The way we play games has evolved over time to become a social experience we share with people around the world. There’s no better way to share your latest gaming triumphs than with a video. If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a video speaks a million. The only downside to sharing video footage is exactly how time consuming it can be to edit it. The raw footage may be fine, but you’re going to need video editing to really blow others away with your gameplay footage. We’ve put together a list of tips to help you speed up your gameplay video editing, to make your content stand out from the crowd.
1. Organize your files effectively
All your gameplay videos will start as simple raw gameplay files. As such, getting your files organized and in order is a crucial first step to editing gameplay videos. Consider making heavy use of folders, separating your footage by game, and then further divided by level, date, map, character, or whatever other factors may be relevant to your final gameplay video, depending on the game you’re playing!
It’s also important to name your files properly. There’s only so much you can do with a file that’s named a random sequence of numbers or with a simple date and time. Try to put the most vital information at the start of the file name, so when you’re scrolling through your files to import over to your video editing software, you’ll know much quicker what it is you’re looking at and whether it’s the file you’re looking for right now. Speeding up how long it takes you to both find and recognise your file will help greatly when editing gameplay videos. While you’re digging through those files, who knows what you’ll find?
2. Make notes on repetitive processes
Sometimes video editing can be a trivial process, doing a lot of the same thing again and again. For example, you may be cropping some parts of the gameplay screen out across a bunch of different files. For some simple processes you’ll know what you’re doing without a second thought, but for others you may forget some of the steps and have to check them again, especially if you’re following a tutorial.
If you’re rocking a multi-monitor setup, consider using some space on another screen to have a notes document open, and fill it with some shorthand notes you’ll understand with each step of a process you’re repeating. It may take a minute or so to type up this information, but once you’ve done it once you’ll have a handy visual reference written in a way you’ll understand to keep checking back on and making sure you’re doing everything in the correct order.
Some video editing courses will also have guides that will help you duplicate repetitive processes. Try looking up your specific software online to find advice on how you can best cut down repetitive tasks using that software for the specific edits you’re trying to make.
3. Invest in better hardware (some more than others!)
It might seem extremely obvious, but it’s worth closing out this list with it. There’s no faster way to edit your gameplay videos than investing in better hardware. Whilst any improvement to any part of your rig would help get the job done faster, there are certain parts that will offer much quicker render speeds than others.
The most vital hardware component when it comes to video editing is your CPU. The CPU is responsible for executing the instructions you’re giving, and it’s receiving a whole lot of them when you’re editing lengthy video footage to create a snappier gameplay video. Look what CPU your setup is currently using, and consider investing in something more powerful to make your video editing a breeze. Just don’t forget to upgrade your power supply too if needed!
A better GPU will also help with video editing, but mainly when it comes to handling the visuals. For example, if you’re editing high resolution raw footage from a current-gen games console, and you’re wanting to add extra layers of high definition visual effects and animated graphics, you’re going to need a graphics card capable of handling the demand. Upgrading the GPU would allow this process to happen faster, but the CPU upgrade will be more noticeable when it comes to moment-to-moment editing, rendering and export. No matter which upgrades you make for video editing, you’ll also have a better rig for gaming on!
And that’s it! Three important tips you can use to make your gameplay video editing quicker. Use our advice and start sharing your impressively edited gameplay with the world, and feel free to comment below with your creations, we’d love to see them! As always, you can stay tuned to GameLuster for more gaming tips, guides, features and more.
