Free AI video editing course, in 5 lessons

The program

Lesson 1: what an editor does, and what AI automates

An editor takes raw footage and turns it into a story: picks the best moments, cuts the rest, adds text, music and effects, then exports in the right format. AI tools now handle the repetitive part in seconds.

What's left to you: the message, judgment and taste. This course focuses on that. For an overview of tools, read our comparison of AI video generators.

Exercise: watch your whole video and write in one sentence the message viewers should remember. If you can't, the video needs refocusing before any editing.

Lesson 2: the hook, the 3 seconds that decide everything

On TikTok, Reels or Shorts, many viewers leave in the first seconds. The hook must come immediately, with no "hi everyone" or logo.

• Start with your strongest sentence, even if it's in the middle: editing lets you move it to the start.
• Show it as text: many people watch on mute.
• Create a break: a zoom, a word popping in, a sound.

Find formulas in our video hooks guide or with the free hook generator.

Exercise: find the most intriguing or useful sentence in your video and put it first. With ManyMotion, just ask "put my best sentence at the start".

Lesson 3: pacing, or how to remove dead time

A raw talking video often contains lots of pauses, "ums" and false starts. Removing them creates a lively pace that holds attention. It's the foundation of modern editing.

1. Cut silences longer than half a second.
2. Remove hesitations and repeats, always cutting between two words to keep natural sound.
3. Change the image every 2 to 4 seconds: a zoom, B-roll, a text.
4. Keep one breath before the call to action: a video with no pause at all is tiring.

Details in our guides on removing silences from video and video editing for retention.

Exercise: edit your video with silence removal and compare the length before and after. A 20 to 30% reduction is common.

Lesson 4: text and sound

Captions

• Word-synced, 2 to 5 words at a time.
• Big and high-contrast, readable on a phone.
• In the safe zone, not under the account name or buttons.
• Highlight key words (color, emoji) rather than everything.

Music and sound effects

• Music that matches the tone, in the background, lowering when you speak.
• Subtle sound effects on text pop-ins and transitions.
• Clear rights: use royalty-free or custom-composed music.

More in our captions guide. With ManyMotion, captions, original music and sound effects are added automatically.

Exercise: watch your video on mute. If you can't understand the message from the text alone, strengthen captions and on-screen titles.

Lesson 5: formats, publishing and measuring

Find every size in the social media video sizes tool. After posting, watch three numbers: 3-second retention (your hook), completion rate (your pacing) and actions (your call to action).

Exercise: export your video in 9:16 and 1:1, post it, then note 3-second retention after 48 hours. Test a different hook on your next video and compare.

What's next?

You now know the principles behind a good video. The best way to improve: edit one video a week and compare results. To go faster, ManyMotion applies these 5 lessons automatically when you upload a video (AI video editor), and you stay in control by requesting changes in writing. Missing some vocabulary? See our video glossary.

Frequently asked questions