Looking to take your video editing to the next level or simply bust out of a creative rut? The following online resources will up your video editing game and most will cost you little to nothing. Explore the leading post-production blogs and training courses… then head to the comments and share your favorite websites for enhancing creative skills.
PremiumBeat’s Blog: The Beat
Free: Over the last few years, The Beat (PremiumBeat.com’s blog) has emerged as a go-to source for tips, tricks and tutorials on video editing, as well as production, filmmaking, camera gear, and more. The blog shares insightful video editing tutorials from around the web, as well as a mix of their own exclusive training content for editors. Be sure to check out their YouTube and Vimeo pages for the latest video tutorials covering Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro X and other editing applications. PremiumBeat also provides 1,000s of tracks for use in video editing projects.
Ripple Training
Paid Per Course: For years, Ripple Training has been the leader in paid training for Apple’s Final Cut Pro (now Final Cut Pro X) and Motion, but has since incorporated other editing and motion graphics applications into their library. Each of the tutorial packs contains multiple lessons, so you receive a comprehensive walkthrough of popular video editing applications. Be sure to check out their free quick tip videos: Final Cut Pro X in Under 5 Minutes, Motion Magic and MacBreak Studio (a favorite for video editors using Mac).
RocketStock’s Blog: The Blast
Free: RocketStock is a curated marketplace for After Effects templates and motion design elements… but they also have an informative blog for video editors that’s updated daily. Much of the The Blast tackles After Effects related topics – from expressions and color correction to compositing and special effects. Each month they also give away a high-quality After Effects template… perfect for new users who are learning the basics of video editing and motion design.
Larry Jordan
Free & Paid: Larry Jordan is a longtime veteran of the post-production industry who rose to online prominence with his Final Cut Pro training over a decade ago. He shares these years of experience through his own blog, as well as countless appearances at live training events, webinars and conferences. On his site alone he has over 1,300 free step-by-step video editing tutorials on popular applications like FCP, Premiere Pro, and Motion. He’s also easily accessible on Twitter, often answering video editing questions from his loyal followers.
PluralSight
Paid Subscription: E-learning has had a vibrant last few years, marked by many mergers and acquisitions. PluralSight, a company whose basis is in software and development training, snatched Digital-Tutors up early in 2014. The result is a vibrant subscription-based video training service with over 3,000 training modules that cover everything from standard video editing to VFX and 3d design – good skills for any video editor to have in their toolbag.
Lynda
Paid Subscription: Lynda is the biggest and most comprehensive video training library online, with 140+ deep-diving tutorials specifically on video editing topics. With Lynda, you’ll get clear, easy-to-follow training without a lot of frills; it certainly feels academic. It’s worth noting that the topics aren’t all application specific – you can also get schooled on editing fundamentals, like the ‘Introduction to Video Dialogue Editing,’ ‘Commercial Editing Techniques,’ and more.
Wistia Blog
Free: Although best known as a video hosting service, Wistia’s content marketing efforts have resulted in a stream of useful training and tutorials for video editors and producers. The Wistia blog combines a mix of written tutorials and original video content – all high quality and easy to understand. It’s not all post-production either… there are many posts on shooting and marketing your video projects.
Vimeo & YouTube
Free: Vimeo and YouTube provide endless resources for useful video editing tips and tutorials, but how do you separate the high-quality content from the bad? Here are a few YouTube channels related to video editing that create (or curate) the best post-production training videos: Red Giant Films, Filmora, Film Riot and Video Copilot.
Inside the Edit
Paid Per Course: Inside the Edit is a single-track course to teach the fundamentals of video editing theory and fundamentals. Unlike other offerings in this list, this course does not specifically tackle any single editing application: “We demo on Avid’s Media Composer, but as our course is creative and not technical, you can cut on Adobe’s Premiere Pro or Apple’s Final Cut Pro just as easily.” The course includes 35 hours of video tutorial content + raw footage to practice your edits.
Shutterstock Blog
Free: Be sure to follow Shutterstock’s footage Twitter account for a daily dose of video-related tips and tricks. Then head over to this blog to see our latest updates!
What is your go-to video editing training resource?
Share your experiences in the comments below!