And so, you've spent endless hours watching TikTok videos, grooming your For Y'all page to match your niche interests, and explaining to others that yous are not too old for TikTok. Now y'all want to post your own. Start pace? Learn how to edit videos on Tiktok.

Nosotros know it can be intimidating to larn (and follow) the editing trends, unwritten rules, and best practices for making videos for TikTok. Luckily, you don't need professional video product skills to do well on TikTok.

To aid y'all go started on your TikTok creator journeying, we've rounded upward 15 creative tips for editing TikTok videos.

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How to film TikToks

You lot have two options for creating videos on TikTok:

  • Filming with your camera and editing the video in an external app
  • Filming and editing within the TikTok app

Or, y'all tin can do a combination of adding photos and/or videos from your photographic camera roll and editing them in the TikTok app.

Whether you use the native app or your phone camera, here are our top tips for making creative and visually engaging TikTok videos.

(If you're literally opening up the TikTok app for the offset time, check out our beginners' guide to TikTok for tips on setting up an account and navigating the platform.)

1. Apply the countdown timer

Within the TikTok app, you can enable a countdown timer that volition give you a 3- or ten-2nd countdown earlier the photographic camera starts recording.

With this feature, you tin can record clips easily-gratis. You tin can admission the timer on the start screen after hitting the plus icon at the lesser of the screen.

countdown timer on TikTok

two. Use filters, templates, and effects (like the green screen)

TikTok offers many video effects within the app, including filters, transition templates, and A/R effects.

Some of the features tin but be applied when you're filming your video content direct in the app — others can exist practical to pre-recorded clips.

I of the most popular and versatile effects is the Green Screen, which allows y'all to employ a photograph or video as your background. TikTok creators frequently utilize this outcome to record themselves reacting to something, do a voiceover narration, or create a clone of themselves.

There are many creative ways to use the green screen, and then we recommend keeping an eye out for examples in your feed for inspiration.

In this video, Morning Brew used the dark-green screen outcome to insert background photos to create the setting for their story.

@morningbrew

The development of climate conferences #climatechange #climateaction #business

♬ original sound – Morning Brew

three. Create looping videos

On TikTok, when a video ends, information technology starts playing over again from the beginning unless the viewer scrolls away.

Video completion rate is an important metric on the platform, and having viewers scout your video more than in one case tells the TikTok algorithm that your content is engaging (and should exist surfaced on more For Y'all pages).

So, matching the ending of your video to the beginning of information technology to create a seamless loop tin can help you go along your viewers hooked — and it can benefit your reach and engagement.

@jera.edible bean

HOW TO: create a LOOP video with your words ✨ #loopvideo #loopvideotutorial #tiktoktips #tiktokpartner #learnontiktok

♬ original sound – Jera Bean

The case above explains how to create a looping video using words.

four. Ensure you have good lighting and sound

Information technology only takes a few pieces of inexpensive equipment to upgrade the quality of your lighting and sound compared to your phone'southward camera and mic. Good lighting and audio can make your content appeal to more than people, helping you boost your views and date rates.

Chances are y'all've noticed how popular ring lights have become. They're easily available and pretty cheap, and they can give you lot bright, even lighting, even if you're filming in a dark room or one without much natural lite.

Arguably having expert sound is fifty-fifty more than important than lighting. You'll find some TikTokers use the microphone on their wired headphones to record their phonation. Information technology's a slight upgrade compared to the telephone microphone, just if you don't have whatsoever gear, making sure to record in a serenity space without distracting background noise will practice.

How to movie and edit TikTok transitions

Calculation transitions to your video is a nifty way to hop on trends and keep viewers engaged.

On TikTok, transitions can hateful 2 things:

  1. The visual effect that you apply between two video clips during the post-product process (kind of like slide transitions in PowerPoints)
  2. An effect that you enact or capture during your filming process (i.e. a sequence of frames that makes the transition betwixt 2 video clips visually seamless)

Beneath, we'll discuss the 2d type of TikTok transitions. If you're interested in mail-production transitions, nosotros'll cover those in our TikTok editing tools department below.

