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How to edit a video with GoPro Studio

How to edit a video with GoPro Studio
Daniel Barranger

Daniel Barranger

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GoPro videos are of exceptional quality and, if they’re edited carefully, can become really awesome mini-movies.

There are a ton of programs you can use to edit GoPro videos, from the simple Windows Movie Maker, to the most advanced Adobe Premiere and Final Cut. There is one, however, that’s created specifically for videos recorded with a GoPro, and it’s a perfect compromise between simplicity and quality. It’s called GoPro Studio.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a video recorded using a GoPro Hero, from the point of importing, through to exporting, and everything in between.

Before you begin:

  • Make sure you’ve downloaded and installed GoPro Studio for Windows or GoPro Studio for Mac.
  • Import videos from GoPro to your computer

1. Import and convert files for the project

First, you have to import the video files you recorded. To do this, open GoPro Studio and click on the blue Import new files button in the top left corner. Choose the files you want to include and hit Open.

Choose videos to includeBefore you begin assembling the video, you can already start cutting any unnecessary sections that you want to delete. Click on one of the thumbnails in the left column and then on Play, in the bottom center, to start watching the clips.

On the left you’ll see two play buttons: you can use these to select sections of the file that you want to keep. The one on the left will determine the beginning of the clip, while the one on the right sets the end of the clip. You can choose several clips for one single movie.

Select segmentsUse the Advanced settings button to change the video settings. You can choose the video size and frames per second, increase the speed of the video, change the format, adjust the quality, or remove the “fish eye” effect typical of GoPro videos. Select the last option, Remember Settings, to make sure that the program will remember the settings you’ve chosen for the next video you want to edit. Press OK.

Advanced settings

To move the video to the conversion list, click Add Clips to conversion list (1) in the bottom right of the screen. Repeat these steps for all the videos you’d like to add, although you can go back and add more videos during the editing phase by pressing on the Import & Convert tab at the top. When you’re done and your video files have been added to the right column, click on Convert to (2) below.

Convert videos

When the videos are ready to be converted, the Proceed to step 2 option will appear at the bottom right of the screen. Click it to move on to the next step.

2. Add a title

On the next screen, GoPro Studio offers you 2 alternatives: create a video from scratch, or use one of the templates in the software. If you choose the template option, all you have to do is replace the videos with your files. Below, I’ll show you how to create one from scratch.

Click Blank on the left hand side, and then click Create on the bottom right.

Create a video from scratch

To start, you can create an opening title for your video. To do this, click on Title in the top left corner (1). Then, type the text that you want to appear in the box in the top right corner, an option called Title properties (2). In the right column, you can change the text settings, including font, color, length of the gradient (fade), or select one of the presets from the list below.

Title your video

Then, drag the title from the left column into the box in the bottom right hand corner, next to the video camera and the  Drag videos here option, as shown in the image below. If you want the text to appear superimposed on the video, drag it to the second line, where you see Drag title here.

Drag video here

3. Edit the video

Next, add the video. Select the video you want to import first, and again drag and drop it to the timeline next to the clip you added earlier. In the right column, you can adjust various parameters such as the speed of the video, the duration of the fade, the audio levels, white balance settings, and the frame. At the bottom, there are also presets to give it a vintage or night vision feel.

Adjust settings

Similar to the import stage, you can also change the duration of each clip using the brackets at the bottom left of the preview screen, or by dragging the yellow lines in the video bar.

Change length of each clipUse the button with the razor blade symbol to cut files into two clips (1) if you want to apply different effects to each one. By clicking on the “+” symbol between the two clips, you can create a fade (2) effect, which is haha okay. sorry toa gradient between clips.

Create clips

When you’ve finished adding each clip, you can create a fade out effect to avoid the video being cut off abruptly. To do this, click on the last clip in the timeline. In the right column, under the heading Video controls, increase the line to fade out.

4. Add Music

If you want to give a little rhythm to your video, you can add audio tracks. To do that, click Media in the top left and then select the music you want to import. Then, drag the audio file into the timeline, where you see Drag your title here.

5. Export video

When you’ve finished editing the video, all you have to do is export it by clicking on the Export tab. Next, a window will open, where you can choose which video format you want to export it to. There are lots of video types, each suitable for different needs and devices.

Export videoIf, for example, you want to upload it on to YouTube, you have to choose the first option. If you want to see it on your computer or project it onto your TV at home, you need to select 1080p HD . Through the Custom option, you can set the parameters that you want. Once you’ve decided on them, hit Export .

Export your video

Press play

And you’re done! You’ve edited your first GoPro video and can upload it to Vimeo, import it to your smartphone, or project it onto your TV to show your family and friends.

If the process seems a bit difficult, don’t worry: mastering video editing takes time, but with a little practice, it’ll get easier. If you found that using this editing software was easy, you might want to try using professional software like Adobe Premiere Pro, which lets you add effects and has a lot more features to make your video a bit more personalized.

If you’re interested in video editing, check out our tutorial on How to edit videos using Free Video Dub.

Daniel Barranger

Daniel Barranger

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