How to edit TikTok videos with every tool available

You can add many effects to spice up your TikTok videos, and it may be overwhelming to know where to start. Take some time to experiment with different features, and don’t stress being too precise. You don’t need perfect edits or flawless lighting to capture your personality. Here’s how to edit TikTok videos using the various camera tools available.

Read more: How to make TikTok videos: A beginners guide

How to edit TikTok videos

After recording or uploading a video to TikTok from your device, you enter the editing stage. There are many options to choose from along the right-hand side, so let’s start from the top and work our way down.

Add sound

At the top center, you will see the option to Add sound. If your video doesn’t already contain sound, you might consider adding a song to fit the theme you’re going for. TikTok will suggest songs based on the video contents it can analyze, but you can search for specific soundtracks or add any saved favorites to your edit. Learn more in our guide on making your own sounds on TikTok.

You can tap the scissor icon beside a song to trim sections from it and adjust the Volume via the option in the bottom right corner.

Text

If you want to add text to your video, tap the Aa icon in the top right. You can then type a custom message and select your preferred font style and color. If you want an Ai speech-bot to narrate your text, you can also use the text-to-speech feature. 

When you’re happy with it, tap Done. You can then pinch the text with your fingers to adjust its size and place it where you would like on the screen.

Stickers

Stickers add some fun visuals to your video. You can place them anywhere you like for as long as you want on your videos. Most stickers even move while the video is playing. Type anything into the search bar to see a selection of related stickers.

When you find the one you like, you can place it anywhere on your video. Press and hold the sticker to edit how long it remains on the TikTok video, or leave it as is for the entire duration.

Effects

You can add some flair to your videos using TikTok effects. There are visual effects, motion effects, transition effects, and more. Try out a few different ones to see how they look. Once you find one you like, press and hold the effect icon to apply it to a part of the video and release it when you no longer want it used. The red portions along the video timeline indicate when the effect is applied.

To undo an effect, tap the Back arrow to the right-hand side. If you scroll to the far right of the bottom options, you can warp and edit the Time of the TikTok video. You can play sections in reverse, repeat segments of the video, or apply slow-motion to specific parts like an action movie.

Adjust clips

You can cut the video length down by adjusting clips. Just tap and drag the sides of the video timeline in red to cut off the beginning or ending segments of the video.

You can also tap the Timer icon to slow down or speed up the video playback by either half or twice as much. If you want to Rotate the video frame, tap the icon with the arrow around the square to the left.

You can also use the adjust clips feature to create jump cuts. If you choose to upload multiple TikTok videos, you can edit them to end and begin in sequence to make a sudden cut to a different scene for dramatic or comedic effect.

Voice over

If you’d like to add some narration to your video, you can record a voice-over. Drag the slider across your video to where you want to start recording and hold the record button to overlay that section with your voice. You can listen to it and tap Save or Undo to try again.

Another type of voice-over you can use is Captions. TikTok will detect any speaking in your video and generate closed captions for the hearing impaired.

Enhance

The last editing option along the right-hand side is Enhance. This one is relatively straightforward and cleans up your video quality by enhancing the brightness and sharpness effects. If you want something to look nice, it can be worth it, but otherwise, it’s unnecessary, especially if you are using many visual effects.

Read more: Ten best TikTok alternatives and apps for Android

FAQs

Can you edit TikTok videos after posting?

Unfortunately, you cannot edit a TikTok after you post the video. However, you can download the video by tapping on the share icon, selecting Save video, and then re-upload the video as a new TikTok to make any required edits. Note that you will lose any previous likes or engagement as it is a new video.

Can you edit videos together on TikTok?

Yes, you can upload as many videos as you like and edit them together using the Adjust clips feature.