If you want your online videos to look more professional and get more views, first put down your camcorder and plug in your laptop. Because by learning a few basics about editing programs you will understand what it takes to pump up your visuals when you get behind the camera.
First, make sure you have the right equipment. You will need a digital video camera and a computer that both have an IEEE-1394 connector. This way you will be able to transfer the video from the camera to your computer.
Two other basic items for your video camera toolkit - a microphone and a tripod. You can buy inexpensive mics at most electronics stores.  And spend a little extra money and get a more professional quality tripod sturdy enough to hold the camera steady when you do zoom or pan shots.
As for the editing software needed, you may already have it.  Most PC’s have a free version of Windows Movie Maker and Mac’s have iMovie installed. Both programs are user friendly and have been on the market for years. There are other, inexpensive programs available from well known companies such as Pinnacle, Corel, or Adobe.
Now that you are ready to start editing, remember that your goal is to make your final video appear to be one continuous story line that logically moves from one scene to the next.  That means one main rule to follow is no sudden jump cuts. Those are two consecutive shots from the exact same camera angle, but the subject of the shot has changed position.
To avoid having to use jump cuts, shoot B-roll to use between shots during editing to create smooth transitions between scenes. B-roll is generic shots of the event you are covering. For example, if you are shooting a birthday party it would be video of the presents waiting to be opened or the party decorations or the cake.
Let’s say you are editing together the party video and while everyone is singing happy birthday you notice the camera shaking during part of the song. You could use the B-roll to cover that part of the video without losing the audio of the singing.
You will be cutting together a large number of shots, even for a video only a few minutes long. You do not want to keep the same camera shot on screen for more than ten to fifteen seconds.
This is why the audio is so important. It is the narrative thread that weaves together your story. If you are putting together a music video you would edit together the sound first and then cover the music with the video.
One last tip - do not overuse special effects between scenes. If you use a wipe between each scene or a fade, for example, then the audience will start to focus on those each time instead of the story you are trying to tell.
The great part about editing your video is that you can experiment with it. And if try something that does not work, you can always delete that scene and try a different approach. If you want to be a better filmmaker the more you need to practice and experiment with the editing process.
Sources:
Window Movie Maker info:Â Â Â http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx
iMovie tutorial:Â http://www.apple.com/support/ilife/tutorials/imovie/
