The top video editing tools for digital journalists
You’ve probably heard how important video content is for digital publications. Without video, your website can start to feel stale. That’s because readers are demanding more video content from their favorite publications. Advertisers are gravitating towards video, as well, spending large portions of their budgets on native advertising and other branded video content.
Publishers like Buzzfeed have made millions from video content posted on their own websites and social media properties, like Facebook and Instagram. What you might not realize is how much easier it is to create professional quality video content when you’re using the right tools.
Professional video editing tools like Apple’s Final Cut and Adobe Premiere Pro can be intimidating for publishers to use. They can be expensive, too. But the good news is that you don’t need pricey video editing software to publish professional videos online. If you’re reading this on a smartphone, you probably already have everything you need to create high-quality video content.
Thanks to mobile apps, video editing has gotten much easier. While many legacy publishers are still editing video on laptop and desktop computers, handheld devices now offer nearly as many features at a much lower price point. That’s especially true if you publish short-form content, or videos that are less than 20 minutes long. Editing and posting videos from your smartphone gives you a fast way to upload the clips you’ve filmed, edit those clips, add professional branding elements, and export the completed video to your own website or social media channels.
Here are some of the best video editing tools for digital journalists that we’ve come across here at Web Publisher PRO.
1. Videoshop
Videoshop is a video editing app that is fast and easy to use, with all the basic features that web publishers need for producing professional quality video. Journalists can integrate music into their videos, they can edit interviews for length, and they can add subtitles to make their videos easier for viewers to understand. Videoshop also gives users the ability to merge multiple clips into one video, which is a useful feature for digital publishers. The Videoshop mobile app is available on iOS and Android.
2. Inshot
Inshot has all the features users expect when they evaluate video editing tools for digital journalists, including freeze-frame, background options, and the ability to shift between ratios to optimize video for different social networks. It’s also easy to use, fast, and very user-friendly. Being user-friendly is an important benefit for anyone who is not experienced in video editing on mobile. In addition to editing basic video to post online, digital journalists can also use Inshot to do photo editing and create collages.
3. Square Fit
Publishers who post extensive video on Instagram will want to invest in a mobile app like Square Fit. A dedicated tool for posting video on social channels, Square Fit gives mobile users a straightforward way to post full size videos on Instagram without cropping. High-resolution videos can be rotated, flipped, and scaled. Users also have the ability to add text, filters, and stickers to their videos. Videos that have been edited with Square Fit are saved to the user’s camera roll, where they can then be uploaded to social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
4. WeVideo
A cloud-based video editing platform with free and paid versions, WeVideo was designed to help people make great videos. The platform is more robust than some others on this list, with upgraded features like green screens and built-in stock content. Journalists can use WeVideo to sharpen up most basic video content, like digital video news reports or interviews. WeVideo helps users add logos and create branded templates, which saves time for publishers who upload multiple videos each week. The platform is available via desktop or mobile apps for Android and iOS devices.
5. YouTube
The simplest way for digital publishers to get started posting video content is by using YouTube’s basic video editing program. Included for free as part of the YouTube platform, this video editor is bare bones. However, it’s also free and very easy to use. With YouTube’s video editor, journalists can trim video clips and add transitions set to music. One important caveat is that YouTube’s video editor only works for videos that you have uploaded to YouTube, so if you plan to use a different video upload site this will not be a viable option.
