A hands-on three-day class. By the end of the session, you'll handle video editing confidently — from the first cut to a finished, polished reel.
Why this skill
Video is the language of 2026.
Reading and writing won't be enough. Every Reel, every YouTube video, every wedding montage, every product launch — edited. Video editing is the new literacy. Your phone is enough to start.
01
A 21st-century literacy
Like writing, but for moving images. The ability to take raw clips and shape a story is now expected — at school, at work, in life.
A phone, a free app, a story to tell. What used to need ₹5 lakh of equipment now needs nothing. The only gap left is the skill — that's what we're closing.
82%
of internet traffic is video
3×
more engagement than photos
∞
stories you can now tell
My recent reels
What you'll be able to make.
A few of my recent reels. Hover any one to play, swipe through with the arrows.
01
hover to play
Cinematic hook + grid cut
02
hover to play
Prompt → image reveal
03
hover to play
3D isometric prompt
04
hover to play
Pop-culture cold open
05
hover to play
Talking head + PiP
06
hover to play
Stat + listicle cards · text animation
07
hover to play
A/B comparison · text animation
Hover to play · scrub the video timeline · drag the slider below to switch reels
At a glance
Three sessions, one polished reel.
Three one-hour sessions across three days. Day 1 builds foundations. Day 2 adds cinematic techniques. Day 3 brings keyframes, captions, and AI tools — the modern editor's toolkit.
Three apps could do this workshop. CapCut wins — runs anywhere, free, and forgiving for the youngest editor in the room.
C
CapCut
★ OUR PICK
Phone · Tablet · Desktop · Web
Free. Forgiving for an 8th grader, deep enough for an adult. Has every feature in this curriculum — masking, portrait transitions, voice-over, the lot.
The web and apps were restricted in 2020. The fix is straightforward — connect a free VPN, then install. Three minutes of setup. Once installed, you can edit offline without the VPN.
★ Recommended
ProtonVPN
Free tier · unlimited data · servers in US, NL, JP. Trusted, no logs. Easiest install across all devices.
How it worksVPN connects → your traffic looks like it's from the US → CapCut installer downloads normally → after install, disconnect VPN and use the app freely.
Install · on macOS
CapCut for Mac.
Five steps. Under three minutes once VPN is connected.
1
Install ProtonVPN from protonvpn.com/free-vpn → connect to a US server.
2
Verify on whatismyipaddress.com — should show US.
3
Visit capcut.com/download → click "Download for Mac" → .dmg downloads.
4
Open the .dmg → drag CapCut to Applications → eject the disk image.
5
Launch · sign in · disconnect VPN. App works offline after.
If blockedIf .dmg fails — right-click → Open → Allow in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
ProtonVPN
Connected · United States
capcut.com/download
C
CapCut for Mac
↓ Download
.dmg
CapCut.dmg
134 MB · 24s left
67%
C
CapCut
▸ Ready
Install · on Windows
CapCut for Windows.
Same as Mac — VPN first, then install. Windows 10 + 11.
1
Install ProtonVPN for Windows from protonvpn.com/free-vpn → connect to a US server.
2
Verify on whatismyipaddress.com — should show US.
3
Visit capcut.com/download → click "Download for Windows" → .exe downloads.
4
Run the installer. If SmartScreen warns → "More info" → "Run anyway".
5
Sign in · disconnect VPN. App runs offline after.
BackupIf the installer fails, use clipchamp.com in your browser — pre-installed on Windows 11.
ProtonVPN
Connected · United States
capcut.com/download
C
CapCut for Windows
↓ Download .exe
.exe
CapCut_setup.exe
128 MB · running
SmartScreen → Run anyway
C
CapCut
▸ Ready
Install · on Phone
CapCut for mobile.
Phones are trickier — app stores enforce regional rules.
Android EASIER · ~3 MIN
Install ProtonVPN · connect to US server
Play Store → search "CapCut" · install
If unavailable: APKPure.com (official mirror)
iPhone / iPad 2 OPTIONS
Easiest:capcut.com/editor in Safari — no install
App store: change Apple ID region to US, then download
Class ruleIf install looks scary, default to desktop or capcut.com/editor — both work for the whole workshop.
