How to learn video editing
The fastest way to learn video editing is to cut real footage in a fixed order: organise, play with J, K and L, mark with I and O, edit with three-point edits, then trim. Everything else is refinement.
The short answer
Pick one editor, cut a short piece of real footage every week, and learn techniques in the order below. Most beginners stall because they learn features in menu order, or watch tutorials without cutting anything. Editing is a physical skill: the keyboard has to become automatic before you can think about story and rhythm.
1. Choose one editor and stay with it for three months
Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve all teach the same underlying craft. DaVinci Resolve is free, which makes it the obvious choice if you don't want to spend anything. Premiere Pro is common in UK colleges and in online video. Final Cut Pro is a one-off purchase and is very fast on a Mac. The guide to which video editor to learn covers the trade-offs in detail. Switching later is easier than people expect, because the concepts carry over.
2. Learn to organise footage before you cut
Name your project, import into folders or bins, and rename clips that matter. Editors spend more time finding shots than cutting them. Ten minutes of organisation saves an hour of scrubbing later, and every film school teaches this first for that reason.
3. Get your hand off the mouse: J, K and L
J plays backwards, K stops, L plays forwards, in all three editors. Press L twice to play faster. With your right hand resting on J, K and L you can review footage at any speed without reaching for the mouse. See JKL editing explained.
4. Mark with I and O
Press I to mark where a shot should start and O where it should end. This is how professional editors choose the part of a clip they want, rather than dragging whole clips into the timeline and chopping them up.
5. Edit with three-point editing
Mark a range in your source clip, choose where it goes in the timeline, then insert or overwrite. That is three-point editing, and it's the method behind almost every edit you'll ever make. In Final Cut Pro the keys are W (insert) and D (overwrite); in Premiere Pro, comma and full stop; in DaVinci Resolve, F9 and F10.
6. Trim instead of re-cutting
Once a rough cut exists, the work is in the trims: moving edit points a few frames at a time until the cut feels right. Learn the four trim types, ripple, roll, slip and slide, and when each one is the right tool.
7. Fix the sound before the picture
Audiences forgive rough pictures and walk away from bad sound. Get dialogue levels consistent, use cuts where sound leads picture (J-cuts and L-cuts), and add a fade on every audio edit that clicks.
8. Export, watch it on another screen, and do it again
Export, watch on a phone or TV, note what bothers you, and go back in. Then start a new piece. Ten short edits teach more than one long one.
What to skip at first
- Colour grading beyond basic correction. It's a separate craft. Fix exposure and white balance, then move on.
- Effects, transitions and titles packs. Most good edits use straight cuts.
- Memorising a full shortcut list. Learn five keys a week, in the order above, while you're actually cutting.
Learning the keyboard
The keyboard is where beginners and professionals differ most. It's also the easiest gap to close: keep a shortcut reference visible next to your keyboard rather than hidden behind the editor, and use it until you stop needing it. The free references for Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve on this site are grouped by task for that reason.
Courses and free training
You can learn editing entirely from free material: Blackmagic publishes free DaVinci Resolve training books, and Adobe and Apple both publish free tutorials and user guides. See free training and certification. If you want a structured course, there are directories for the UK and the USA.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn video editing?+
Most people can make a clean, simple edit within a few weeks of regular practice, and become comfortable with the keyboard and trimming within about three months of cutting something every week. Becoming a professional editor takes years, because the hard part is judgement about story, pace and performance, not software.
Can I teach myself video editing?+
Yes. Many working editors are self-taught. The free official training from Blackmagic, Adobe and Apple covers the software thoroughly, and the craft comes from cutting real footage and getting feedback. A course adds structure, feedback, equipment and contacts, which matter most if you want to work in film and television.
What should I learn first in video editing?+
Organising footage, then J, K and L for playback, then I and O for marking, then three-point editing with insert and overwrite. Those skills cover a complete rough cut. Trimming comes next.
Is it better to learn on a free editor?+
DaVinci Resolve is free and fully professional, so it's a sound place to start. The skills transfer to Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro, because the underlying techniques are the same in all three.
Written by Philip Brumpton, a product designer who builds KeyCut. Last checked October 2026.
Learn the keys by pressing them.
KeyCut puts the Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve keyboards on your iPad, colour-coded, and fires each shortcut into your editor on the Mac when you tap it.