Video Editing Online Courses: Master The Basics

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You can watch many tutorials on video editing for free on YouTube. Here, you can see a list of free Premiere Pro tutorials.

If you want to take a more structured approach, some great paid courses are available online, which I’ll cover in this article. I’ve included courses for multiple video editing software.

So whether you edit on a Mac, PC, or phone, here are some video editing online classes to help you get started in a structured manner.

1. Video Editing: How to Edit Your Film with Jack Coyne (on Moment)

Course details: 46 minutes | 6 lectures | All Levels

This course by Jack Coyne is a great introduction to video editing in general.

Whereas most other courses on this list are tied to tutorials for a specific program, this course teaches video editing skills you can use across multiple programs.

In other words, it doesn’t require using a specific piece of software but teaches you the fundamental principles for editing professional-looking videos.

Jack has a background in film school and has edited videos for famous YouTuber Casey Neistat before he started his own video production company.

This course is best if you already understand the video program you’ll be working in, have created a video or two, and want to take it to the next level.

If you’re starting your own YouTube channel or want to become a vlogger, this is the course for you.

2. Premiere Pro CC for Beginners: Video Editing in Premiere with Phil Ebiner (on Udemy)

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Course details: 12 total hours | 131 lectures | All Levels

This course by Phil Ebiner is a great introduction to Adobe Premiere Pro if you are a beginner. It requires Adobe Premiere Pro installed, and you can usually get a free trial period to try it out.

The course can take you from beginner to the producer of your first short documentary film. You also get some footage to practice on.

Other essential things you’ll learn include:

  • Professional video editing techniques
  • How to set the right project settings
  • How to export your videos
  • How to color grade your footage
  • How to add visual effects and stabilize footage
  • How to create motion titles
  • How to edit green screen footage

3. Video Editing in DaVinci Resolve 16/17: Beginner to Advanced with Louay Zambarakji (on Udemy)

Course details: 10.5 hours | 208 lectures | All Levels

This course by Louay Zambarakji is a great walkthrough of the free DaVinci Resolve color grading and video editing suite from Blackmagic Design.

Louay walks you through how to download and install the program and use it for the first time.

The course can take you from beginner to advanced student, and you’ll learn the ins- and outs of video editing and color grading in the program. Plus, you get some footage to practice on.

Other essential things you’ll learn include:

  • The workflow of DaVinci Resolve
  • Professional video editing techniques
  • How to set the right project settings
  • How to export your videos
  • How to color correct and color grade your footage
  • How to add visual effects and cool transitions
  • How to create motion graphics
  • How to use nodes

4. iMovie – Video editing for beginners on Mac OS (on Udemy)

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Course details: 3 hours | 26 lectures | All Levels

This course by Colin Marks is a great introduction to iMovie, even if you’re a beginner.

If you own a Mac, you should already have iMovie installed. If not, you can download it here for free.

The course takes you from beginner to competent user of iMovie in just three hours, so you’re ready to make your videos.

Colin Marks does a great job explaining video editing terms to non-video editors.

You also get some sample footage to practice on.

Other essential things you’ll learn include:

  • Video editing basics
  • The layout and workflow in iMovie
  • How to organize your footage
  • How to import footage, images, and audio into iMovie
  • How to fine-tune your video clips in the timeline
  • How to export your video

5. The Complete Final Cut Pro X Course Beginner To Intermediate (on Udemy)

Course details: 4.5 total hours | 50 lectures | All Levels

If you want to step up your game and move from iMovie to the more professional editing program Final Cut Pro X (for Mac), this course by Joe Parys is the way to go.

You must install Final Cut Pro X, which you can purchase here. You can also usually get a 90-day free trial to test it out.

The course can take you from beginner to the producer of your first few projects. You also get some footage to practice on.

Other essential things you’ll learn include:

  • Professional video editing techniques
  • How to create cool transitions for videos for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok
  • How to create speed ramps and speed ramp transitions
  • How to export your videos
  • How to color correct and color grade your footage
  • How to add visual effects and stabilize footage
  • How to create motion titles
  • How to edit green screen footage

6. Motion Graphics & Video Editing Theory – After Effects Crash Course (on Skillshare)

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Course details: 4 hours 36 minutes | 24 lectures (in total) | All Levels

Adobe After Effects is a potent tool for creating everything from visual effects to motion graphics.

This crash course by Lindsay Marsh (part 1) and Ryan Collins (part 2) focuses on the latter. It gives you a quick introduction to After Effects and motion graphic elements such as logo animation, typography, and creating successful video ads for social media.

You also get free sketching, brainstorming, and concept development resources.

The crash course includes:

  • A course guide
  • How to create compelling videos that sell
  • Frame Rates
  • Resolution
  • Storyboarding
  • Layout
  • Compositions
  • Keyframes
  • Timeline
  • Easy Ease
  • Text
  • Solids
  • Shapes
  • Track Matte
  • Masks
  • Camera Basics
  • Null Objects
  • Wiggle
  • Effects
  • Glitch Effect

7. KineMaster, Powerful Smartphone Video Editing (Android, iOS) (on Udemy)

Course details: 1.5 hours | 14 lectures | All Levels

KineMaster is a powerful video editing app for smartphones, and it’s available for both iOS and Android.

The course takes you from beginner to experienced user of the Kinemaster app in just about 90 minutes so that you can make your videos.

It’s a great walkthrough, though I wish he had chosen some real-life video footage instead of video game footage for his examples.

That being said, the techniques he teaches can easily be applied to any footage.

Other essential things you’ll learn include:

  • The KineMaster user interface and controls
  • How to choose resolution and frame rate
  • Basic video editing skills
  • Color keying (green screen footage)
  • Using animations
  • Audio settings and Effects

8. Adobe Premiere Rush CC: Video Editing for Beginners (on Udemy)

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Course details: 34 minutes | 12 lectures | Beginner

Adobe Premiere Rush is a powerful video editing app for smartphones, and it’s available for both iOS and Android and desktops.

This course by Johnny Sturgeon is excellent if you’re new to video editing and Premiere Rush, a scaled-down version of Premiere Pro.

Johnny Sturgeon walks you through all the aspects of the program you’ll need–from editing to exporting your video.

Essential things you’ll learn include:

  • The ins and outs of Adobe Premiere Rush
  • How to create a new project
  • How to edit, arrange clips, and work with multiple layers
  • How to create graphics, titles, and text
  • How to add transitions
  • Basic color correction and color grading of your footage
  • How to add effects
  • How to alter the speed of your video clips
  • How to adjust audio
  • How to export your video and upload it to social media

Closing thoughts

I hope you find these courses useful.

If there’s a specific course topic you’d wish I’d covered, let me know in the comments below. I might know where to find it.

Up Next: Premiere Pro or Final Cut X – which is better?

Author

    by
  • Jan Sørup

    Jan Sørup is a indie filmmaker, videographer and photographer from Denmark. He owns filmdaft.com and the Danish company Apertura, which produces video content for big companies in Denmark and Scandinavia. Jan has a background in music, has drawn webcomics, and is a former lecturer at the University of Copenhagen.

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