9:41● ● ●
ProtonVPN
Connected · US
9:41● ● ●
🔍 CapCut
C
CapCut
Bytedance · 4.5★
Install
9:41● ● ●
C
CapCut
Installing...
67%
9:41● ● ●
C
CapCut
▸ Ready
Backup option · the browser editor
How to use Clipchamp.
Microsoft's free browser editor. Pre-installed on Windows 11. Plan B if CapCut won't install.
1
Visit clipchamp.com → click "Try for free" → sign in.
2
Create new video → set ratio to 9:16 portrait first.
RememberCut removes. Split divides. Two completely different jobs, almost identical names.
Concept 02
A-Roll & B-Roll.
A-roll is the voice — your face, your audio, your story. B-roll is the eyes — cut-ins that show what you're saying. Watch how they stack:
A · Talking head
"I love mornings…"
B · Sunrise
— sun coming up —
B · Coffee pour
— pouring shot —
B · Walking
— shoes on pavement —
B-roll
SUNRISE
POUR
WALK
A-roll
YOU TALKING · audio runs the entire length
A-ROLL
Continuous track at the bottom. Your audio plays the entire time — even when B-roll covers the picture above.
B-ROLL
Cut-ins on the upper track. 2–3 seconds each. Visual changes; A-roll audio keeps playing underneath.
Concept 03
Aspect ratio.
The shape of your frame. Different platforms want different shapes. Pick the right one before you start editing — fixing it after means redoing every shot.
♥
💬
↗
@yourhandle
9 : 16
Portrait · Reels
TikTok · Reels Stories · Shorts
16 : 9
Cinema · Wide
YouTube · TV Slides · Web
1 : 1
Square Post
LinkedIn Old IG feed
♥ 💬 ✈
4 : 5
Vertical Feed
Instagram feed Facebook
Do this firstIn CapCut: New Project → Aspect Ratio → 9 : 16 → THEN import your clips. Every project. Every time.
Session 01 · 60 minutes
DAY 01
Foundations & first export.
By the end of this hour, every student has imported clips, added music, recorded a voice-over, and exported a real video. The "I made this" moment is what hooks them for Day 2.
Day 01 · run of show
Sixty minutes, minute by minute.
Time
Segment
What happens
00:00–00:05
The wow moment
Watch raw vs. edited. Spot the difference.
00:05–00:10
Tool tour
CapCut walkthrough. Set 9:16 on every device.
00:10–00:20
Lesson 1 · Video Roll
Import, trim, split, reorder.
00:20–00:30
Lesson 2 · Audio Roll
Music, volume, fade in / fade out.
00:30–00:40
Lesson 3 · Voice-Over
Record, place on its own track, duck the music.
00:40–00:55
Build & export
30-second reel using the starter pack.
00:55–01:00
Show, tell, homework
Watch each one. Reveal the shoot list.
Lesson 01 of 11
Video Roll — show three things, not one.
Cut between clips so eyes stay glued. Never let one shot run longer than four seconds.
1
Import 3+ clips into the media panel from your phone or library.
2
Drag onto timeline in order — wide → close → action is the classic 3-shot story.
3
Trim each clip to 2–3 seconds. Keep only the best moment. Be ruthless.
4
Reorder by dragging. Try sequences — feel which one tells the story better.
ExampleWide of your room, close of your desk, hand-on-laptop. Trim each to 3 sec. Order: wide → close → action. Tiny story in 9 seconds.
Lesson 02 of 11
Audio Roll — music sets the mood.
The right track turns a clip into a vibe. The wrong one turns a wedding into a horror movie.
1
Add music from CapCut's free library, or import your own track.
2
Drop on a separate track below your video — keep audio on its own row.
3
Volume around 30–50% — music is the mood, not the main event.
4
Fade in at start, fade out at end. Always. Hard cuts feel amateur.
Cheat codePick your music first, then cut your video to the beat. Always.
