Ever wanted to learn to make your own videos? Have a lot of footage of friends and family and want to turn it into a memorable home movie for everyone to enjoy? Pros follow simple steps when editing video, and you can, too! Download a free demo of VEGAS Movie Studio and put this process to work for you, and you’ll be creating your own fun and exciting videos in no time. Read on!
First thing – take a breath! It might seem pretty overwhelming, but if you break it down step by step, you can focus on one thing at a time and keep everything straight as you go. It may seem like a big job, but it’s really just a series of little jobs done in the right order. You can do it!
Every project is a little different, but editors generally follow well-established steps.

Take a look at all your video – which clips do you like? Which clips really speak to you and compel you to share them? Choose everything you want to be in the final video, and make note of it. Then only bring the video you want to use into your editing project. That saves you a lot of time. Don’t forget to look through photos, too, because they can help make a memorable video.
It's easy to think that you should immediately discard videos that have problems. But don’t always reject video clips you really like just because they have some kind of a problem, like being shaky. From basic image stabilization to a set of a color-correction tools to fix bad color in video or in photos, VEGAS Movie Studio has the tools you need to rescue footage you didn’t think you could use.
Professional video editors never work without a plan, so make one! You need to know what you want your video to be before you start. Great videos tell stories, and yours should too. Decide what story you want to tell, and let it guide your decisions on which clips to use and how to use them. Also decide how you’re going to use transitions, text, and music. All of those elements help you tell the story you want to tell. A plan is vitally important to getting all of it done right.

A rough cut basically means assembling your video and photos in the order that tells your story and changing them around as needed to get them into a perfect sequence. Don't worry about precise edits at this point. Just get your clips into the proper order. This can often be the most fun part of editing, because you’re really letting your creativity loose as you put your plan into action. Don’t be afraid to experiment, and don’t worry if you think something doesn’t really work at this stage. Change whatever you need; it’s much easier at this step than it will be further down the road.
VEGAS Movie Studio features a storyboard view, which makes laying out your footage in a rough cut quick and easy, just like arranging photos on a table. The storyboard makes rough cutting easy, quick, and fun.
After the rough cut, refine your video. If you used the storyboard, VEGAS Movie Studio has already arranged your rough cut on the timeline! From there, trim your clips down to perfect timing. This means cutting out any parts of the clips that don't move the story forward. Here you really begin to refine your edit. Choose transitions, which define how your movie moves from one clip to the next. Most of the time, these will just be straight cuts between clips where one clip starts as soon as the previous one ends, but you could use fades or dissolves to go into or out of or between scenes or sections of your video. You can use other kinds of transitions like wipes or flashes. too. But be really creative and consistent with them, and don’t overdo them. You don’t want to overwhelm or exhaust your audience with too much, and that's easy to do if you overuse transitions!
Now add visual effects like slow motion or cool color effects. Add titles, music, and sound effects. Go according to your plan, but again, don’t be afraid to experiment. Let your imagination loose. Great music can really enhance a video, so use it well. Use effects to draw attention to details you want your audience to notice, or to set the right mood. If you have photos, you can pan or move them around, or create a cool slide show with neat transitions in between. Be creative!

The last step is to create the final video file for viewers to watch. This is called rendering, and it's where you finalize your film and create a new, complete video file for your audience to watch. Different ways of showing your video, like putting your video on a streaming service like YouTube have different requirements. Fortunately, video software like VEGAS Movie Studio includes easy-to-use templates which do the work for you; just choose the right template, and with a click, your video starts rendering. When it’s done, you’ll have a brand new video to share.
VEGAS Movie Studio also makes exporting for YouTube or other streaming services a snap; with just a single click, VEGAS renders your video to the right format and automatically starts the upload process!
Following those basic steps makes creating your own videos simple and easy, but VEGAS Movie Studio offers an even easier way, with the Guided Video Creator. It guides you through the entire process step-by-step, and lets you choose your video clips, arrange them, and add all the titles, FX, music, and text you need, all in a single window. It couldn’t be easier! Once you feel comfortable enough to take control of the process yourself, go to the timeline and unleash your creativity. From your very first video edit to more advanced editing as you learn and grow, VEGAS Movie Studio has you covered.
VEGAS Movie Studio has everything you need to get you started editing your own great videos. With a simple, easy-to-understand interface and an intuitive workflow, powerful tools, and easy export options, VEGAS Movie Studio puts video editing right at your fingertips. There’s no better way to learn video editing than with VEGAS Movie Studio! Download a free demo today!












