being difficult to use, they’re actually really simple these days. Maybe one of the greatest features of Macs is that they come out of the box with really awesome creative software like iMovie, which we’ll be using for this particular project.
- Plug in or download your digitized Southtree videos. You’ll get a prompt that asks what you’d like to do with your media, and you’ll choose to save it to your computer.
- Select the stuff that you want to use for your highlight reel and move it into your documents folder. Bonus points if you get extra organized by creating a few folder with just the clips you need!
- Open iMovie and click “Create new.”
- Click on Import media and select the movies that you just copied onto your computer.
- You can drag your video clips from the clipboard up top into the movie timeline lower in the screen.
- Put the clips into an order that you like.
- Add titles, backgrounds, and transitions by clicking the menu up top and dragging what you like in between your video clips.
- Add a soundtrack by clicking on the Audio tab up top and selecting a voiceover that you’ve recorded, or add your favorite song.
- Save the project with a name that you’ll remember.
- Share the video on Facebook! Click here for a guide on how to do that.
So there you have it! Whether you’re a Mac fanboy or a Windows purist, you’re now equipped with all of the knowledge you need to make epic compilations of your favorite digitized video clips. The most important thing to remember about the process is that it gets easier with the more practice you have, and there’s practically no limit to the fun you can have with a little bit of know-how!