5. Use jump cuts as basic transitions

Jump cuts are quite like shooting fish in a barrel to main and apply to almost all of the other transitions below. A spring cut simply involves placing one prune after some other with no furnishings in between. However, the key to making it seamless is ending the starting time prune and starting the second prune with the subject (whether that'south yourself or an object) in the aforementioned place inside the frame.

Our best tip is to film more than than you need for each clip so that yous can cutting downwardly the clips to align the subjects equally close every bit possible. Watch a full tutorial to creating jump cutting transitions here.

@sarati

How I film my transition videos ❤️ (with effect)

♬ … is sweaty – Kellan

In this instance, the creator records the aforementioned scene wearing two unlike outfits, then adds the bound cut in the middle to bear witness the outfit change.

half-dozen. Create quick transitions with the finger snap

The finger snap is a variation on the bound cutting where yous snap your fingers to transition to each new clip. Ofttimes this transition is paired with a song with multiple beats so that you tin marshal your snaps to the beat (this rails was a popular choice for a while).

This creator used the finger snap to transition between a list of dissimilar travel destinations:

@maliawanders

Corona didn't cease me from travelling Europe. Here's my travels from the last month. #travel #traveltiktok #fingersnap #sheisnotlost

♬ finger snap – мανιѕ🎈

seven. Encompass your camera for a earlier and after reveal

This one's adequately simple: to make the transition, you lot bring your hand or an object up to the camera, making certain to cover it completely. In the 2d clip, y'all start filming with the camera covered and and so remove your paw or the object.

This creator put her manus to the camera to create a transition between a before & subsequently home makeover.

@thekwendyhome

I love it 🥰 #laundryroom #laundryroommakeover

♬ original sound – margaux

8. Leap for a simple and fun transition

With this spring cut (pardon the pun), you can use a spring to cut betwixt scenes, creating the illusion that you're transporting somewhere. This transition takes a niggling more effort as you need to manipulate framing and camera movements. Picket a full tutorial here.

@wonguy

Wait for it 📱This is how to go inside the Louvre without waiting ! Posting the tutorial in 5 min ⚡️ #creative #bts #tiktokacademie #fyp #pourtoi

♬ In The Cease – Mellen Gi Remix – Tommee Profitt & Fleurie

This photographer recorded their subject jumping up and downwardly in 2 different places, then used the cutting to create a "magical" transition between the locations.

9. Become inspired by transformation challenges

This tip is less of a transition mode itself and more than of an example of how to utilize transitions, but worth mentioning because of how pop they are.

On TikTok, there are often trending challenges that involve using a jump cut to evidence a before and afterward. Some examples: #handsupchallenge, #infinitychallenge.

@yoleendadong

Reply to @abi_bugaboo i might have done a makeup trend…Who should I clothes up every bit next? 😉 VFX @rikognition ✨ #halloweenlooks #handsupchallenge #shego

♬ original sound – Kiera Lyons 🕯🕰🗝

In the example above, the creator used their arms to create a transition between two different looks equally role of the #handsupchallenge.

How to add and edit captions

Many TikTok videos use text on peak of video footage, a.g.a. captions.

On TikTok, information technology's common to use captions even when in videos without spoken sound to aid narrate the video or tell a story throughout the clip.

As a social media all-time practice, you should e'er add captions (or subtitles) to videos with spoken sound. This not simply makes your social media content more than inclusive and accessible but also caters to viewers scrolling with audio off.

Here are our tips for adding captions to videos:

10. Add text manually for effect and emphasis

Much like adding text to Instagram Stories, you tin add together text within the TikTok app. Here's how:

  1. Tap the record push (plus icon) at the bottom of the app to record or upload your prune(s), then hit "adjacent"
  2. Hitting "text" at the bottom of the editing screen and type in your desired text
  3. Afterward you've entered your text, you lot can change the color, font, alignment, and background; to change the size, utilize two fingers to pinch it bigger or smaller

adding text on TikTok

11. Use text-to-speech to characterize your videos

The text-to-spoken communication characteristic adds a voice to your video that automatically reads your text. Not only does this make your video attainable, it also makes it more engaging.

