Shadowing Practice: EDIT your vlogs like a movie in 11 minutes - Learn English Speaking with Video
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12 months ago when I made my first cinematic vlog, I honestly had no idea what I was doing.
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But after a year of experimenting and a lot of mistakes, I finally learned how to make my vlogs actually feel like a movie.
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So in this video, I'm going to share all my editing secrets that completely changed the way I edit.
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Hello, welcome back.
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If you're new here, my name is Terry.
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I like to make vlogs and share the process to you guys so you can do the same thing.
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So this is the third part of my mini series where i share about my creative process on planning filming
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and editing a vlog so yeah
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if you haven't watched the first two parts i'll leave a link in the description below
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so you can watch it later all right now we're ugly let's get into it
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so this is the number one important thing
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when it comes to editing especially for youtube because this pretty much makes
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or breaks your video
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if your goal is to get more people to watch it
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i'll go into a bit deeper later on on how i actually edit the video
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but this part i just want to emphasize it first
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because it is that important what i like to do is to start off with a question something
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that can drive the audience curiosity so to keep them watching
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so i like to put some of the best visuals during this part as well
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so i can retain the viewership
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and i will pair it usually with some faster upbeat music
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to keep the excitement as well as the caption on screen
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of course there are many different ways to plan out your intro.
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Life of Risa for example, she does it beautifully in a totally different way but this is what works for me.
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And if you're a perfectionist, this is the part you want to be absolutely perfect.
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So I don't recommend being a perfectionist.
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The software that I use is the DaVinci Resolve Studio which is the paid version.
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There is a free version.
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In the beginning I was using that for probably a couple of months
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and then decided to go all in
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and i have to say yeah it's one of the best purchases i made it is good
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but i think even for the free version i was able
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to do i think most of the stuff i was still
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making videos for those like i didn't have any problem with it i used don't be premiere before
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but i just found davinci is bit user friendly i guess
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i can have all my workflow on one software rather than
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switching from premiere to davinci cap cut i haven't really tried it a few people asked me about that
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but I've never personally tried it myself so I can't really comment on that.
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All my edits are on my laptop.
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I've never used my phone to edit pretty much.
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It's just not intuitive.
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Basically yeah as long as you can edit just find what's the most convenient and accessible to you.
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One of the most challenging things is where do you even start when it comes to editing?
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Well this is where organization comes in.
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To be honest, I'm not a very organized person so if I can do it, you can do it.
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I like to encrypt the footage in different scenes.
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I think it's a good way to kickstart a fresh project so you don't get overwhelmed.
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And since I like to edit in chronological order, it's pretty easy.
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I just dump everything onto the timeline and then just cut it accordingly.
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It's probably the easiest and fastest way to edit, I would say.
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Okay so you've got your footage organized in different scenes so what now apart from just stitching them together?
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Well glad you asked.
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Think about how to build a story around it.
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What I mean is what do you want to express in this scene?
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What sort of feelings are you feeling while you're recording?
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What sort of emotions you want to bring it to your audience?
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So there's this scene that felt kind of heavy while I was recording in Hong Kong.
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It was an ex-jail and I really wanted to show how I felt during
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that time so this is what I did since it's a bit heavy is not something
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that I usually like to give to my audience
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but at the same time I want them to feel how I felt at the moment
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so I chose musics that's a bit more gloomy I'm really
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trying to tone down the aperture a bit to give
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that sense of hopelessness in despair and yeah if you can it's best to figure out the
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emotions or vibes that you want to go for during recording I think that will really help
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okay now let's get into a bit more practical as I just mentioned music really drives the emotion
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so what I like to do is to pick a track
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that fits the vibe with that scene because
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that can really set the tone for the video
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and this is probably more important than you think let me show you an example.
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This is with track A.
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And this is with track B.
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As you can see the whole vibe of the video changes
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because of the different tempo and the different emotion that is driving.
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So make sure to choose something that matches with your vision.
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Sometimes it can be frustrating when you find bang a track that you love but it just doesn't fit with the edit.
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If you've been there, you know how much time it will take and it just kills your momentum.
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That's why I use Epidemic Sound.
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It's a platform with over 50,000 original tracks by real artists and over 200,000 sound effects.
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I've been using it since day one on my channel and it really helped to elevate my content.
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They even have a DaVinci Resolve plugin, which honestly is a game changer.
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I don't know how many hours it has saved me.
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You just simply drag your track and drop it into your timeline.
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It just makes my editing so much smoother now, especially when I'm trying to push out one video a week.
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And now they have launched a new AI power tool called Adapt, where you can change the mood of a track to match a scene,
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adjust the length of the track or even rearrange a section so it lines up perfectly with your video.
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This just makes editing so much more simpler and easier and
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because the music are still produced by real artists they get to earn more
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because now the tracks can be used in more different ways so
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if you want to try epidemic sound i got a link
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in the description for you where you can get 30 days
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free trial thank you epidemic sound for sponsoring this segment of this video
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so once you have your track down i usually like to
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match it with the music i'll often try to cut the
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video to the beat unless it was like a voice over
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or i'm talking in the video during those parts i'll try to prioritize what i'm telling in the story
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so it could be i'm talking about this particular dish
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and then i'll add some b-rolls on top of it this
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can help give more context on what i'm talking about
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and to take it to the next level sound effects are a great way to enhance
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that scene or just add some impact to your video
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so the next part some of the tips and techniques I've found super useful so make sure to listen up.
