Reaction videos are one of the most popular genres on YouTube. They are such a big trend, there is even a Wikipedia page for this phenomenon! So, if you want to shoot one hoping to get those extra views for your channel, that’s a brilliant idea.

In the tutorial below, we’ll show you how to make reaction videos on your computer step by step, covering preparation, editing, and publishing. For the second stage, we’ll be using VSDC – a free video editing suite for Windows.

It’s perfect for reaction videos because it includes every tool you might need in the process:

• A webcam video recorder
• A desktop screen recorder
• And a video editor with a picture-in-picture effect

All of that is completely free with no watermarks or trial periods.

You can download VSDC here

Now, without further ado, let’s get started.

What is considered a reaction video?

As New York Times Magazine puts it, the idea behind reactions videos is having people “watching screens on which people watched screens”. Originally started by Fine Brothers, reaction videos usually include one of the following:

• A person or a group of people reacting to something, sometimes unaware of being recorded.
• You – the creator – recording your own reactions to a video or a game, for instance.

From a practical standpoint, the only difference is whether you will need to mount (maybe even hide) a camera to record other people’s reactions or use the web camera connected to your PC.

How to shoot a reaction video and avoid common mistakes

If you’ve never recorded reaction videos, you may encounter few hidden pitfalls. The most common ones are shaky footage, bad sound, and… lack of emotions.

Here is a rule of thumb. If you want to make a captivating reaction video, the reaction in it must be very visual. Ideally, extreme. Facial expressions and sounds people make when they see something they absolutely love or hate are the cornerstone of a great reaction video. So, if you are going to choose clips to react to, keep in mind that their main goal is to provoke emotions. Otherwise, there’s little point to record it in the first place.

Here are some ideas for reaction videos if you need inspiration:

• React to a new video by a well-known artist
• Or an old video by an absolutely unknown, foreign band
• React to commercials from the 90s
• Record someone’s reaction to a big moment in a movie
• Record different people’s reactions to the same piece of news
• React to your viewers’ comments
• React to your own old videos or photos
• Utilize the Fine Brothers’ idea and use your young siblings or grandparents to record their reactions to some modern world facts (but ask their permission first)

Now, another critical point here is having high-quality sound and a stable camera. Keep in mind that if you’re recording someone’s reaction while the video is playing loudly, your mic will capture both – the sound of the video and the voices. So you may want to use an external microphone close to the person being recorded to get a decent sound. If you’re recording your own reactions, using a headset is a good idea.

Removing camera shakiness is not too difficult with video stabilization software, but it’s always better if you ensure its stable position instead. Consider a tripod or a steady surface if you’re using an external webcam.

How to make a reaction video: the editing part

If you already have both videos – the emotion-provoking footage and the recording of someone’s reaction to it saved on your computer – it’s time to put them together. You’ll be surprised how quick and easy the editing part will be!

1. Launch VSDC and hit the “Import content” button on the start screen. Select the original video you’ve recorded reaction to from your PC. A “Project settings” window will pop up, just click “Finish”.
2. Now the footage is placed in the scene, and you need to add the video with the reaction. To do that, use the green “Add object” button from the top menu and select “Video”. Upload the second file to the program. The “Object position settings” window will pop up – select “Add a new layer” in the last column. This way, the second video will be layered over the original footage.
3. Resize it using handles and drag to the corner of the scene. Typically, it’s the top or the bottom right corner, but it’s really up to you where to place it. Ideally, it should be aligned with your gaze, but it’s not always the case, especially when you’re recording someone else’s reaction.
4. At this point, you have both videos in the scene. All you need to do is synchronize their appearance by shifting the layers along the timeline and using the Preview button to see how everything looks.
   Quick tip: to make the synchronization process easier, think of control points. They can be sounds or visual notes that will tell you exactly what part of the video the viewers are watching. For example, let’s say you’re recording your friend’s reaction while they are watching a big moment in a movie. Notice what exactly they say or do when they start watching the video and let it be your marker when you start aligning the footage.
5. If you need to trim any of the files, VSDC has a quick tool to split video into parts, and if you need to adjust the volume, here is the guide to help you.
6. To export the final version, go to the Export project tab, select "Web --> For YouTube", and hit "Export project".
7. If you want the project to export faster, choose to upgrade when the program prompts you to. If not, click “Continue”.
8. At the last step, you’ll see a popup suggesting you upload your video to YouTube directly from the program. Note that if you select to do so, you’ll be asked to log in to your Google account.

