10 Editing tips for making better movies with a GoPro

10 Editing tips for making better movies with a GoPro

10 tips and tricks to give you the edge whilst editing and to help make your kite video shot on a GoPro to look more professional.

In the final instalment of our 3 part series we look at the editing phase. We present 10 tips and tricks to give you the edge whilst editing and to help make your kite video shot on a GoPro to look more professional.

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1. Choose your software wisely

It is very important to choose your software in relation to your skill level. Final Cut and Adobe Premiere are amazing, but if you have no idea how to use them and not the time to learn then there is nothing wrong with editing in iMovie if you prefer. If you do a good job then you may find that the viewer can’t tell anyway.

That said, if you want to have all the tools at your fingertips then we highly recommend Final Cut or Adobe Premiere and spending some long night learning and playing.

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2. Music is everything

When it comes to action sports videos your choice of music says a huge amount about you. Choose it wisely. You certainly don’t have to choose the latest popular song and you don’t even have to be limited to one track (if you cleverly edit and mix between them), …pick something that is you, …feel free to be different.

Once you have your music, make sure the video is in time to the music. This can be very time consuming to get right but is worth it in the end.

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3. Think about sound effects

Often the only sound picked up by our GoPro is wind, but if you have been shooting out of the case then feel free to ad in landing sound effects. They sound great and you can even record one specifically and reuse it. Check out this example from Charlotte Consorti where she does just that.

Just don’t give your users four minutes of high pitch wind noise.

4. Avoid copyright issues

There is nothing worse than spending time matching up the music only for YouTube to reject it on copyright grounds. Personally we find Vimeo to have a better quality of player and presentation and be less strict on copyright is you credit in the description text, …but make sure you link to the artists page, or better yet, the place to buy the song. It is also a wise idea to avoid using the latest Taylor Swift song.

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5. Give credit where credit is due

Don’t of course forget your sponsors, but remember there is a time and place for everything. No one wants to watch 1 minute of sponsor logos. If you shots are good you should have thought about the placement of your sponsors products within the video and if not there is always time at the end. Also do not forget to credit those who helped you and assisted you in making the film.

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6. Do not use every transition you find

Editing software is full of fancy transition (the mixing between two clips) however this does not mean you need to use the all. There is nothing more amateur than 30 different transitions. Have a look at some professional films and you will find they almost always use a simple fade between two clips and only vary the speed an timing if the fade. That is not to say you only need to do this.

Check out the video from one of our favourite film makers James Boulding on the next page to see this rule applied.

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7. keep an even pace and consistent clip length

An even paced film is very important. It doesn’t matter if you make a fast pace film with lots of quick cuts or something slower and more drawn out, but what is important is consistency.  It is of course possible to change the pace of the movie halfway though, ..this is usually done in time with the music.

8. A little colour balancing goes a long way

Colour balancing is the act of adjusting the colour in your clips so you have a consistent feel to the whole film. Whether you want a high contrast saturated look or a more washed out retro feel, this is where that is achieved. Colour balancing can also be a useful technique to make footage that was not otherwise great, work well in within your video.

Check out this video from Colleen Carroll to see the even sun bleached look throughout the video.

9. The world does not go round in slow motion

Slow motion looks great and there are exceptions when a film edited entirely in slow motion looks really good, …just be careful using slow motion for your entire movie. Just think about this …does the clip in slow motion benefit from being in slow motion by letting the viewer see things they would not normally be able to see at normal speed? If yes, then you are good to go.

The Brazilian film maker Andre Magarao is an expert in this as you can see in this video of Hannah Whiteley.

10. Spend time on the edit, it is what makes your movie

Editing is what makes your movie. A good edit can be made from bad footage, but a bad edit can ruin even the best footage.

Most importantly do not rush to finish your film just to get it out, …so often films cut off at the end and you feel the creator was just in a hurry to finish it, …take you time, get it right, check it and if you find mistake go back and correct them before releasing it.

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Bonus Tip: Don’t force the length of your movie

This is a very simple concept to understand. 1 min 30 seconds of a short good movie is much better than 8 minutes of a bad movie. If someone gets to the ned and wants to watch it again then you have done a good job, …if they switch it off before the end, less so.

So don’t force the length.

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