Video Terminology 101

What is video editing?

Video editing is an umbrella term that encompasses all of the details that go into taking raw footage and turning it into a finished, polished product.

Put simply, video editing is when you edit a video. This takes place during post-production. Video editing can be as simple as splicing a few clips together, or making a video black and white on your phone for your Instagram Story – but it can also be much more in-depth, like adding motion graphics, voice overs, color editing, and more.

What’s included under video editing?

Before a video even starts to be edited, it’s extremely helpful to have some sort of plan. This can be as simple as an outline, or could be a storyboard or a script. Talented video editors are able to take a client’s vision and bring it to life, even if they don’t have a shot-by-shot list, but having a solid idea of what a client wants their video to look like will save time in the long run, especially when they send edits back! One of the first things that our video editors do once they upload the raw footage is to put the footage in the right spots, before getting into the nitty gritty of the rest of the editing.

Different elements of editing:

Splicing clips together - The footage needs to be organized and put together in the correct order, as that will make it easier to edit the project as a whole, even if clips end up being moved around a bit throughout the editing process. As stated above, having a storyboard or some sort of outline or idea helps to streamline this process.

Sourcing imagery and other stock footage - Sometimes, a client wants to use stock footage and imagery to create the video or supplement the shot footage. There are various places where stock imagery and footage can be sourced, and can be sourced either by the editors themselves or provided by the clients.

Color correction and color grading - Once the clips are in the right place, it’s time to make them look like they all belong together. Color correction and color grading will make the footage look more natural and cinematic, as well as add a specific style to the edit.

B-roll vs. A-roll - B-roll is supplemental footage used in addition to A-roll, and it typically shows what the speaker is narrating. A-roll is the primary footage used, and typically consists of one or more people talking to the camera or driving the narrative.

Voiceover recording - A voice-over is a speech recording from a professional voice actor that plays over a video. This adds context and narration to a video project, especially over B-roll. A video editor has to make sure that the narration fits in all of the right places alongside the clips, along with adjusting volume levels. This is included in the audio mixing phase.

Audio mixing - Voiceover recordings aren’t the only audio included in a video! Sound effects, music, company jingles, etc. can be added in to enhance the viewing experience, and all of those elements need to be blended cohesively together so they add to the experience, not detract from it.

Animations and motion graphics - Animation is the process of turning still images into moving images. Animation is a general umbrella term, as there are different types of animation, including motion graphics. Motion graphics are a type of animation, and can be thought of as graphic design with movement. This is often used to supplement other footage, whether that be live action or animation.

These short explanations give a great overview of video editing, but in some ways only scratch the surface of all of the hard work video editors put in to transform a video from a collection of raw footage to a polished finished product!

Where to source imagery and stock footage for your videos

Not everyone has the budget to shoot original footage – does that mean you can’t make a great video? (Spoiler alert – the answer is no.) Stock imagery and footage can be great tools to create awesome videos for your company when shooting original content isn’t an option. Here’s how to get started.

Above all else, you want to make sure that you have the proper permissions to use the stock images and footage. You need to pay close attention to what the licensing permissions are – for example, some content might be available to you for free for personal use, but not for commercial use. (Note: This applies to using certain fonts, too!)

Paid Options

Shutterstock has various pricing plans available depending on what your needs are for stock images and photos. They might be what you first think of when you think of stock images, but they’re not the only company providing that service.

Adobe Stock has various stock categories available, from images, to videos, to vectors, music, royalty-free templates, and more.

Paid libraries usually have more options, including options that are more specific for what you’re looking for.

Free Options

However, there are free options available too! This can be a great place to start – and can also be a great option to find placeholders and examples to show your video team the type of images or footage you’re envisioning for your project.

Pexels has a library of free stock photos, royalty free images, and videos shared by creators!

Unsplash has a library of photos submitted by photographers and creators that can be used for personal or commercial projects.

Free libraries typically aren't as extensive as paid libraries, but depending on what you’re looking for, this could be the perfect place to find it!

There are a lot more options available than the ones listed above, but the ones we’ve talked about are a few to get you started! A talented creative team can take stock footage and imagery (and even mix them with original or previously shot footage) and combine them to create an awesome video that you and your customers and clients will love.

What is animation?

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about elevating your videos to the next level using animation and motion graphics

Animation is a very popular medium, and it comes in various forms. Although some people use animation and motion graphics interchangeably, there are differences between them, and both can be utilized to help you create an awesome video.

Animation is the process of turning still images into moving images. (And before you ask, no, animation is not just for kids!) With that being said, there are different types of animation – learn about them below.

Types of Animation

Traditional animation: This original animation style was originally hand-drawn frame-by-frame.

2D animation: This animation style describes graphics that are created in 2-dimensional programs. The two dimensions of 2D are length and width, making everything on the screen appear flat. This is probably what you typically think of when you hear the word ‘animation.’

3D animation: This animation style describes graphics that are created in a 3 dimensional environment before being animated. The nature of 3D animation allows animators to rotate their animation around to get it in the desired position. When you think of a video in 3D, you’re probably thinking of back when you needed to wear special glasses to see 3D movies – but in reality, any animation that isn’t flat can be 3D. For example, early Disney Princess movies (think: The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Beauty & The Beast) are 2D animation. However, more recent films such as “Frozen” and “Rapunzel” are categorized as 3D, because the imagery is not ‘flat’ on the screen.

Stop Motion: This type of animation is created by taking frame-by-frame photos and then combining them to create the visual effect of movement.