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To enable text-to-speech:

  1. Tap the plus button at the bottom of the app to record or upload your clip(south), then hit Next.
  2. Hit Text at the bottom of the editing screen and type in your desired text.
  3. Tap Done.
  4. Tap on the entered text and a menu should announced where you can select Text-to-speech.

Note that if you make any edits to your text, you'll have to re-utilize the text-to-spoken language pick.

Here's a video tutorial:

12. Use automatic captions to save time

Automobile captions catechumen any voiceover or spoken audio in your video to closed captions.

To enable auto-captions:

  1. Tap the plus push button at the bottom of the app to tape or upload your prune(s), and so hit Next.
  2. At the editing stage, select Captions on the right-hand side.
  3. Wait for the sound to exist processed, and and so tap the pencil icon on the right of the Captions department to review and edit any transcription errors.
  4. When you're happy with the captions, tap Relieve at the summit right.

introducing auto captions on TikTok

example of video with auto captions on TikTok

Auto captions are a great fashion to salvage fourth dimension when you have spoken sound throughout your whole video.

Tip: When adding text to videos, make sure you're not using words that may violate TikTok's customs guidelines. While a definite list of "banned" words doesn't exist, avoid language related to death, cocky-harm, sexual content, profanity, violence, and weapons.

How to add music to TikToks

A TikTok without sound is like a fish out of h2o: information technology'll bomb. The sound yous employ can play a big part in the success of a TikTok, especially if it's a trending sound clip or part of your video'due south comedic payoff.

We've collected our height tips for getting the sound only correct to make your TikToks accept off.

13. Offset filming with an audio runway in mind

Don't allow sound be an afterthought. Instead of selecting a song after y'all've finished editing your video, have one in mind from the start. This will permit you lot to sync video footage cuts to the trounce.

Or, you can utilise TikTok's handy auto-sync feature to match the sound to your video automatically. Note that this feature requires multiple clips in order to use it. Here's how:

  1. Tap the plus push button at the bottom of the app to record or upload your clips (you must take more than than one to apply machine sync), and so hit Adjacent.
  2. You should advance directly to the sounds menu. If not, tap Sounds at the bottom.
  3. Select the track that yous wish to use; TikTok should sync it automatically to your clips (ensure yous're on Sound sync, non Default). Notation that TikTok will automatically shorten the clips to match the beat of the track.
  4. Tap Adjust clip if you wish to rearrange your clips or change their lengths, then hitting Auto sync to re-sync the track to your new edits.
  5. If you decide you don't want to use automobile sync, select Default to utilize the clips' original audio
  6. When you're happy with the audio, hitting Done.

sound sync option on TikTok video

14. Utilize trending sounds

Trending sounds help TikTokers capture more than views from people looking upwards that sound. However, go along in mind that trends come and get quite chop-chop, and then it's best to jump on a trend as soon as you have a video thought for it.

Note: Some audio clips are protected by copyright and licensing agreements. If you lot accept a business business relationship, you'll take access to a express library and you may not exist able to include some trending audio effects in your TikToks.

Bonus tip: Whenever you come beyond a video with a sound yous similar, save it to your favorites (and so that it doesn't get lost among your likes). You tin can do this by borer and belongings down on a video. You can admission your favorites from your profile.

15. Marshal your edits to the rails

Although TikTok is no longer just virtually recording videos of yourself dancing, in that location is still a strong tendency of aligning a video to the beats of a music track. To do this best, you need to do it manually using a 3rd party editing tool.

Here's how to edit your video to match a music runway:

  1. Find a TikTok video featuring the sound or rail you want to utilise.
  2. Tap the share button and select Relieve video.
  3. Open your video editing app and select the downloaded TikTok video from your camera roll.
  4. Extract the audio (the verbal steps will vary depending on what app you're using).
  5. Delete the original video prune.
  6. Add in your own clip(s) and use the extracted audio as a backing track to guide your edits.
  7. When uploading your finished video to TikTok, tap Sounds and select the rails from the original TikTok video that you lot saved.
  8. Uncheck Original sound and/or tap Volume and slide the volume for the original sound to 0

This video shows a tutorial on how to extract audio from TikTok videos and utilize it to guide your editing.

