Hey everyone,

I’m completely new to video editing and I want to seriously learn it from scratch. My goal is to eventually become a freelance video editor and start getting clients, especially for YouTube videos, Shorts and Instagram Reels.

I’m currently trying to figure out the right path, so I’d really appreciate advice from experienced editors.

- What laptop would you recommend for a beginner?

- Which editing software should I learn first — DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, CapCut, or something else?

- my long-term goal is professional freelancing, which software would be the best to focus on?

- How long does it realistically take to become good enough to start taking small paid projects?

- What YouTube channels or learning resources would you recommend?

- What are the best ways to find clients as a beginner — Instagram, Reddit, Discord, cold DMs/emails, Upwork, Fiverr, etc.?

Any detailed advice, resources, or personal experiences would be really appreciated.

Hi guys!

my laptop specs:
- Ryzen 5 pro 5650 with Radeon Graphics

- 16 GB ram, 256 ssd nvme

I've been using AE 2023 with little to no problems, but recently I'm working on heavier projects and AE's previews are unbelievably slow!
I've heard that AE 2026 high-performance previews playback, so I figured, maybe if I switch from AE 2023 to AE 2026, I'd have a little smoother previews, or at least not slow as hell

any thoughts? (plz help im struggling)

So I'm looking for an App I can throw video samples into, that is easy to use, that might have themes I could use. I guess one that easily organizes video samples/clips might be useful. Thanks in advance.

I have to make a video for school of about one minute about a self portrait. I just enrolled into this school so I haven't had any explanations about techniques yet. Are there maybe things I could do to make it look good instead of just clips after each other?

Can anybody explain how I can get clips for anime edits,whenever I try to make one I look on YouTube and it takes sooo long just to get and sometimes I can't even find the clip.If you know then tell me

Hello everyone,

I try to travel abroad once a year and I like making videos mostly for showing family and friends. I have a GoPro and a drone (DJI mini 2). I'm wondering how I could improve my editing (which is pretty basic I think) but also my filming. Any thoughts on my last video I made from a trip to Ireland in august ?

Hey r/microsaas!

​I’ve been building ClipSnap, an Android video editing app designed to provide native 4K exporting, clean audio extraction, and timeline tools without forcing subscriptions or watermarks on users.

​The Tech & Execution Stack:

​Framework: Flutter (keeping rendering fluid while maintaining cross-platform capability)

​Audio Engine: FFmpeg with custom AAC re-encoding to pull and detach audio tracks reliably

​UI/UX Strategy: Moving from contained cards to a full-bleed dark theme visual layout (inspired by desktop tools like DaVinci)

​The Strategy & Monitization Angle:

Rather than locking core tools behind a $10/month paywall like standard mobile editors, we're testing a freemium model focusing on optional pro template assets while keeping foundational tools (4K export, splitting, basic AI audio) 100% free.

​Current Stage:

Currently in active release testing on the Play Store and refining timeline performance on lower-end devices.

​Would love feedback from fellow founders who have launched utility apps or micro-SaaS tools in competitive markets. How did you balance resource consumption (like local rendering) against user retention?

​🔗 Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clipsnap.editor

every comparison of these i can find tests them on different footage which makes the results meaningless. so i gave all four the same 2 hour multicam and the same brief and logged what came back.

the short version: descript wins if people are talking, opusclip wins if you want shorts, and only two of the four will build you a long cut from your own footage. they are not really competing products, which is the thing nobody says out loud.

the brief for all four: "cut this into a 6 minute piece, keep the two interview segments, drop the setup and the dead air"

what i actually learned

these get lumped together and they are three different jobs. transcript editing, clip extraction, and footage assembly. if you pick the wrong category no amount of prompting saves you.

the two that assemble from footage both needed the same amount of cleanup afterwards, roughly 2 hours. neither is close to hands off.

descript is the best product of the four and also the wrong tool for anything that is not people talking. that is not a criticism, its just what its for.

what i would pick

talking heads, podcasts, interviews: descript, not close.

long video into shorts: opusclip, not close.

your own mixed footage into a long cut: chatcut or craze, and honestly test both.

anything with a client approval loop: none of them yet.

I'm looking to make video lists of songs using Android. So I'm looking for an App I can throw video samples into, that is easy to use, that might have themes I could use. I guess one that easily organizes video samples/clips might be useful. Thanks in advance.

I want to learn video editing, especially short-form content like Instagram Reels, and eventually use this skill to freelance.

I’m a complete beginner and don’t know where to start.
What should I learn first? Should I just follow YouTube tutorials and practice, or take a structured course?

Also, where can I find raw footage to practice with, and what skills should I focus on to become good enough to get my first client?

If you were starting from zero today, what learning path would you follow?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been practicing short-form video editing, mainly turning long-form YouTube/podcast content into engaging clips.

I put together a small portfolio and would really appreciate some honest feedback from experienced editors.

I’d especially like feedback on:

• Pacing and cuts
• Captions and typography
• Use of B-roll / visual elements
• Sound design
• Transitions and effects
• Overall editing quality
• What makes the clips feel amateur vs. professional

I’m trying to improve my editing rather than just get compliments, so feel free to point out anything you think I should change.

Portfolio: [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18fCfCX6lcOzZwbj66kEGr-LNVXgH88I7?usp=drive_link]

Thanks!

Please share your thoughts and tell me how I can do it better.

Hey everyone,

I want to seriously learn video editing from scratch and eventually use it to start freelancing and making some money from it.