- 12% discount
- Only now for free in this offer:
- ✔ NEW! NewBlue Titler Pro 7 Express ($99 value)
- $30 discount
- Only now for free in this offer:
- ✔ NEW! NewBlue Titler Pro 7 Express ($99 value)







- $39 discount
- Only now for free in this offer:
- ✔ NEW! NewBlue Titler Pro 7 Express ($99 value)
- Quality & Performance
- Why is Non-Linear Editing the Standard Today?
- Why is VEGAS Pro Faster than any other NLE?
- Best PC Hardware for Your Editing Needs
- Best Codecs for Exporting Your Project
- Choose the Right Video Format for You
- What's Good Bit Rate and Its Effect on Video
- How Proxy File Benefits You When Editing Hi-Res Video
- Color Grading & Correction
- Understanding Color Grading vs. Color Correction
- Guide for Professional Color Grading
- Video Scopes for Accurate Color Correction
- Color Grading Panel for a Powerful Workflow
- Easy and Quick Color Correction & Color Grading with LUT
- Build Atmosphere with Filter & Effect
- How to Fix Image That's Too Dark or Bright
- Get More Details with HDR Color Grading
- Set Your White Balance Right for Effective Color Correction
- Special Effects & Image Editing
- Must-know Video Effects to Add Your Videos
- Guide to Chroma Key & Green Screen
- Types of Transitions & When to Use Them
- How to Add Motion Blur in Video
- Blurry Image Is Not Always Bad. Here's Why!
- 3 Techniques to Help You Have a Clean Key
- Remove Spill and Blocky Artifacts from Green Screen Footage
- Slow Down or Speed Up Video Footage
- 5 Advanced VFX Edit You See in Superhero Movies
- Make a Smooth Slo-Mo Effect with Optical Flow Slow Motion
- Powerful Tools for Compositing
- Video Editing & Workflow
- Get Inspired with Creative Cuts & Transitions
- Video Editing Tips to Edit like a Pro
- Flexible Storyboards for Efficient Workflow
- Motion Tracking and Video Stabilization
- Rescue Unusable Video Footage with Stabilization
- Make & Edit a Killer YouTube Video
- Storyboards: Make it Easy to Build Your Story
- Pro Audio Effects for Pro-level Sound Editing
- Fundamentals of Video Editing for Beginners
- How to Make Your Own Movie in Easy Steps
- How & When to Use Jump Cut Editing
- Record Your Screen for YouTube Video Tutorials
- Make Video Collage and Animate with Track Motion Tool
- Create 3D Moving Poster with Mesh Warp
- Split Screen Video with Crop Effect Tool
- Overlay Image on Video — News-Style
- How to Reverse a Video - It’s Easy, Fast, and Simple
- How Keyframe Helps Creating Stunning VFX
- Combine Multiple Clips Together Into One Video
- Creative Match Cut Examples for Better Storytelling
- Create Fun, Effective Text, Titles & Roll Credits
- Change Video Orientation (Rotate or Flip)
- Convert MOV to MP4
- 25 New Cool Text Animations
- Freeze Part of Your Footage for Dramatic Flair
- Learn Motion Tracking for Endless Possibilities
- Bézier Mask to Create Seamless Composites
- J-Cut vs. L-Cut Editing | How-To with Example
- How Nested Timeline Helps You Keep Organized
- Make Holiday Photos More Lively with Slideshow Creator
- Slideshow Creator Tool for Easy Video Montage
- Advanced Tips & Tricks in VEGAS Pro & Movie Studio — with Videos
- Combine Footages from Different Angles (Multicam)
- Fastest and Easiest Way to Make Edits
- Working with Timeline — Places You Can Add Effects To
- Is It different To Edit Normal Footage or 360° footage?
- Let's Get Familiar with Trimmer Tool
- Record High-Quality Voiceover & Add It in Video
- Remove Noise in Video and Audio & How to Avoid It
- Post-Production Editing
- Essential Post-Production Steps for Beginners
- Key to Pro-Quality Post Production
- Audio Compression for Professional Sound
- A True Alternative: Complete Post Production
- Cut your Video Footage to the Beat of Music
- All the Things You Need in a VFX Software — Tutorial Included
- 3D Animation Pipelines for Efficient Animation Production
- 3D Compositing — Explained
- The VFX Stage of the 3D Animation Pipeline
- Choosing your Software
- Find the Best Professional Video Software
- Best Video Editing Solution for Windows
- Best Solutions for Home Users & Aspiring Pros
- The Right Video Software from Beginner to Pro
- Video Editing Software for Beginners & Intermediates
- Video Editing Software for Professionals
- Video Editing & Post-Production Software
- Video Effects Software with Pro Effects
- Video Editor Comparison: VEGAS Movie Studio VS. Filmora9
- Video Editor Comparison: VEGAS Pro VS. Adobe Premiere Pro
- Video Editor Comparison: VEGAS Pro VS. DaVinci Resolve