Lesson 03 of 11
Voice-Over — become the narrator.
Want your video to feel like a story? Add your voice. The single biggest upgrade you can make in thirty seconds.
1
Audio → Record. Say one line. Stop. Don't overthink it.
2
Drag voice onto its own track — below music, above video.
3
Duck the music while you talk — drop it from 40% to 15% during your voice.
4
Trim the "ums". Be ruthless. Silence always beats stumble.
Mic hackCup your hand around your phone mic. Sounds 10× more pro instantly.
Tonight's assignment
Go shoot.
Five short vertical clips on your phone. Pick one theme — my morning, my pet, my hobby, a place I love.
1
A wide shot — show the whole scene. Set the table.
2
A close-up — a hand, a face, a single detail.
3
A movement shot — walking, pouring, opening, anything that flows.
4
A "you" shot — selfie. Your face in the frame.
5
A "wow" shot — whatever feels coolest. Your hero.
SpecsPortrait 9:16 · 3–8 seconds each · hold steady · different angles.
Session 02 · 60 minutes
DAY 02
Polish & submit.
Today covers everything else — transitions, masking, effects, keyframes, subtitles. End of session: the final reel is exported and submitted for tomorrow's review.
Lesson 04 of 11
Transitions — three moves, that's it.
Three transitions that make any reel feel cinematic. Master these and you've beat 80% of the internet.
1
Whip Pan — fast horizontal motion blur between clips. All energy. For high-energy scene changes.
2
Zoom Match — both clips zoom into the same point. Two close-ups feel like one continuous push-in.
3
Mask Wipe — circle, square, or shape reveal. Feels like Apple. Use sparingly — it's flashy.
The ruleOne transition style per video. Mixing all three = chaos. Pick one and stick.
Lesson 05 of 11
Masking — text behind subject.
Hiding part of a clip so something else shows through. One trick that looks like Apple-commercial magic.
1
Place your video clip on the timeline. A "you walking" shot works perfectly.
2
Add text ABOVE the video — your name, big and bold, filling the frame.
3
Duplicate the video on top of the text. Same clip, stacked above.
4
Use Remove Background on the top video. Subject appears in front of the text — text feels embedded in the scene.
ExampleWalking shot + "AANYA" text behind + bg-removed copy on top. Your name appears huge behind you, you walk in front. One trick — looks pro.
Lesson 06 of 11
Effects & Text — less is more.
The finishing layer. Color filters, glow, captions, beat-synced text. Used right, they elevate. Used wrong, they ruin.
1
One color filter on the whole timeline — cinematic, warm, or cool. Pick one, apply globally.
2
Auto-generate captions, then style with one font, one color. Match the vibe.
3
One or two beat-synced text moments. Just the punchlines, not every line.
4
Optional — a single glow or zoom on a hero shot. One emphasized moment. Then stop.
The ruleTwo effects max per video. More than that and it screams "amateur."
Lesson 07 of 11
Keyframes — the secret to motion.
A keyframe is a snapshot of a property at a moment in time. Two keyframes = animation. The editor smoothly fills in everything between them.
Keyframe 1 → Keyframe 2 · the editor interpolates between themLive demo
Keyframe 1Keyframe 2
Position
8% → 92%
Scale
50% → 140%
Opacity
40% → 100%
1
Move playhead to start, set property, tap ◆ diamond.
2
Move playhead to end, change property — keyframe added automatically.
3
Press play — your property smoothly animates between the two states.
4
Animate: position · scale · opacity · rotation.
Pro tip2 keyframes is a beginner. 3+ is overkill. Less is always more — let the motion be subtle.
Lesson 08 of 11
Subtitles — auto-generate, style.
80% of social video is watched on mute. Subtitles aren't optional — they're the difference between scrolled-past and watched.
1
Tap Captions → Auto Captions in the CapCut toolbar.
2
Choose your language — English, Tamil, Hindi, etc.
3
Wait 10–30 seconds — CapCut transcribes audio into timed lines.
4
Tap each line, fix wrong words. ~80% accurate; always proofread.