@anygotips

How to excerpt music from a video to some other 🔥 #learnontiktok #tutorials #tiktoktutorials #editing #tiktokhacks #phonetutorial

♬ Work Out (Talkbox) – Adam Tahere

Can y'all edit a TikTok one time it'south posted?

Unfortunately, at this fourth dimension yous cannot edit a TikTok or its caption after your video has been posted. However, there'due south a quick workaround that doesn't require re-editing your whole video again.

Here are the steps:

  1. If you lot program to reuse your hashtags or caption, showtime by copying them. Then, save them to your notebook app.
  2. Become to your contour and find the video you want to repost.
  3. Download the video past tapping on the share icon and selecting Relieve video (notation that a TikTok watermark will be added to your video during this process).
  4. Tap the plus sign to upload a new video, and select the saved video from your phone gallery.
  5. Add the new caption or hashtags and postal service the video.

Note that by using this method, y'all are creating a brand new video and volition lose whatever views and engagements from your previously uploaded video. Still, if you lot're able to delete and re-upload the video once again relatively chop-chop, you lot should be able to make up for whatever lost engagements.

iii TikTok editing tools

With the ever-increasing popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels, many TikTok editing apps take popped up for both iOS and Android.

These apps can help you combine clips together, insert music, add video effects, transitions, text, and graphics, and more.

Here are 3 tools you might desire to cheque out:

All-in-one video editor: InShot

It seems that there'southward no shortage of all-in-one video editing apps. Our meridian recommendation is InShot, as it provides a ton of powerful editing features for costless.

With InShot you tin can trim clips, dissever and rearrange clips, adapt speed and volume of sounds, extract sound, add together filters and transition effects, and much more than.

In this TikTok video, InShot demonstrates which settings you need to create your own version of the "2021 epitomize" video trend:

@inshot.app

Recap2021 trend tutorial #recap2021 #2021recap #rewind2021

♬ original sound – InShot Official

Zoomerang: Tutorials

Zoomerang is an all-in-ane video editing app, with i key feature that sets information technology apart: it offers in-app tutorials that walk you through how to create TikTok challenges and trending video formats. Best of all, it'due south gratuitous!

In this tutorial, Zoomerang demonstrates how to use its app to mimic a trending TikTok issue:

@zoomerang_app

Who loves her? Put a ❤️emoji #zoomerang #trending #papi #issue #viral

♬ original sound – Zoomerang – Zoomerang

TikTok's own editing app: CapCut

CapCut is an all-in-one video editing app made by TikTok itself, so many of the features are tailored for TikTok including trending stickers and custom TikTok fonts.

The app is completely gratis and can exist used on both iOS and Android.

The CapCut TikTok account frequently posts tutorials most how to edit videos for TikTok, such as how to create this transition between two different looks:

@capcut

Modify your fashion expect creatively with @davidddodle #CapCut #videoedit #viral #fyp #tutorial

♬ original audio – CapCut – CapCut

Exporting videos for TikTok

Utilize recommended settings to optimize your video for TikTok

If y'all choose to edit your TikTok videos in a 3rd political party app (mobile or desktop), make sure your video settings lucifer TikTok's file size and quality requirements.

According to photographer Corey Crawford, the best export settings for TikTok are:

  • Resolution: 4k (or adjacent highest option)
  • Size: Vertical 9:16, 1080px 10 1920px
  • FPS: 24
  • Bitrate: 50k

And there you have it: our top 15 creative tips for editing your TikTok videos! At present, yous can starting time posting your first videos on TikTok with conviction.

Bonus: Download the free 10-Day Reels Challenge , a daily workbook of creative prompts that volition help you go started with Instagram Reels, runway your growth, and see results across your entire Instagram profile.