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Video editors are responsible for creating a story with the use of editing tools and selected footage (images, titles, logo, graphs, charts, maps, etc). Graphic designers, on the contrary, play around with the images and visual appearance of a story, making it more catching and interesting for the target audience.
But is it really important to combine video editing and graphic design to create first-class video content? In this article, we’ll get that covered!
Major Difference Between Graphic Design & Video Editing
Graphic design doesn’t necessarily include video editing. Overall, it deals with static materials in digital or physical format, including posters, infographics, banner ads, business cards, printed marketing materials, and many more. Graphic designers, even those that work with video content, are mainly focused on the visual structure of the footage: layouts, fonts, colors, etc.
The video editing process involves working with moving images, motion graphics, animations, etc. Editing experts usually utilize the best special effects software and are continually in search of the finest footage to introduce the story.
Each of these areas uses different software, requiring different knowledge and skillset to build the footage. While graphic design layouts can be changed by using simple commands on a computer, all video editing must be done using specific film editing tools. Nevertheless, though both these disciplines can be implemented separately, you’ll probably need to implement them together with your projects.
Collaboration Between Video Editors and Graphic Designers
In cases when you need to create a video, both professionals from the video editing and graphic design fields might come in handy. Having each of them contribute can help to add to the quality of your final video product.
However, the specific work of graphic designers implies creating separate pieces with slight animation only. This means that graphic design is only one component of the process and, to become a part of any video project, it has to be combined with video editing before it is complete.
Video editors are more independent in this aspect, but they can also consult or involve graphic designers in the editing process. Usually, it covers the cases when it’s required to:
- Edit photo or image for a film
- Adjust color elements or use transitional effects
- Add finishing touches to dynamic presentations
For instance, a graphic designer may create an animated logo or transition which is later on used in a video itself, to make it more complete or professional-like. Typically, graphic designers have a better sense of footage, resolution, color correction, shapes and compositions, images and their combinations, as well as many other interesting aspects. In other words, they can make the key preparations for the materials before they are implemented into a video.
Should You Keep Graphic Design and Video Editing Separate?
Once we’ve discovered the differences and learned the collaboration opportunities for both video editing and graphic design professionals, it’s time to look deeper into whether they should be kept separately.
The “Against” Opinion
Both fields can be separated if the project is comparatively small and doesn’t require too many motion graphics and animations. So, if you work with static footage, investing in a professional graphic designer is more than enough to succeed.
The “For” Opinion
For any sort of video content, it’s recommended to involve both a graphic designer and a video editor. The skills of both these experts can significantly boost the quality of a video, each in its specific aspect. While editors will be more concerned about the actual footage, its structure, and coherence, graphic designers can contribute to the visual appearance of a video, making it more eye-catching and engaging.
Is It Possible to Find a Professional Who Works in Both Fields?
Hiring skilled experts with certain experience in both graphic design and video editing might be challenging, but still possible. It requires much more effort than just developing interest in both industries. Apart from the graphic design basics, these experts will also need to learn a variety of editing software packages, keep themselves in the loop about the latest trends in each of the fields and continually try new hacks and methods to develop their personal style in video editing.
At the same time, it’s not necessarily for graphic designers to go that deep into video editing: the basics can be easily learned with user-friendly, functional video editing software. These are becoming extremely popular because of their ease of use and the ability to create professional-like video materials with little or even no experience in video editing.
Summary
As you can see, video editing and graphic design always go together, creating a captivating, professional-like story that can surely hook its viewers. Both of these aspects are identically important for the video project editing, finalizing, and release. That is why graphic designers and video editors usually work together at the post-production stage and often adopt the key skills of the opposite partners to enhance their workflow
