These days when you head on to social media, you can easily find 4-5 seconds video clips on the internet. However, many social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and other videos sharing platforms require you to make your video longer to meet the site’s minimum length requirements. So, for example, although Instagram’s minimum length is 3 seconds, you might want to find ways to engage your audience longer.
This article will describe the best ways to make a video longer. We’ll also offer a bonus tip on how you can edit your video to make it look better and attract more audience. On that note, let’s take a look.
6 Best Methods to Make a Video Longer
There are many methods out there to make your video longer. This section will touch on the six best methods to make a video longer.
Loop the Video
One of the best ways to make your video longer for most social media platforms is to loop the video. When you replay the video several times in a single row, it helps to multiply its length. An example is taking a 2-second video and looping it 4x. This automatically makes it into an 8-second video clip. With looping, you can simply replay the action of the clip rather than altering it in any way.
Many video editing software today allows you to loop your video for free. You have to upload the video and choose how many times you would like to loop it, and the software will get to work.
Slow Down the Video Speed
We would all agree that slow-motion makes everything seem longer automatically. You can utilize the same technique when you want to make a video longer. When you slow down a video clip, every second lasts longer. Using the slow-motion effect on a 3-second video will make the video 6 or even 9 seconds longer.
Add an Intro and Outro
Intro and outro are scenes you add before and after the video; these scenes are popular in YouTube videos. More generally, an intro is like a trailer. It shows the audience what the video is about, and the outro scene is usually used to show more information about the video maker. Adding an intro and outro to your video can add 2-4 seconds to your video clips.
It’s quite easy to add an intro and outro to any video. You can create them separately and then merge them with your video. The intro must be something relevant to the video clip; an example is adding a fast photo slideshow to the beginning of your video or a black frame. Relevant intro and outro scenes will make your video longer and maybe more engaging.
Add Images to the Video
This is another trick that most bloggers use to make their videos longer. It is an old trick in the book and makes your video significantly longer, depending on the number of videos you’re adding. A single picture can add a second or two to your video. You can simply use a video editor to merge the video clip and pictures into one seamless file.
Boomerang Your Video
If you have plans to upload your media to Instagram, then a top feature you can use to make your video longer is the boomerang feature. Instagram introduced the Boomerang feature to play short video clips forward and then repeat their reverse. So by using the Boomerang feature, you don’t only add a memory effect to your video, but you also make your video longer.
Alternatively, you can manually append your video clip to a reversed version; this option allows you to make a boomerang from an existing clip. Apart from Instagram, you can utilize many other editing tools to create a boomerang from an existing video.
Add More Content to Your Video Clip
Another step you can take is to add more materials to your video. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get your camera out and start shooting more scenes to add to your video. Instead, you can simply access online media libraries and get amazing materials from there that are relevant to your video clip.
Today, most professional video editors offer you access to royalty-free photos and music material. You can simply browse through their collections and pick materials relevant to your video. For example, you could add a soundtrack and videos or GIFs that make your videos engaging. Adding extra content to your video clip can make it longer by 10 seconds.
Bonus Tips: How to Edit Video Easily on a Computer
Social media platforms offer you basic video editing features that you can use to optimize your video. However, these features are limited in what they can provide you with. If you want to have more control over the editing of your video clip and make it look even more professional, you should try Wondershare Filmora. This video editing tool is powerful and provides you with more editing features to ensure you get the result you want.
Filmora offers users over 300 effects like motion elements, overlays, titles, music sounds, and many more features to make your video more engaging and attractive. Using this app is relatively easy as well, and it offers users the option of changing the file format of their video if the social media platform does not support the original format.
If you would like to edit your video to give it a more engaging and professional look, follow the simple steps below.
Step 1: Import Video to Wondershare Filmora
First, you need to download the app on your device. After that, you can download it from the official website. Luckily, Wondershare Filmora supports Windows and Mac OS. Once you download the file, install and launch the app to get started.
On the menu, click on create a new project to begin. Next, click on the import button, and from the dropdown menu, choose ‘import media file.’ Alternatively, you can simply drag the video directly to the media library of this video editor. In addition, Filmora allows you to preview your video as you add different features to optimize the video.
If your video is shaky, you can use the stabilization feature to make it more stable. Simply right-click on the video in the preview window and select the option. Once you are sure, the video is ok, drag and drop it into the timeline to start editing your video.
Step 2: Cut, Slip, Rotate, or Color-Tune Your Video
You can use many features to shape your video quickly on Wondershare Filmora. For example, you can use the scissors tool to cut or split your video. You can also use the transform tool to rotate and flip your video if you would prefer. In addition, Filmora allows you to add some advanced color tuning to your video with the color feature. This automatically makes your video even more beautiful.
Step 3: Add Filters and Effects to Your Video
Additionally, Wondershare Filmora allows you to choose different transitions, graphics, tiles, texts, sound effects, titles, filters, overlays, and elements for your videos. With this video editing tool, you can get the exact look and sound you’re looking to achieve. In addition, there are different effect tabs above the timeline that directs you to the right feature you would like to include in your video.
You can just drag these effects and drop them on the timeline to apply to your video. Filmora has over 100 in-built filters and royalty-free music you can implement on your video. If you’re not sure which feature you’re looking for. Simply experiment and undo the effect till you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Step 4: Save and Share Edited Video
Once you’re satisfied with your video clip, you can now proceed to save it. You can choose to save the video to your local folder or a storage device you’d prefer. Wondershare Filmora allows you to save in the original format or change the format to your preferred option. Filmora also allows you to change your video’s resolution and bit rate to your preference. Alternatively, you can upload your video to video-sharing platforms like Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube, etc. You can also burn the video into a DVD collection if that’s what you’re looking for.
Final Thoughts
Social media platforms are great for gaining recognition and promoting your brand. However, there are times when you don’t meet the right video length, and you would like to make your video longer. With the six methods explained above, you can make your video as long as you want and also make your video more engaging. Additionally, you can use Wondershare Filmora to make your video more professional-looking. It offers you hundreds of effects and filters you can use to optimize your video.
Meta Description: If your video is short and you need to make it longer, this article gives you six methods to make a video longer and optimize them.