Motion graphics: This type of animation literally means graphics in motion.

What are motion graphics?

Motion graphics can be best described as images (or elements) with added movement. They are animated graphics, and can fall under the umbrella term of animation. You can think of it as animated graphic design, or motion design. Motion graphics are typically 2D, but can be 3D.

For example, if you’re watching a video and a title card pops up to tell you the name of the person on screen speaking, that’s considered motion graphics! Text call-outs, moving infographics, and video transitions are all examples of motion graphics.

What is the difference between animation and motion graphics?

Put simply, motion graphics is a style of animation. Animation is often looked at as being more narrative, and therefore story-based, while when most people think of motion graphics, they think of it as being more information-based. A good way to think of motion graphics is that they’re animated graphics that are supplementing something else.

Why should I use animation and/or motion graphics?

There are a ton of reasons to use animation and motion graphics in your videos. They are a great art form by themselves, but can also be useful when shooting live footage isn’t an option (hello, 2020), or can be used alongside ‘live’ footage to add another artistic element to your video. Even something as simple as adding captions to your videos can elevate the quality and boost the engagement. Animation can give you more control over certain aspects of your video as well.

Overall, animation and motion graphics are great assets that you can use to your advantage to elevate your videos to the next level, and to bring your ideal video to life!

Want more of your video questions answered? We've got you covered! Check out our guide to creative video for your business.

When you're searching for a team to help you create video for your business, you probably see a lot of different options, and it can be overwhelming. One of the first things you might come across is a video or creative agency vs. a production company. What's the difference between the two? We're here to help!

What is the difference between an agency and a production company?

An ad agency provides a wider range of advertising services from brand guidance, through production, through purchasing ads on behalf of a client. An agency may not provide all of the services in house and often relies on a number of partners to provide specialized services. For example, an ad agency may hire an outside video production company to carry out the ideas that they and their client have for a video or series of videos. The agency would approach the video production company with their idea, the script, part of a storyboard, etc., and partner with the company to bring it to life. A creative agency might also handle other aspects of marketing such as advertising, tracking ROI (return on investment), etc., whereas a video production company traditionally would focus solely on the production of the video, not the marketing or other additional aspects. Many production companies may provide additional marketing guidance and overlap with full ad agencies, but the focus will be more on production. You can think of an agency as a general contractor, who oversees an entire project (or brand strategy), vs. a production company as a carpenter, or someone hired to fulfill a smaller, more specialized area of expertise (like creating epic video).

It’s also important to note that ‘Ad agency’ and ‘video production company’ are often used interchangeably, so these differences are just a guide, not definitive rules, and will not apply to all of the video businesses that you research. All agencies provide a different suite of services at varying levels of expertise which is why it is always good to have calls with several to determine best fit.

What is a voiceover?

One key component to most video work is a voice-over. A voice-over is a speech recording from a professional voice actor overlaying a video. It helps to add context to B-Roll footage that is shown on-screen, or narrates an animated video.

Here’s an example:

In this video we did a while back with The VING Project, a nonprofit that helps teens financially help adults in their lives, we have a voiceover overlaying the animated video explaining the purpose of the organization and how kids can get involved. The professional voice actor that is speaking under the video adds context to the animation and gives teens an explanation of how they can give $1000 to someone to change their life. The voice-over not only makes the video accessible to those who might be visually impaired, but also further explains the buzzwords that are present on-screen.

Here at Lightswitch, we use Bunny Studio to help our clients choose the best voice actor for their project. Bunny Studio wrote a case study about how they’ve helped us to keep up to scale with our projects.

What is color correction?

A camera isn’t able to capture colors in the same way that the human eye does, so raw footage looks different than what we would normally see - the footage looks flat, and far from the final finished and polished footage that our clients will end up receiving. That’s where color adjustments come in.

Color correction is the first step of color adjustments. This step is about color accuracy. Color correction unifies your footage by fixing the color issues that your footage has to make sure that it matches how we see the world, as well as matches the color between each individual clip. This is the step where you fix the coloring so that the footage looks natural – this would be where you make sure that skin tones are shown accurately, or where you would fix a color that is showing up differently due to lighting during a shoot.

Difference between color correction and color grading

Whereas color correction aims to achieve color accuracy, color grading is where the overall style comes in. This sets the mood for the footage. (Think: The blue hue in the first movie of the Twilight Saga). Color grading should be done after color correction is complete.

This post only scratches the surface of how color correction and color grading work together to help shape the tone and mood of your video. Our editors use these tools (and their expertise) to help bring your footage up to the next level, and give it a much more professional look that you’re excited to show to your audience.

What is audio mixing?

When you hear the term ‘audio mixing,’ you might think of music right off the bat, not necessarily video – but audio mixing is an important part of creating any professional video! Although you likely don’t give too much thought to a video that has good audio mixing, you’ll definitely notice if a video has poor quality audio.

Sound editing vs. Sound mixing

The terms ‘audio editing’ and ‘audio mixing’ are often used interchangeably, but there are slight differences between them. You can think of sound editing as putting all of the sounds in the right place and order, and sound mixing as making sure that all of the sounds fit together correctly.

Elements of sound editing include dialogue, background, music, and ADR (additional dialogue recording). Elements of sound mixing include blending sounds, adjusting and balancing levels, and adding effects to the audio that was put in during the editing phase.

Audiences will forgive video quality that is less than stellar, but many will draw the line at poor audio quality. Sound mixing – and editing – play integral roles in portraying the professionalism of your business to your customers, regardless of what industry you’re in.