Introduction to the Art of Video Editing
Mastering video editing goes beyond knowing software features; it requires understanding how to craft engaging narratives through cutting techniques. This guide breaks down essential cuts to elevate your edits, with practical demonstrations using Kden Live.
Addressing Audio Quality: New Microphone Insights
- Introduced a new Mono USB gaming microphone gifted by the creator's father
- Issues with noise cancellation software on Linux
- Continued use of existing audio editing methods to ensure quality improvement
Key Cuts to Level Up Your Edits
J Cut and L Cut Explained
-
L Cut: Audio from the previous shot carries over into the next shot, maintaining auditory continuity.
- Example: Hearing dialogue before the video cuts away.
- Achieved by unlinking audio from video clips and extending audio into the next scene in Kden Live.
-
J Cut: Audio from the upcoming shot starts playing before the video cuts to that shot.
- Example: Hearing train track sounds before visually cutting to the tracks.
- Created by trimming the beginning of the next clip's audio and extending it into the previous clip.
Applying J and L Cuts in Kden Live
- Ungroup audio and video or hold Shift to move audio independently
- Use timeline trimming tools to adjust audio lengths, forming distinctive "J" and "L" shaped cuts
- Add transitions to smooth audio overlaps and create subtle auditory layering
Additional Editing Techniques
Cut on Action
- Cutting in the middle of a movement (e.g., sword swing) to emphasize action and hide jump cuts
Cutaway
- Switching to another scene briefly to show a related visual (e.g., looking at an object)
Insert Shot
- Close-up shots of an element already present in the scene to highlight details
Match Cut
- Transitioning between scenes using similar shapes, colors, or objects to create visual continuity. Learn more in Master Cinematic Video Techniques: Storytelling, Lighting & Composition.
No Cut
- Holding on a shot longer to build tension instead of cutting immediately
Enhancing Edits with Sound Design
- Strategic sound placement and picking appropriate music enhance narrative depth and emotional impact
Conclusion
Incorporating these cutting techniques and thoughtful sound design in your video edits can transform basic footage into professional-level storytelling. Practice these methods using Kden Live to refine your editing skills and produce captivating content. For detailed insights on creating cinematic videos with expert storytelling, see How to Make Cinematic Videos: Storytelling, Shooting, and Editing Tips.
For further learning, explore the linked Kden Live tutorial playlist and enhance your mastery of video editing. To complement your editing work, consider improving your editing software skills with CapCut Mastery: Become a Professional Video Editor in Hours.
This video is less about Kaden Live and more about the art of video editing. Now, I can teach you a lot of technical
stuff about Kaden Live and even other software. But to really level up your edits, it's important to learn the art
of editing. And that can start with a couple cuts. So, before I address the cuts, I would like to address the
elephant in the room, and that is the new mic. Yes, I have a new microphone. And for those of you who saw my previous
video, I still have my Lavali mic. Now, this is a gift from my father and it is the Mono USB gaming microphone and it
has noise cancellation except that the software doesn't work or is not compatible with Linux. So, I have to use
it as it is and I still apply the same audio editing that I showed in my previous video. So, hopefully this will
improve the audio quality on the channel overall. So, thanks, Dad. Now, with that out of the way, let's talk about a
couple cuts that you can use in your edits to level up your videos. Now, before we jump into the cuts, take a
look at this short clip and let me know in the comments if you can guess which cuts were used for
this. John. John. John, you were telling me about the train tracks.
