How To Edit TikTok Videos

(One important note before we start: editing videos on TikTok is simple, but a good deal of practice and experience is required to use some of the app’s editing functions at a high level. This post is primarily intended to get you started; a full guide to professional editing techniques would fill an e-book.)

As a social media platform designed to facilitate the sharing of user-created videos, TikTok has designed an outstanding editing suite that’s built right into the app. It’s so full-featured that trying to edit can be quite confusing for new TikTok users, in fact, since there are an enormous number of icons, menus, and controls to navigate on the app.

Once you learn your way around, though, you’ll appreciate the ease with which you can create a professional video in just minutes. Whether you want to combine video clips or photos, layer them, add transitions or split screens, edit or add music backgrounds, sounds or narration, or use almost any other advanced editing technique, the TikTok editor has you covered.

Let’s take a tour of the TikTok editor, while remembering that you’ll have much to learn and experiment with after finishing this guide.

The First Step

Most readers probably know how to record a TikTok video: hit the “+” button at the bottom of the home screen, choose the length of video you want to make, hit the big red button to record, and hit it again to stop recording. (If you want to edit a video that’s on your camera reel, hit the thumbnail to the right of the button and find the vid in your library.) Here’s what comes next.

1. Hit the red checkmark when you’ve finished recording, and you’ll see a preview of your video. Now, tap the “Edit” icon (a screen with small left and right arrows near the top) to open the app’s editing screen.
2. If you want to add more videos (or pictures), hit the “+” next to the editing timeline. You’ll see all of the content on your camera reel to choose from. You can choose as many as 35 to add; when you’re done, hit “Confirm.”

Editing Your Video

The row of icons at the bottom of the editing screen allows you to do most of what you might want to do.

• Edit: When you enter this part of the editor you can lengthen or shorten a clip, split, replace, or delete video segments; speed up or slow down the video; perform functions like rotating and cropping the video and adding transitions; zoom in and out; adjust brightness, contrast, and other elements of the video; use numerous filters to adjust the look of the production, and more. You’re also able to adjust volume levels and add cool voice effects from this screen. (Some of these functions are also available directly from the main row of icons on the editing screen.) 
• Sound: Opens a menu that allows you to add music or a TikTok sound effect, or create a voiceover narration.
• Text: You’re able to type in text that will be overlayed onto your video and then select the font, position it on the screen, and utilize text-to-speech to insert audio.
• Stickers and Filters: These options let you apply the fun extras that TikTok videos are known for.
• Captions: Here’s where you can add captions taken from your audio track (and edit them).
• Overlay: Lets you add other photos, videos, and screencaps on top of your video.
• Sound Sync: Synchronizes your video to the sound you’ve selected from the TikTok library.
• Magic: This selection allows you to automatically apply one of a huge number of editing styles to your videos by choosing and tapping the style you prefer. It provides other cool layering and AI tools as well.

Most of these functions also appear in the menu at the right-hand side of the screen after you’ve shot and previewed a video, making it easy to do simple edits without having to enter the full-featured TikTok editor. 

As we mentioned at the start, this is just what you need to get you going. Allot a few hours to explore and try all of the ways you can enhance and perfect your TikTok videos, and you’ll be on your way to being a TikTok pro!