We’ve covered just about every other Clapper feature, so now it’s time we get into one of our very first: editing. Clapper has a foundational set of editing tools that are accessible and easy to adapt to. In this article, we’ll cover everything editing on Clapper.

Editing on Clapper ✂️

The first step is, of course, having a video. You can record natively in the app or upload videos from your camera role. If you want to record (and potentially edit) multiple clips, you’ll need to record them natively in the app. Videos have to be more than six seconds and less than three minutes in length.

Once you have your videos ready to go, you have a variety of editing options!  Most of them are on the right side of the screen, so we’ll start there. And will start with the very first editing step: making sure your clips are where they need to go. We recommend getting the video itself nailed down before you dive into the other edits. You may undo all your progress if you need to change the clips.

Adjust Clips 🎞️

If you have multiple clips, you can adjust the lengths and order. When you tap into this option, you’ll see a preview of the video taking up the whole screen. Then, across the length of the screen, there’s the option to end the beginning and end of the video. The white slider will also show you were the clip you’re editing is located in your video!

Along the very bottom of the screen, you can click into each individual clip. Once you click in, you’ll be able to trim the video. And, if you press and hold, you can drag the clip to  anew spot in the video. Once you’ve trimmed and reordered your video, hit “Save” at the top and you’ll be taken back to your video preview.

Add Text 🆒

Tap the text icon in the top right corner and a text bubble will come up. Once you start typing up your text, a preset selection of colors will pop-up just above the keyboard. You can scroll through and select the one that works best with your video. We suggest picking one that makes your text stand out from the background, but doesn’t clash with the colors. The text should be easy to read and shouldn’t hurt your eyes.

Next to the color selection, there’s an “A” in a box. This let’s you add a background box to your text. Mostly creators use this when the text blends into the background on its own, or when they need the text to really stand out! Click “Save” when you’re done and return to the preview.

Add Voiceover 🎙️

The second editing option on the right is to add a voiceover. Once you click in, you’ll be taken to a screen with a preview of your video, a counter to show were you are, and a button to start recording. To start recording a voiceover, press and hold the white and orange button. The video will play automatically, so you can see and comment on what you’re doing in the video and know how much time you have left. If you make a mistake, just click the grey arrow that pops up on the right!

You can record as many voiceover attempts as you need. In the bottom right, you can also select if you want to keep the original sound or not. If you do choose to keep the original sound, we recommend adjusting the volume. (We’ll tell you how in just a second!) If you want to change your voiceover or delete it after recording, click back into this editing option.

Adjust Volume 🎧

Just below the “Adjust Clips” button is the “Volume” button. Here you’ll be able to adjust the volume of both your added sound (voiceover and/or music) and the original sound. We recommend listening closing and adjusting based on your video. Make sure that we can clearly hear you speaking (if you are) and clearly hear any other sounds. If, for example, you want to add music over a video of you talking, try keeping the original volume at a hundred and the added volume at twenty.

Find the volume you like best, then click anywhere on the screen to exit.

Add Sound 🎶

Now let’s get into our favorite part: adding a sound! If you go to the top of the screen, you’ll see an “Add Sound” button. Click it to be taken to our music library, where you can scroll through every song on Clapper. You can scroll through three sections: Discover, which are all our songs from most to least recent and the main music categories; Trending, which are our trending songs; and Favorites, which are the sounds you’ve favorited and saved.  There’s also a search bar across the top, where you can search for a specific song or artist.

You can preview the song by clicking on it. Once you’ve found the right song, click the orange check to add it to your video. At this point, you’ll want to double check the volume of your video compared to the volume of the song you selected. Make sure we can clearly hear you or anyone else speaking.

Adding music and adjusting the volume is the final step for many creators. Once you’re done editing, click “Next” in the bottom right corner. You’re all done editing, but let’s cover posting, too!

Posting Your Video 📤

If you’d like to, you can save your video as a draft instead of posting it. Just click “Drafts” in the bottom left; it’ll be saved until you’re ready to post it! You can also go back and edit it anytime. Once you’re ready to post, there’s a few things you want to check.

Write a Caption ✅

Writing the perfect caption will be a lot easier if you know what you want it to do. Is it to entertain? To provide context? To encourage your audience to do something? Nail that down, then let everything come from that. You’ll also want to consider the tone of your video. If it’s serious, you’ll want the caption to match and reflect that!

This is also where you’ll add up to five hashtags. Stick with the hashtags that relate to your video, you community, or your content. You can big some bigger or more general hashtags, but if you want to target a specific niche, you’ll need to get specific with those hashtags!

You can learn more about using hashtags and creating the best captions here.

Show in Nearby ✅

Select whether or not you want your video to show in “Nearby”. With this feature, creators can see videos posted near them. If you turn Nearby on when you post your video, anyone in your area will be able to see it.

Just tap “Show in Nearby” to either add your location, or adjust whether or not your video will appear.

Adjust the Audience ✅

You have the option to change who will be able to see your video: Public (anyone on the app) or “Only me”. “Only me” restricts the video to…well, you! This is perfect for videos you don’t want to lose, but don’t want to share super widely. Just click on “Who can view this video” to edit.

Allow Comment ✅

This lets you turn comments on or off.  All videos will automatically allow comments, but you can turn off comments on videos if you want to.  We recommend having comments on so people can chime in and join the conversation!

Save to Device ✅

This lets viewers download your video. Videos will automatically have this turned off, so you’ll only have to turn it on.  This is really appreciated for recipe videos or tutorials, so people can more easily follow the steps.  You never have to turn this option on if you don’t want to!

Once your video is ready, hit the bright orange “Post” button in the bottom right! Your video will upload and boom, it’s out there.

Want some additional tips for filming your content? Here’s our top tips for filming your content, and ten video prompts to keep you inspired!