Style ruleOne font, one color (white + black outline). Bottom 1/3 of frame. Highlight one word per line in your accent for emphasis.
9:41● ● ●
This is my morning routine
Final project
The submission.
"My story, in sixty seconds."
Make a portrait reel about anything you genuinely love — a hobby, a pet, a place, a person, a routine. Build it with everything you've learned across the two days.
Length
45–60 sec
Format
9 : 16
Export
MP4 · 1080p
Submission checklist
Before you submit.
Tap each one to tick it off as you finish.
At least 4 different clips (B-roll variety)
Background music with fade in / fade out
One voice-over line (intro or outro)
At least 2 transitions, one of them portrait-style
One masking effect or text-behind-subject
Captions or on-screen text
Your name in the end card
Uploaded to the shared Drive folder
Session 03 · 60 minutes
DAY 03
Review & AI tools.
Today we watch each reel together — celebrate, critique, improve. Then we explore AI video generation: Google Flow and Meta AI as your new B-roll toolkit.
Lesson 09 of 11 · assignment review · 30 min
Watch. Discuss. Improve.
Each submitted reel plays in full. Group calls out what worked. Then one specific thing to improve. Instructor closes with a takeaway and shows the fix live.
01
Watch
Full play-through. No commentary. Just observe.
02
One love
Anyone calls out a moment that worked. Be specific.
03
One improve
Constructive. Specific. Actionable, not vague.
04
Take-away
Instructor synthesizes. Suggests one fix. Shows it live.
Format~5 minutes per reel · 6 students · 30 minutes. Then we move to AI tools for the second half.
Lesson 10 of 11 · AI video generation
Google Flow.
Don't have the B-roll you need? Generate it. Google's Flow (powered by Veo) turns a text prompt into an 8-second cinematic clip in 30 seconds. Drop it in your timeline as B-roll.
AI · text-to-video
labs.google/flow
How it works: Sign in → New Scene → type a prompt → wait 30–60 sec → download MP4 → drop into CapCut as B-roll.
"A young person walking through a foggy forest at dawn, slow motion, cinematic, golden hour."
Example 2
"Drone shot flying over Indian rice paddies at sunset, cinematic wide shot."
Limits8-second clips · free tier has daily caps · some prompts get rejected (real faces, copyrighted styles). Mix AI with real footage so it doesn't feel uncanny.
Lesson 11 of 11 · AI animation
Meta AI & frame morphing.
Have a still photo you want to animate? Meta AI adds subtle motion — wind in trees, water rippling, hair moving. Or feed it two frames and AI generates the smooth morph between them.
Use case 01 · animate a still
Image → moving video
Visit meta.ai · sign in
Upload your still photo
Type "animate this with subtle wind in the trees"
Wait ~30 seconds
Download the 4-sec clip → drop into CapCut as moody B-roll
The recipeAI-generated B-roll works best at ~25% of your video. Mix with your real footage. 100% AI feels uncanny; 25% feels like magic.
Six rules · tape them to your wall
The editor's code.
RULE 01
Cut sooner than you think.
If you're bored watching, your audience left two seconds ago.
RULE 02
Music first. Always.
Pick the soundtrack before the cut. Then edit to the beat.
RULE 03
Less is more.
Two effects. One transition style. One filter. Restraint reads pro.
RULE 04
Voice equals story.
A 5-sec voice-over upgrades any reel from clips to story.
RULE 05
Variety in shots.
Wide, close, movement, face, hero. Five shots make a story.
RULE 06
Done beats perfect.
Export and ship. The next one will be better. The fiftieth will be great.
▸ And we're done
Roll camera. Edit. Publish.
Roll camera, edit, and then publish your creative video.
One last thing
The cut is the craft.
Footage is raw material. The edit is where stories are born — where boring becomes brilliant, where moments become memories. You're the editor now. Make the seams invisible. Let the story breathe.
Now go make something worth watching.
▸ One last minute
Feedback time.
How was the session? Rate the teaching, tell me what worked, what didn't — and what you'd want next.
