The Fundamentals of Sports Video Editing

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

“I want to make a sports highlight video, but I don’t know how to edit it or what kind of tools I need to use. Can someone tell me how to work on a sports video?”

As I read this query posted on a popular online forum, I realized that so many people out there find it hard to create a sports video. Well, unlike a standard video, working on a sports highlight video can be tough. This is because it needs a lot of editing and we need to handpick the right moments from hours of footage. Though, if you use the right tools, then you can easily work on highlight videos like a pro. In this guide, I will let you know how to create sports videos in a step by step manner.

• Part 1: Why is a sports highlight video and why important?
• Part 2: Highlight Video vs. Skills Video
• Part 3: Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video
• Part 4: How to Create a Sports Highlight Video?
• Part 5: Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

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Why is a sports highlight video and why important?

As the name suggests, a highlight video basically includes all the vital events of a game in a short duration of time. You can include the details of some players at the start or focus on a particular player as well. Besides that, a sports highlight video would have fast-forward, slow motion, and frozen clips to skip or focus on certain details.

A lot of times, people don’t have the time to watch the entire game, which can span for a couple of hours. Therefore, they can watch a sports highlight video that would include all the major events of the game and will let them enjoy their thrill in a few moments.

Besides that, if you are applying for a college/academy or just want to showcase your skills, then you can consider making a sports video of an impressive game of yours. You can simply showcase a player and try to highlight their skills in the video.

Highlight Videos vs. Skills Videos: the Major Differences

While making a sports video, you might encounter two different types of content – a highlight video and a skills video. As I have mentioned above, a sports highlight video would include the shots of an actual game. You can either focus on the event of a single game or include clips from multiple games that were played in a genuine setup. If you want, you can highlight a particular player while making the video as well.

On the other hand, a skills video is mostly made to demonstrate the skills of a player and is not focused on the game. In fact, most of the skills videos are made outside of a real game setting. For instance, if you have mastered a skill or would like to demonstrate your game-related actions, then you can make a skills video. Some of these videos are also tutorial game-plays to teach others about a particular skill that they can master.

Use Excellent Video Editor to Make a Sports Highlight Video

If you want to come up with engaging and visually appealing highlight videos, then consider using a versatile video editor like Filmora. Equipped with several video editing tools, it will let you create a sports highlight video in no time. Since the tool has so many features, you can save your time in editing and come up with a new sports video in minutes.

• Filmora is extremely easy to use and runs on all the leading Windows and macOS versions without any issue.
• Using its inbuilt tools, you can clip out the most important events from a sports video or include them in your highlights.
• There are also features to change the motion and pace of the video (like fast forward or slow motion).
• You can also focus on any athlete and freeze a frame on a particular skill or action.
• Besides that, you can also add voiceovers in your sports highlight video, add media layers, use its inbuilt transitions, and fine-tune the overall aesthetics of your videos.
• There are also tons of filters and presets in Filmora that you can use to save your time in editing. You can work on videos of almost every format with seamless 4K support.

Why we picked it

• Options to import/export files in different formats
• Tons of features in one place (extremely easy to use)
• Split-screen support to include multiple events in a highlight video

How to Create a Sports Highlight Video with Filmora?

With the help of Filmora , anyone can create a sports video without even prior editing/designing experience. Firstly, you can install Filmora on your Windows or Mac by visiting its website and have the footage you wish to edit. Now, you can just follow these steps to work on your next sports highlight video.

Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-sports?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )

Step 1: Add a video to Filmora

To start with, just launch Filmora on your computer and add the video that you wish to work on. You can just drag and drop the video to its interface or go to its Menu > File > Import Media to browse and load the file.

Step 2: Edit the Sports Video

In order to create a sports highlight video, the first thing that people do is trim any unwanted part. Once the video is loaded, you can view it on the timeline of the interface. Now, go to the timeline and get the trim tool to manually select the part of the video you wish to trim. After selecting the desired fragment, you can trim the clip or just delete it by clicking on their respective icons.

In the same way, you can also split your video and make other changes in it. You can also include multiple videos together and include them in your timeline as well.

If you are including multiple videos, then make sure they have the same dimensions and aspect ratio. For this, you can select the video, right-click on the timeline, and click on the crop icon. Now, select the same aspect ratio for the entire video to keep it uniform.

Most of the game highlights that we see have different speeds for various sections. That is, some actions would be fast-forwarded while some would be in slow motion. To apply this, simply select the section in the timeline, right-click, and go to the Speed and Duration settings. This will open a dedicated interface from where you can change the speed of the sports video.

Apart from manually setting the speed, you can also take the assistance of the custom speed options that are available in the timeline tools.

Step 3: Make Advanced Edits in your Sports Video

With the user-friendly interface of Filmora, you can do some basic edits and make a sports highlight video in minutes. Though, if you want to focus on some parts and make more changes, then you can use its advanced options as well.

For instance, in a highlight video, we often wish to freeze certain frames. To do this, just select a frame and use the “Freeze Frame” option from the timeline tools. You can even set the duration to freeze the selected frame.

If you have included clips from different videos, then you can apply all kinds of transitions from Filmora. In the end, you can go to its edit options and choose to close gaps as well.

To give your video a uniform and aesthetically pleasing appeal, you can also add different overlays and effects on it from Filmora’s library.

Lastly, make sure that you added sound or voiceover to your video. You can add a sound from its library or import any other music file to it. Since highlight videos mostly have voiceovers, you add the same by visiting the Record > Record Voiceover option.

Step 4: Export your video in the desired format

That’s it! Once your sports highlight video is ready, you can export it in different formats. Just go to the Export option and select the location to save the video and a preferred resolution. You can save your video in formats like MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MKV, and so on.

Expert Tips for Creating Highlight Videos

As you can see, making a sports highlight video with a tool like Filmora is extremely easy. Although to be a pro and make better videos, you can consider the following tips:

Keep it short

Make sure that you only include the highlights of the game in your video to keep it interesting. Your aim is to have a short and crisp video without any unwanted footage.

Use freeze frames and slow motion

Some games can be pretty fast-paced and the viewers might miss out on a few key details. To showcase them, you can freeze certain frames or apply slow motion.

Include other details

A sports highlight video can also be informative. You can include details about the players or the team at the start. Also, it is recommended to have sound or a voiceover in the background to narrate the events.

Pick the best clips

When you watch a game, make a note of the best moments that you know your viewers would enjoy. You can also focus on different skills that you found impressive and include them in your sports video.

I’m sure that after reading this guide, you would be able to come up with an impressive sports highlight video as well. Since you might need to make a lot of edits on a sports video, I would recommend using a diverse tool like Filmora. With the tons of editing options that it provides, you can easily create all sorts of highlight videos while saving your time and resources.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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