How to record your own reaction video in VSDC

Remember we mentioned VSDC offers a desktop screen recorder and a webcam video capturing tools on board? Along with the editor, it makes a perfect combination if you want to record your own reactions. Here is a brief guide:

1. Launch VSDC Free Video Capture. It comes as a part of the package, so it will be installed to your PC automatically.
2. Connect it to your webcam and hit “Start recording”. Then minimize the window.
3. Launch VSDC Free Screen Recorder.
4. Adjust the frame to define the area on the screen you want to record and hit “Record” in the top left corner of the frame.
5. Now you’re recording your desktop screen and yourself simultaneously. It’s time to either open the video you want to record your reaction to or launch the video game – depending on what your idea is.
   Quick tip: VSDC is surprisingly lightweight and requires minimum PC resources. However, if you have a really low-spec computer, having so many apps launched at the same time will not be easy for your processor. So if you start experiencing crashes and hiccups, consider alternative ways to record the video. For example, use a webcam that’s not connected to your PC and just upload the video file later. Or launch the video you’re recording reaction to on a separate device.
6. Once finished, stop and close both recorders. The recorded videos are typically saved to the following folder: C:\Users\Owner\Videos\Recorded Videos\
7. Launch VSDC Free Video Editor, import the recordings, and follow the steps described in the instruction above.

In the process, you may need to split, cut, and crop the unwanted parts of the footage, add text or remove audio. Here are the guides to help you with these tasks:

• How to split a video into parts
• How to remove audio from video
• How to add text to a video
• How to crop video borders

How to make a reaction video without getting a copyright strike from YouTube?

You’ve surely heard of the copyright law and YouTube being strict about it.

When it comes to reaction videos, there is a lot of controversy. On the one hand, the doctrine of fair use comes into play (read all about it here). That is, using copyrighted materials is considered acceptable as long as you add commentary, criticism, research, news reporting, or teaching elements to the video. On the other hand, such definition may sound vague and lead to misunderstanding. To avoid misinterpretation, we suggest you familiarize yourself with 4 factors of fair use. According to those factors, your video can’t be serving commercial purposes, it shouldn’t prevent the copyright owner from gaining profit from his original content, and it’s always recommended to include bits of the original work rather than using it entirely.

In other words, if you cite the original source, give credits, treat the original work respectfully, and use just fragments of someone else’s video, chances are it will be considered fair use.

That said, we are unable to provide legal advice on that matter, so if you have any doubts, you might want to consult with a lawyer.

What to do next

Now that you know how to make a reaction video, check out the YouTube channel called React. It is started by the Fine Brothers – the ones who made the reaction video genre famous, so you will learn from the best. Then download VSDC to your computer and jump on creating your own. Good luck!

Way too often decent videos come with a low-quality sound. The reasons vary: unexpected noises in the background, wind whistling, or even a microphone mistakenly covered by the operator’s finger. As a result, while editing the footage, you might need to remove the sound from the video and replace it with music or a voice recording.

There are several ways to do that including two-click tricks that will let you mute a video in literally 3 seconds. In the article below, we’ll describe three methods and explain the benefits of each. We’ll also look into further steps you might want to take – say, removing audio noise or changing the volume of a part of the audio.

For the tutorial, we’ll be using free video editing software named VSDC. It’s designed for Windows OS and requires minimum system resources.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor

Essentially, there are two ways to remove sound from a video: by muting it and by deleting the original audio track completely from the file. The former is the easiest and the fastest option if you just need to silence the video. The latter is more convenient if you want to replace the original audio with a new soundtrack. Let’s go over each method.

How to remove audio from video: method #1

We’ll start with a quick trick where the original audio track remains a part of the file but becomes absolutely silent. To try it out, import a video file to VSDC Free Video Editor and follow these two steps:

1. Use the right mouse button to click on the video you need to mute.
2. Select “Audio effects --> Amplitude --> Silence” as illustrated below.

Now, essentially, what you do is add a “Silence” layer over the video. It means the audio remains a part of the file but gets muted by the filter. And since you can easily shrink, stretch, and move layers with a mouse, this method will work for silencing the entire video or muting just a part of it. For the latter, adjust the size of the “Silence” layer with a mouse and move it to the part of the footage you need to mute.

