We just released our new in-app editor, an easy-to-use feature that combines five editing essentials into one powerful tool. But no matter how easy someone makes it, new tools and processes can be hard to understand. Add to that the complexities and general overwhelm of editing, and of course, this new feature is a little confusing.

But don’t worry; we’re sharing our expertise with you. Every week, we’ll take a deep dive into our new editing tools, from crop to voiceover and literally everything in between. We’ll tell you how to use a feature, why you should, and even give you examples of fun ways to work it into your content.

In our penultimate installment, we’re breaking down another easy-to-use but revolutionary tool. Speed.

What is the Speed Tool? ⏩

Speed is a classic editing tool, and it’s pretty self-explanatory. You can adjust the speed on a clip, either making it slower or faster.

Duh, you’re thinking. Okay, we’ll stop over-explaining the concept and move on to how to use the speed tool on Clapper.

How to Use the Speed Tool 🧠

Overlay may look complicated, but it’s pretty straightforward. If you know how to edit a video clip and resize a picture, you’re ready to work with overlay.

1. Open the Clapper app and tap the button in the middle of the menu along the bottom.
2. Select “video”; either record up to 10 minutes of video in the app, or upload your clips.
3. Finished recording? Tap the orange “Next” button in the right corner.
4. Tap the “Adjust” button on the right side of your screen.
5. To edit a clip, scroll to it and tap it.
6. Tap the timer along the bottom to open the speed menu.
7. Use the scroll to adjust the speed. You can see the new speed of the clip, too!
8. Press the play button to make sure you like this speed.
9. Hit the little check mark to go back to the main video. Keep editing if you want.
10. Add a description, hashtags, and some final touches, then post.

The hardest part of adjusting the speed of a clip is just finding the right speed.

Why You’d Use the Speed Tool 🤔

Obviously, you’d use the speed tool to adjust the speed of a video, but there are a few ways you can do that.

Time-Lapse 🏃

Make a project more engaging and keep your audience’s attention by adding a time-lapse clip. This is perfect for tutorial or how-to content. Just film a long clip of you working on your project and speed it up in editing. Viewers can see how you did everything, but it’s fast enough to hold their attention.

Check out this example! The creator took really repetitive moments (making bacon, sausage, eggs, and cutting out doughnuts) and sped them up. This keeps the video fast-paced, but also shows us just how much he’s cooking.

Highlight 🔍

Recap or highlight a specific moment in your video by slowing it down. Think of it like a sports recap. When the running back doesn’t catch the ball, they slow down the moment to see how they fumble. This tactic is the same way! If you’re showing a complicated way to paint something or cut an onion, slow down the video so we can see how you do it.

Check out this example!

Comedic/Dramatic Effect 🎭

This can work either with a faster clip or a slower clip! Drop something? Slow it down. Go on a semi-unnecessary rant? Speed it up! Want to increase the tension? Try slow motion. We can’t tell you what exactly to look for or find to execute this, but you’ll know it. It’ll hit you like a ton of bricks.

Here’s a video with an example to help you get a better idea of what we mean.

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If you see a funny lip-sync video that looks a little too animated, they may have also used the speed tool! It lets them clearly lip-sync the audio while still being animated. Like this example, for reference.

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Speed is a fun way to make your videos more engaging and, at times, more humorous. In just a few clicks, you can take fumbling from an awkward moment to a hilarious bit.

In our final article, we’ll be discussing a classic editing tool: voiceover.

Learn more about our new and improved (and easy-to-use) editor in this article. Revisit cropping a video in this article, get an intro to adding an overlay in this article, and get the split basics in this article. And, for those of you feeling brave, explore some exciting editing techniques with this article.

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by your new editing options, we’ve got you covered. Follow @ClapperAcademy for editing tutorials. And come back to the blog each Wednesday! We’ll be deep diving into each feature, covering how to use it, why you should test it out, and how to use it in your content.