The fact that 300 hours of video are posted to YouTube alone every minute is rather daunting if you’ve never posted anything and are considering doing so. Add Instagram and TikTok to the mix and this makes the likelihood of posting eye-catching clips seem slim to none! Instead of shooting videos on your smartphone like millions of other people, create reels that stand out in the crowd. If you have long forgotten videos and movie reels gathering dust in your basement or corner of a closet, dig them out. While the treasures on these magnetic tapes or celluloid reels may primarily hold sentimental memories for your family, nostalgic throwback clips have a universal appeal. Of course, you can’t create something unique until you get your old videos and/or movies digitized, so that’s the first step. Wondering what exactly a highlight reel is? Read on.
What Is a Highlight Reel?
The concept of a highlight reel is the same as creating a slideshow or photo album that features your best images, except this is a collection of videos or movies. It can also include digitized slides, negatives, and photos if you wish. A highlight reel created from digitized videos and movies should only include the best footage in terms of overall interest and picture quality. To create a reel that knocks peoples’ socks off, leave everything else on the chopping block.
How to Make a Video Highlight Reel
How to make a highlight video depends on whether you have a PC or Mac, although the process is similar. It doesn’t matter if the original media was a video or movie because you’ll be working with the same digitized format. A highlight reel can include silly antics that seem quaint by today’s standards, groovy hairdos and clothing you can’t believe were once in vogue, or poignant moments reserved for close friends and family members.
Video Editing on Windows
Filmora is an easy-to-use free download editing software with excellent reviews that offers basic to more advanced editing features. This makes it a good option for beginners and experts alike. Follow these steps to create highlight reels.
- Plug the media you want to use in the appropriate drive, then scroll from “File” to “Import Media”
- Select the media you want to import
- Open Filmora
- Create a new project and give it a title
- Drag all the imported media into the editing section of Filmora, where you’ll edit the length of the reel and crop or enhance any photographs
- Organize the clips in the order you want
- Optimize the video by adding sounds, transitions, and effects
- Share with family and friends via the cloud or on sites such as YouTube and Facebook
Highlight Reel Video Editing on Mac
The iMovie app is available for free and enables you to drag photos and videos into a new project while adding text and audio to each slide. 
Here is a step-by-step guide:
- Plug the media you want to use in the appropriate drive, then scroll from “File” to “Import Media”
- Select and import the desired media
- Open iMovie
- Open a new project, and give the reel a title
- Choose a template as a theme (similar to PowerPoint)
- Drag your digitized videos, movie clips, and/or photos into the new iMovie project
- After you import them, drag all the content into the timeline at the bottom of the screen to order it and make adjustments
- To optimize your video, enhance various elements including sizing, image resolution/quality, and contrast
- To add transitions, audio, and themes, scroll through the “Effects” menu for desired options
- Share on any site you wish with friends, family, and the world if you wish
If you have digitized memories and don’t know where to begin, organizing them first makes creating a highlight reel a lot easier.
FAQs on How to Create a Highlight Reel
Starting a highlight reel involves showcasing the best and most memorable moments of a particular event, performance, or period of time. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to begin creating a highlight reel: after figuring out your narrative flow, select the key moments you want to highlight, organize the clips and choose your music. Then, add transitions and effects between clips, as well as enhancements like text and graphics. Once you’re done, simply export the reel to share with others!
Several apps have highlight reel features built right in, such as Facebook and Instagram. Their platforms make it easy to create those magical moments in no time!
The time it takes to create a highlight reel can vary significantly based on several factors, including the amount of footage you have, your editing skills, the complexity of the project, and your desired level of polish. Simple highlight reels with a shorter duration may be completed more quickly, while more complex projects with extensive editing, special effects, and a longer runtime will naturally require more time and effort. It’s important to plan accordingly and allocate sufficient time to ensure the quality and impact of your highlight reel.