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So first is the J cut and L cut.
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So for J cut is when the audio ends before the visual
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which makes the transition a bit more seamless and
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because it looks like a J on the timeline that's why it's called J cut
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and L cut is pretty much the reverse.
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Kill your darlings.
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I think this down really comes down to experience.
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The more that you do it the better you get better at it.
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What I mean by that is to be ruthless to your footy like you You don't need
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that full 10 seconds of you pouring your coffee into the mug.
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Just cut off the part that is non-essential to the video.
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Next one is cut on action.
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What it means is to go to the next scene while you are in that motion.
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So here's an example how I did that.
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So I was walking towards the rock, sit down, tick on my notebook and start scribbling.
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Think in sequences, not shots.
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Just like the previous example, I think about how the scene will play out rather than
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every single shot like after figuring out the whole story like
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me walking to the rock sitting on the rock that's another
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step kind of thing then from then you can get a clear visual on what sort of shots
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that you want in that scene match cut this is something really fun
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and cool especially for transitions
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so in here i sort of use this oval shape to
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take it to the next scene you can do it differently like just having yourself on the same spot
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and then jump to the next location something like that
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or just simply turn around and back that's a common one
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and the last one is more like um a tip it's not really a technique.
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It's try to edit as soon as possible while your story and the footage is still fresh.
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Because the longer you leave it, the more likely you'll forget.
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To be fair, most of my travel vlogs I leave it till like months until I start editing.
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And sometimes I already forgot what was happening during those moments.
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So yeah, try to be as fast as you can.
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The next part is my favorite part which is the colors and effects and that's where all the magic happens here.
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By the way there are many different ways to do this.
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There's no right or wrong but yeah this is just a workflow that I like to do.
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I'll try to break it down as simple as possible.
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It's not as complicated as it sounds like but yeah just to keep that in mind.
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So first if you were able to properly expose your footage this shouldn't be too hard.
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Since I'm a big fan of that filmic look.
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The first thing I do is to convert to that.
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Output here I'm using the Sinon film lock.
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Honestly I don't actually understand this bit.
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This was a workflow that I learned from Rena Gauss video.
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I've kept some of it and developed my own to simplify my workflow.
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And now here's the magic.
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Put on that LUT and boom already looking super nice.
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Then I'll fiddle around with the primary just to get the desired look.
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Here I try not to do too much because I quite like the image already.
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Also one important thing, try to separate things on a different note so you can easily adjust them if you have to.
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Think of it as layering in winter time.
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You have your beanie, your heat tag, your leggings.
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You can always take one part off from your body.
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Well, maybe not the leggings but you get the point.
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Next, I like my footage to look a bit warmer
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so I'll dial up the temperature a little bit and usually I like less magenta.
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but I think it's a bit too green here so I'm just gonna turn it up a notch.
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Now all the basics are pretty much done but personally like to stylize it with my own flare.
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I'm putting some glow, not too much otherwise it will be too bright.
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Relation just to make things sparkle a little bit.
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Turning down the sharpness as I like the image to be a bit softer mimicking
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that filmic look and finally my secret sauce which is the radial blur.
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Sort of gives the edge a bit of blur to simulate that Film look and that is it.
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Hope you guys enjoyed it.
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This is the final part of this series Thank you
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so much for watching throughout the series I hope you can find some valuable information from this.
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So what do you guys want me to talk about next?
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Let me know in the comment section down below and if you watch until this part
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Make sure to drop like a director I don't know this emoji
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and if you've been thinking about documenting your life
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but not sure how to start make sure to check out this video peace
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What You'll Practice in This Lesson
Ready to level up your English speaking while learning cool video editing tips? In this lesson, you'll practice listening to natural, conversational English from a YouTube video about editing vlogs like a movie. You'll focus on understanding casual speech patterns, picking up useful vocabulary, and using shadowing techniques to improve your pronunciation and fluency. It's a fun way to learn English with YouTube—combining practical skills with language practice!
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Cinematic: Having the quality of a movie (e.g., "I made my first cinematic vlog").
- Retain viewership: Keep people watching your video (e.g., "Putting best visuals helps retain viewership").
- Workflow: The process of doing a task (e.g., "I can have all my workflow on one software").
- Chronological order: Arranged by time (e.g., "I edit in chronological order").
- Overwhelmed: Feeling stressed by too much to do (e.g., "Organizing footage keeps you from getting overwhelmed").
Practice Tips for Shadowing Success
Shadowing—also called shadowspeak—is a great way to boost your speaking skills. Here's how to do it with this video: The speaker, Terry, talks at a relaxed, conversational speed, so start by pausing after each short sentence and repeating it aloud. Focus on matching his tone and rhythm—notice how he emphasizes words like "important" or "perfect." For IELTS speaking practice, pay attention to his natural use of phrases like "to be honest" and "I guess," which make speech sound more fluent. Use a shadowing site to record yourself and compare it to the video—you'll see progress fast! Remember, it's okay to make mistakes—this is about practicing, not perfection. Even 10 minutes a day with this video will help you sound more natural in English.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been using · you've been thinking |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't watched · haven't really tried · I've never personally tried |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Studio which is · part which is · sauce which is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are still produced · is cut |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.