Drone Video Editing Hacks (From Pros)
Written By: Shane Clark on July 23, 2021
To be sure, businesses need professional drone video editing services to maximize returns and to ensure that their digital marketing assets are in top shape. However, if you start with drone video and would like to experiment with drone video editing, it is possible to do it at home.
If you have a computer that can work with demanding video editing software, you can start learning how to do it. Today’s blog post is all about drone video editing hacks that can facilitate the post-production work for your drone videos. You’ll need to know how to edit drone video to present a captivating tale if you want to produce entertaining drone clips and films that your audience will enjoy watching.
Are you struggling with shooting photos and videos with your drone camera? You may have to do some troubleshooting – check out my guide on the common problems with using today’s commercial drones. And when you’ve figured out what’s troubling your flights, you can start improving your aerial photography techniques.
Music Can Help to Set the Film’s Mood
From the start, the correct music may set the tone for your video. When you add audio to your footage, you may help viewers perceive it in a new way, from humorous and cheery to severe and suspenseful.
Match the music style to the footage and the target audience. Sound effects such as rustling leaves or rippling waves can be used to enhance your video. Experiment with different music and effect combinations until you find the ideal auditory balance to create the perfect mood.
Make a Colorful Statement
Color grading or changing the color of your drone video can give it a more dramatic appearance. Color tweaks can make all the difference. On the other hand, color can make drone videos look drab or lively.
Colors also play an essential role in presenting a visual story. Different colors appeal to the senses and engage the audience emotionally, just like sound/music. Colors also aid in giving or expressing traits of objects to the viewers. They draw in and hold the attention of the audience. As a result, professional drone videographers are justified in placing a high priority on color.
The Vitality of Color
Color is a vital element in videos, regardless of the theme or concept.
If you use videos to express branding narratives and stories, you already know that colors affect your work’s theme, mood, and style. These add vibrancy to your aerial photos, too. Previously, accomplishing great video color required expensive and lengthy procedures. You’ll need to invest in some costly editing software and the services of rare professionals who work for expensive agencies. However, things have become so much more straightforward in recent years.
It’s crucial to understand the concept and purpose of color grading before diving into the fundamentals. Color grading involves modifying or improving the color(s) of a video or film. You have complete control over the footage you’ve made as a drone videographer. For example, using an application that enables you to tinker with color palettes, you may change the hue of a particularly dreary scene and make it more colorful. Doing so also gives the audience a better idea of what the scene truly looked like.
Color grading has several purposes, one of which is to improve the video image or scene. It’s also utilized for artistic license or expressing yourself through your visual art in a unique way.
Instead of taking grainy night images, you may utilize color-grading software that makes your scene appear to have been shot at night.
Color Terminology
As a first-time color-grading user, you’ll need to learn a few words to understand the process better.
Hue, which means “pure color,” is one of the most significant concepts. It also refers to a color’s position on the color wheel. Hue refers to the overall appearance of a color.
Saturation, on the other hand, refers to the quantity of hue needed to characterize a color. A color with zero saturation, for example, will seem gray, white, or black.
Luminance, on the other hand, refers to the brightness of a color.
When a single color is saturated with many hues, it produces a variety of tints and shades. In addition, there are various brightness ranges, with highlights, shadows, and mids being the most prevalent.
The terms brightness, lightness, and value are all connected to luminance. All of these words refer to the darkness or brightness of a color. Each of these belongs to a distinct scale and works at different saturation levels.
Color Grading Tools That Are Easy to Use
Here are a few simple color grading features to check out and practice with if you’re just getting started. These tools are available regardless of which video-editing program you’re using.
Brightness and Contrast:
Use this to adjust the image’s brightness and contrast. Keep in mind that changing the brightness will also modify the contrast level. Also, keep in mind that exposure is different from brightness. Only use the exposure tool to correct an underexposed or overexposed image.
White Balance:
This feature, which is found in many professional video and DSLR cameras (and drone cameras with great sensors/CMOS), allows you to change the white balance parameters to make the image appear colder or warmer.
It has a colder option if the footage is bluish. It has a warmer setting if it looks like the sunset. White balance is also employed to give your photographs or situations a more natural appearance.
Three-Way Color Corrector:
This tool can change a scene’s saturation, hue, contrast, and brightness. This corrector has a single interface, which eliminates the need to switch between different functions.
The Fast Color Corrector:
Think of the Fast Color Correctors as the “lite version” of the Three-Way Color Corrector. It’s used to change the video’s saturation and color as well.
Unsharp Mask and Sharpening Tools:
These features can make your images appear sharper by adjusting the contrast. It can be used to sharpen edges. However, it is critical to learn how to utilize these tools responsibly. Overly sharpened videos, unlike static photographs, are not appealing to the eye.
Curves:
Even though they are tough to utilize, Curves make color grading and correction easier. This should be your primary option if you want to change the brightness of your scene completely. It’s a little tricky because you have to drag points and bend curves to get the desired result. A horizontal curve reduces contrast, but a vertical curve boosts it. If you have a reference shot for your planned scene, use Color Match. Use this tool to make your image look like the source image.
Take A Good Look Around
A drone provides you with a unique perspective of the world. However, drone video editors frequently use jump cuts and quick transitions to create action or drama. While this editing technique has its place, there are times when it’s best to hold a long shot and let the scene evolve as people take it in.
If you’re editing a film of ocean waves crashing on the shore, for example, you can dwell on that shot for a long time. First, allow folks to take in the serene scene. Then, consider cropping the drone video tight in software and slowly zooming out to the whole frame to give the scene more movement.
Summary:
Effective drone video editing requires talent, time, and specific skills. While you can study it at home, we highly recommend that you have professionals look at your drone videos, especially if you are planning to use them for a special occasion or marketing your business. Email me today if you need expert drone video editing services done professionally.