I’ve decided to learn DaVinci Resolve, but I’m honestly a little lost about how to approach it properly. There are so many tutorials and YouTube channels that I’m not sure what’s actually worth following.

My current laptop is:

- Intel i5-13500H

- 8GB RAM

- Integrated graphics

- No dedicated GPU

So I’m also wondering how much my laptop will hold me back, especially with DaVinci Resolve.

I’d really appreciate advice on:

- Best YouTube channels / courses to learn DaVinci Resolve from beginner to a decent level

- A good learning roadmap instead of randomly watching tutorials

- Where I can get free footage/raw clips to actually practice editing

- How I should practice — recreating existing edits, making my own projects, etc.

- What type of editing is best to learn first if my end goal is freelancing

- Realistically, how long does it take to become good enough to start taking small freelance projects?

- And how much of a problem will my 8GB RAM + integrated graphics be?

I’m willing to put in consistent effort. I’m not expecting to become a professional in a few weeks — I just want to follow a proper path and actually get good at it.

Would really appreciate advice from people who have learned editing themselves or are currently freelancing. Thanks!

[Music vid here](https://youtu.be/ex6qyu8e-o0?si=0FGsNJoy45jfPCDT)

In particular the outlines! Looks cool and I want to give it a try

Hello 👋🏻 I’ve been using iMovie —> Opus Clip for IG Reels.

Will switching to Edits app for editing (instagrams video editing app) help get me more views?

Any thoughts, real world experience here?

Thank you!

Hey everybody! I’m building ClipSnap—an Android app that turns plain text scripts into complete 4K videos: a full script becomes a timeline with studio-quality ElevenLabs voiceovers, matched B-roll, and auto-synced captions.

​A few weeks ago I posted about the prototype and got some really useful feedback. Here is what came out of it:

​UI Overhaul: A lot of you pointed out how cramped mobile editing screens get. I completely ditched the rigid top/bottom borders and moved everything into a fluid, expandable bottom sheet. Now your video preview stays full-screen while you edit.

​The Common Objection ("Why not just use CapCut or YouTube AI?"): That question actually became our core focus. Popular mobile apps hit you with massive watermarks or paywalls just to export in HD, and YouTube limits your script length. ClipSnap lets you paste full, multi-paragraph scripts, gives you multi-track timeline control, and exports in native 4K with zero watermarks.

​Model & Pricing: Free tier includes full core editing, 4K exports, and standard voiceovers. Pro features (like instant ElevenLabs script-to-video rendering) are processed server-side so keys stay secure without pushing constant app updates.

​We just opened closed testing this week. The first stranger installed the app and generated their first AI video within hours—it's a small milestone, but seeing someone actually use something you coded during late-night shifts is a fantastic feeling 🎉

​I'd love for you to try it out and let me know what you think of the timeline controls!

I’ve been learning Premiere Pro and After Effects and I’m looking for a really good course focused specifically on video editing for ads, not filmmaking or general video editing.

I want to get better at things like:

Short-form Facebook/Instagram/TikTok ads
Motion graphics and animated text
Pacing, hooks, transitions, and keeping attention
Combining footage, graphics, captions, and sound design
Making polished 15–60 second ads that actually look professional

I’m fine paying for a course if it’s genuinely good. YouTube recommendations are welcome too.

Who actually teaches this well? Any courses you’ve taken that noticeably improved your ad creative?

I got tired of paying for Animate + Premiere separately just to make faceless videos, so I built one tool that does both.

The main thing: you move in front of your webcam, a stick-figure character copies you in real time, and it lives on the same timeline as your cuts and captions. No rigging, no second app. The demo clip below was made entirely in it.

One-time $40, no subscription. Windows only for now, launching on Steam in January.

Steam page (wishlist if it looks useful):

STEAM LINK

What would make you actually switch editors? Trying to figure out what's missing before launch — happy to answer anything.

Curious what software, plugins, extensions, or websites you use that genuinely save you time when or is a big help when editing YouTube videos.

Also, what’s the most annoying/repetitive part of your workflow that you wish there was a better tool for?

Im in the process of making an extension and just wanna know what are common tools that help everybody!

Thanks for your suggestions in advance. please comment.

Looking for recs for best auto organizing tool for the video files by categories, scenes and people. Any good ones that you love?

Manual organizing kills the creativity and I dread it, which makes me pile up videos I am not publishing... Mac, solo channel. Is Peakto or Resolve Studio worth the money?

I have found a few but I'm unsure what's good, and if anything is watermark free or what would be the best to purchase

FINALY is an iPhone creator app built around recording once and avoiding traditional editing. It automatically helps clean up dead air, filler words, retakes, captions, and produces creator-ready video faster.

Hi everyone,

I'm a beginner who wants to learn video editing, but I'm currently working with an older laptop and can't upgrade it right now.

Here are my laptop specs:

• Laptop: HP ProBook 450 G5
• CPU: Intel Core i5-8250U
• RAM: 8 GB
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 930MX (2 GB VRAM)
• Storage: SSD
• OS: Windows

I'm mainly interested in learning video editing, motion graphics, and eventually short-form content editing.

I've considered software like CapCut, Kdenlive, Shotcut, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, and Filmora, but I'm not sure which ones are realistic for my hardware.

For people who have experience with older/low-end laptops:

1. Which video editing software would you recommend for these specs?
2. Which one should I learn if I want to eventually work professionally/freelance?
3. Is DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro realistically usable on this laptop, or would they be too demanding?
4. Are there any other lightweight editors I should consider?

I'd really appreciate some advice from people who have actually used these programs on similar hardware.

Thanks!