Video Editing Trends In 2024

Video has become a crucial element in the majority of marketing campaigns.

It serves as an excellent tool to enhance engagement on your digital and social platforms, providing fresh avenues to connect with your audience.

In delving into the current trends in video editing for this year, I will cover a spectrum ranging from short-form videos to full-length features.

Here are the top video editing trends I’ve seen while working with clients in different niches through my video editing agency.

Prepare for the upcoming video editing landscape by familiarizing yourself with these top 10 trends:

1. Short videos

Content creators, influencers, and businesses use short-form videos as impactful brand materials, enabling them to reach a broader audience within a concise timeframe.

Usually, these videos are between 30 and 90 seconds long and they are super prominent on all social media platforms. However, it’s essential to note that different platforms impose varying restrictions on video length. So keep that in mind.

For instance, X permits 2.2-minute videos, while TikTok allows up to three minutes for video recording and up to ten minutes for uploading within the app.

2. Vertical videos

This is not necessarily a new trend, because vertical videos gained popularity even before 2020 and continue to be relevant in the foreseeable future.

This style of video content is prominently featured on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

Vertical videos, characterized by a 9:16 aspect ratio, effectively utilize the entire vertical screen when viewed on smartphones.

Sometimes clients ask us to edit in 4:5 or even 1:1 aspect ratios, so make sure to test different video assets and see which ones perform better for you.

Be aware of the different aspect ratios you’ll edit your videos in the production stage. Make sure the framing allows the video content to be re-purposed to all different aspect ratios.

Be mindful of the safe margins or safe areas for each platform when you edit vertical videos.

Here are some examples of the places you need to keep clear of text or logos for the best user experience.

TikTok

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Instagram

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3. A.I. technologies

I started using AI more and more in our video editing business in 2023 and it has become the norm in 2024.

One of the highlight AI features was Eye Contact, there are a handful of tools that offer it. It uses AI to subtly adjust your gaze in the video so it appears you’re looking directly into the camera — even when you’re reading something off-camera.

It’s been super helpful with more and more of the videos I produce.

Works great for talking head videos.

Another very useful AI tool in video editing that I used a lot was Adobe Enhance which does an amazing job at cleaning up bad audio and making it sound like it was recorded in a studio.

Adobe Enhance is now a feature inside Premiere Pro Beta! Yay!

And of course, you have AI tools that help you create short vertical clips on the fly. I tested a couple of them, but the production level is not quite there yet. Maybe they’ll get better next year.

4. Content Repurposing

Embracing content repurposing and cross-posting remains pivotal in video editing trends for the future, providing significant benefits for businesses.

You just produce more content at minimal costs.

Video content repurposing involves taking existing video content and adapting it for use in different formats, platforms, or contexts.

Instead of creating entirely new videos from scratch, content creators can repurpose their existing material to reach new audiences or reinforce key messages.

This may include video editing, reformatting, or extracting specific segments from an original video to create shorter clips, compilations, or variations tailored for various platforms such as social media, websites, or presentations.

Repurposing allows creators to maximize the value of their content, increase visibility, and maintain a consistent message across diverse channels.

5. Text-based video editing

In this past year, text-based video editing has become more powerful than ever.

Even inside Premiere Pro, for each clip in your timeline, if I check out the text tab, you’ll see that it automatically transcribes everything.

But here is the cool part. You can edit a talking head video by selecting and deleting any repeated takes or unwanted text, and all the changes will reflect inside of the timeline as well. Like a regular cut. Now this is extremely convenient.

Trust me as a video editing agency owner and working with a lot of video editors, I know that firsthand.

But it gets even more convenient because now inside Premiere Pro, you can also automatically detect filler words like “uhm”, so you can easily select all of them and delete them.

And the same with the long pauses. You can detect the pauses from the settings and it’s just a quick way to delete all of them and easily tighten up your videos.

It still needs a human touch here and there, but it does save a lot of video editing time.

6. Animated captions

Let’s delve into the current exploding trend, particularly in the realm of social video, vertical reels, and TikToks – the integration of animated captions.

While adding captions to videos has been crucial for about a decade, their stylization and stabilization have gained significant traction this year.

As you may be aware, Premiere Pro facilitates automatic transcription and caption generation within your timeline. Although you can stylize these captions, Premiere Pro lacks built-in animation presets.

This is where plugins become invaluable. SubMachine is a great example, it utilizes Premiere’s Text panel to initially transcribe the footage.

Once your sequence is transcribed, click on the three dots at the top right, select “Create Captions,” and this is where Sub Machine requires more involvement.

Under preferences, adjust the caption length and duration to the lowest, opt for single lines with the captions created, and meticulously proofread the captions for accuracy. Ensure each line contains only one word, and the text timing aligns with the video.

This meticulous preparation is essential because SubMachine utilizes this data to animate each word individually. Export all captions to an SRT file by clicking on the three dots again.

The benefit here is that Premiere Pro allows offline transcription, eliminating the need for an internet connection.

Now, within the SubMachine plugin panel, after installation, you’ll notice two boxes.\

Drag the SRT captions file into the first box and import a motion file with the desired animation into the second box.

SubMachine offers various animation styles and frame rates to match your sequence frame rates. Customize your animations based on your preferences or branding.

For a simpler option, Auto Cut can be a suitable alternative.

It performs tasks like removing silences and zooming in, and recently, it added auto-captions.

Unlike Sub Machine, you need an internet connection for transcription, but it happens automatically.

Export your entire edit as one video clip, place it in the timeline, open the Auto Cut panel, select auto-captions, choose your language, and customize as needed.

Auto Cut streamlines the process as it eliminates dealing with SRT files, making it a preferred option for those seeking a straightforward approach.

However, SubMachine offers more animation controls and customization options, especially if you want to create custom looks in After Effects.

If you prefer not to caption directly in Premiere Pro, consider exporting your video and using a tool like “The Script” for animated captions.

Additionally, the app mentioned earlier that aligns iSight directly to the camera offers a convenient option to caption directly on your phone, with unique styles to choose from.