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Have you seen video recordings of people playing video games? These video recordings can come in different forms. There’s the first one where people record the game as they play it with or without the audio from the competition.
There’s also a live video where people record themselves playing live. It could be a clip or an entire video of a duel between themselves and their friends or online players.
Lastly, there’s a third type of video game recording that you will see on the internet. This type one is a slideshow of screenshots or a playthrough video containing audio commentary and sometimes, a camera view of the player overlayed on the video.
This last kind of video game recording is called Let’s Play Videos, and if you read to the end of the article, you will understand how to edit gameplay video and make your own Let’s Play Videos.
Let’s Play Preparation/Plan
Most Let’s Play Videos are on YouTube. And if you are uploading your videos to YouTube, it means you want people to watch them. Later in the article, you will learn how to get people to watch your videos after editing and uploading them. First, what do you need to make a Let’s Play Video?
- A plan
- A recording tool
- A soundtrack
- A video editing software
Planning
It would be best to do several things to make a Let’s Play video; however, you need to have a plan before you do anything. What kind of Let’s Play video do you want to edit?
You should endeavor to create unique videos that are different from the videos of other gaming marketers on YouTube. Because you don’t know what will happen, you might not write a script for your video.
However, you still want to be clear on the kind of video that you want to record. Is it a tutorial video, a comedy video, a game review, or a duel?
When you are sure about the kind of video you want to record, you will need to stay on that path and be consistent. Also, you want to have a goal for your YouTube channel. Most people do Let’s Play videos to grow their subscribers, while others do it for fun. Which one are you?
If you are like most people and are doing it for the viewers and their engagements, make sure that you use keywords in your video description to find your videos easily.
Recording Tool
A recording tool is hardly a problem. Depending on the hardware you are using to play the game, some software or devices can help you capture the game footage from start to finish in a clear format.
Some laptops have inbuilt screen recording tools that you can use. Other third-party recording software includes OBS (Open Broadcast Software), VSDC Free Screen Recorder, Apowersoft, Screencast-O-Matic, and so on.
However, if you are using your PlayStation, you will need to buy a recording device. This device will send your video footage to your computer, where you can easily use a free game video editor to make changes before uploading.
The recording device you will buy must be able to record your commentary and the game audio. It is not a good idea to record your TV screen while playing the game if you were considering doing that.
Soundtrack
If you have given a commentary throughout the whole video, then you do not need a soundtrack so that people can concentrate on your voice.
Some videos will require that you do a voice over. The voice over is the soundtrack for these videos, and it’s done after recording the video game footage or after editing the video.
Background music is another way to make your videos very engaging. But you need to be careful about the kind of music you add to your videos because of copyright laws. There are music and sound effects online that you can add to your gameplay video for free.
Video Editing Software
Now your video and audio are ready. You have reached the last lap of the relay, and you need to finish strong. But something still is missing, and you’d want to ensure everything is perfect.
It would help if you had gaming video editing software free to cut out parts of the recording that are not needed and add effects that will make the video more interesting. So, which video editing software should you use?
Depending on your laptop’s operating system, there are several free-to-use software that will help you achieve your desired result.
If you use a Windows system, VSDC is a user-friendly video editor that works well with PCs even if you have low RAM. The software has all the necessary features that you will need to do a proper editing job. VSDC has a Pro version with more advanced features designed to help create great Let’s Play videos.
If you use a Mac OS, iMovie is your go-to software for learning how to edit video game footage. It is a free Apple product that comes with all your Apple devices. An advantage of using iMovie is that you can edit from one device to another. Such an advantage means you can start editing your video on your laptop and finish it off your iPad.
Kdenlive is a video editing software that is suitable for Linux OS. The software is famous for being user-friendly and having valuable shortcuts. If you are having a hard time using the software, you can check any online forums or YouTube tutorials where more experienced users offer tips on how to use the software.
Video editor by Movavi and other video editing software helps to edit your game footage.
How to Edit Your Video
After getting your video software, the next milestone will be how to edit video gameplay. To do this, you need to follow the following steps in no particular order.
- Create an intro and outro for the video. You can add your logo to the intro and outro. You can also add a calming sound effect.
- Remove irrelevant parts of the video. If you want your viewers engaged throughout your video, you should remove the boring parts of the video so that they can enjoy the thrill from the beginning to the end.
- Add transitions. After cutting out parts of the video that are not needed, you will need to add changes to link the remaining parts.
- If you have recorded yourself while playing the game, you will need to lay your video over the game footage.
- Add captions and titles. To make people understand your message, you might need to add texts to your videos in certain places.
- Highlight moments. Sometimes, you want to point the attention of your viewers to something. You can do this by freezing the video, changing the background color, or zooming in.
How to Make People Watch Your Video
You must have been waiting for this part. To make your video popular and get more people to watch it, you need to:
- Be unique.
- Use one background for all your videos so people can quickly identify you.
- Be extremely good or bad at playing the game. Educative or comedy, you’re creating downloadable content.
- Tell relatable stories in your commentaries.
- Do series.
Conclusion
Now, you should have a good grasp of how to edit Let’s Play videos. Remember to be unique. The length of your video does not matter as long as you have removed the boring parts. Also, create a schedule for your viewers. For example, post your videos every Saturday or twice a month.