[Music] All right. If you guess J cut and L cut, you're right. And for those of you who
don't know, J cut and L cut is when the audio of one shot carries over to the next shot or when the audio of the next
shot appears preemptively in the previous shot or the current shot. This is something that is often used for
conversations in movies. So, for example, I could be talking right now. We cut over to someone else and you
still hear my voice. That is an L cut. And as you might have seen in the short clip, we can hear the train tracks
before we cut over to the train tracks. So, let's jump into Kidden Live and have a look at what it looks like on your
timeline. So, over here in Kaden Live, I have the three shots. We have our helicopter. Then we have the therapy
scene. And finally, we have our train track. So the L cut is when the audio from the previous shot lingers over to
the next shot. So I'll jump over here to this cut. I'll jump forward 1 second. And now to move the audio separately
from the video when you have them grouped together is you can either ungroup them or hold down shift on the
keyboard and then click on the edge of your audio or video. in this case audio. Left click, hold and drag. And there you
have it. So now we can repeat the same step with the audio from the helicopter scene. So hold down shift, left click,
hold, and drag. And if I were to select our first shot here, you can see it does an L shape. So we have the cut going
down and then the audio continuing over to the next shot. Now for the J cut, it's when the audio of the following
scene preemptively shows up on the current scene. So again, inside of Kaden Live, I'll jump to the cut. I'll jump
back one second and a couple frames. I'll hold down shift and I'll trim the audio of our therapy session. And then
hold down shift again and drag out the audio from our train track. And now if I select the following scene, you can see
we have a J shape on the timeline. So the cut goes down and the audio moves into the previous scene. So it's really
simple to create the J cut and L cut, but it can really help elevate your edits. Now before jumping into the next
cuts, a little bit of technical information for this particular scene. So instead of having a dry cut, what I
did is over here on the L cut, I double click on the cut over here. So it adds a transition. I increase the duration of
the transition itself up to 1 second. And then I moved it over closer to the helicopter scene. The reason why I did
this is that I wanted the first John that she says to be subtly audible under the helicopter sound. And then over for
the J cut with the train tracks, I simply added a fade in so that it's a gradual increase of the warning sign for
the train track. That's really it. So what are these other cuts? Well, one of them is to cut on action. It's when you
cut while the action is happening. Now, in this case, it's a simple cut to a close-up, but you get the idea. It could
be with a sword swing. You cut to a different angle. This is really to punch in on the action or to hide a jump cut
in the scene. The next one is a cutaway. And that's for example, I would look up and I say, "What is that?" And we cut
over to what I'm looking at, which is outside of the previous scene. Another one is an insert shot. For the insert
shot, for example, I would grab this box. I'm looking at it. And then we cut to a close-up of the box which was
already in the previous scene. And that's an insert shot. Next up, we have the match cut. So, I could show you this
ring over here. And then we cut over to this camera. And what makes it a match cut is that we have a similar element
from the previous scene over in the next scene. So, it kind of ties the two cuts together. Another trick is to not cut at
all. So, lingering on a shot for an extended period of time, building up tension. Now, these are just a few cuts
that you can use to elevate your edits. Another thing that can help elevate your edits is sound design. So, the placement
of the sound, choosing the right music, etc. All right, and that's it for this video. You can click on this playlist
here to learn more about Gen Live. And thanks for watching.
J cuts and L cuts are audio editing techniques that create smooth transitions between shots. An L cut extends the audio from the previous clip into the next one, maintaining auditory continuity—for example, hearing dialogue before the video cuts away. A J cut plays audio from the upcoming clip before the video switches to that scene, such as hearing train sounds before the shot changes. Using these cuts enhances the narrative flow and immerses viewers by creatively overlapping sound and visuals.
In Kden Live, you create J and L cuts by unlinking or holding Shift to move audio and video tracks independently on the timeline. Trim and extend audio clips to overlap with adjacent video clips, shaping the audio into a "J" or "L" pattern. Adding audio transitions smooths overlaps, producing subtle and professional-sounding edits. This technique helps maintain continuity and enhances storytelling in your videos.
Cut on action involves cutting the video in the middle of a movement, such as during a sword swing or a door closing. This technique hides jump cuts by creating seamless transitions and intensifies the sense of motion, making scenes appear more dynamic and engaging. It is especially useful for maintaining visual flow and enhancing the viewer's attention during action sequences.
A cutaway briefly switches to a different scene or object related to the main action, often used to show context or reaction shots, like looking at an object off-screen. An insert shot, conversely, is a close-up of an element already present within the current scene to emphasize details, such as a close-up of a character's hand or an important object. Both techniques enrich storytelling by providing additional visual information or highlighting key narrative elements.
A match cut is a transition between two shots that share similar shapes, colors, or objects, creating visual continuity and a smooth narrative flow. This cut links scenes thematically or visually, offering creative storytelling by drawing parallels or contrasts. For example, cutting from a spinning coin in one scene to a spinning wheel in another uses a match cut to connect different parts of the story seamlessly.
Sound design, including strategic placement of sounds and selecting appropriate music, deepens the narrative and emotional impact of video edits. Layering sounds carefully can guide viewer attention, build tension, or evoke specific moods. Complementing cutting techniques like J and L cuts with thoughtful sound enhances immersion and storytelling quality, making your edits more engaging and professional.
To improve audio quality while using a USB microphone on Linux, especially when noise cancellation software is unreliable, continue applying audio editing techniques such as noise reduction, equalization, and audio normalization within your editing software. Also, choose a good-quality microphone and record in a quiet environment. Consistent monitoring and tweaking of audio levels during editing contribute significantly to clearer, professional-sounding sound.
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