Quick tip: if the main reason you want to remove audio from video is the background noise, you might also consider noise-reducing filters available in VSDC. A detailed tutorial on noise reduction is published here.

How to mute audio in a video: method #2

That first method was easy, wasn’t it? Now, the next method is two clicks longer (which makes it 4 clicks). Here is how to perform it:

1. Import a video you need to mute to VSDC Free Video Editor.
2. Use the right mouse button to click on the video and select “Properties”. The “Properties window” will slide in from the right-hand side of the editor.
3. Scroll down to the “Audio track” field and switch to “Don’t use audio”.

This method gives you less flexibility. When you use it, you technically choose to disregard the sound of the selected file entirely. That doesn’t, however, prevent you from adding an audio file to the project and using it as a new soundtrack.

How to remove sound from video by deleting the audio track: method #3

If you prefer, you can go one step further and delete the audio track of your file completely. To do that, follow the steps below:

1. Use the right mouse button to click on the file you need to mute and select “Properties” from the menu. The “Properties window” will slide in from the right-hand side.
2. Scroll down to the very bottom and use the light green “Split to video and audio” button. Once you do, you’ll see that the soundtrack now appears as a separate layer on the timeline.
3. Select it and hit Delete.

Having a soundtrack layer separated is also convenient when you need to cut out or modify a fragment of the audio. Here is a detailed video on how to change the volume of a part of the audio in VSDC.

How to replace audio with another soundtrack or voice commentaries

We’ve shown you 3 methods to remove audio from a video. Now, let’s see what to do next. In most cases, you don’t want your video to stay silent, so you might need to upload a new soundtrack. To do that, just click the “Add object” button and choose “Audio” or use the Shift + A keyboard combination. Once the uploaded audio track is on the timeline, adjust the sound to go along with the video by moving the new track along the layer. If you need to trim the file or cut out a part of it, use this tutorial. Splitting audio files in VSDC works exactly the same way as splitting videos.

Finally, if you need to record voice comments for the video, you can do that right in VSDC as well. The voice capturing tool is available in the free version of the program and it allows you to create voiceovers with minimum effort. You’ll be able to add the voice recording to the timeline as a new layer and adjust it just like you would do with any other audio file. Watch our instructions on adding voice over video here.

Now that you know how to mute, remove, and replace an audio track, go ahead and try it for yourself. Pick the most convenient method and start your montage experiments!

Drop us a message on Facebook if you have any questions and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials.

Zooming in and out on videos is one of our favorite features because it serves so many goals.

Here is just a couple of ideas on what you can achieve with it:

• Focus. Drive the attention of your viewers to a particular area or an object in your video.
• Clarification. Zoom in to give your audience a detailed view of the object you’re talking about in the video. It’s especially relevant for technical tutorials. We use quite a lot on our YouTube channel, actually.
• Drama. Ta-da! Apply the zoom-in effect just before changing a scene to create a more dramatic transition. Or gradually zoom out on a video to achieve the illusion of scaling.

And we’ve just scratched the surface!

So if you want to start using the zoom-in effect in your videos, you’re on the right page. Below, you’ll find a newbie-friendly step-by-step guide to using zoom in videos. We’ll show you both the instant zoom and the gradual zoom effects. At the end of the article, we’ll also link to the popular zoom-based effects: pan and zoom, zoom fade, and smooth zoom blur transitions.

Before starting, you’ll need to download VSDC Free Video Editor – the software we’ll be using for the tutorial. It’s absolutely free, places no watermarks on your video after export, and has no format limitations.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor (Windows only)

Now, VSDC is a non-linear video editor and provides several ways to apply the zoom-in and zoom-out effects. In this tutorial, we’ll take the easiest approach and show you how to zoom in on a video using the cropping tool. The idea behind it is that you “crop out” the area you need to show closer and set it up to take over the entire scene for the desired time.

Ready to dive in? Follow the instructions below.

How to zoom in on a video instantly

Once you’ve downloaded and launched VSDC on your computer, import a video you’ll be working with. Ideally, it should be high-quality footage so when you zoom in, it won’t look pixelated.

1. When the video is added to the timeline, place the cursor at the moment in time when you’d like the zoom-in effect to go into action.
2. Then go to the “Video effects” tab and select “Transforms --> Crop”.
3. A pop-up window with the object’s position settings will appear. Leave everything as is and press Ok. This way, the effect will start from the cursor position and last until the end of the video.
4. If you want the zooming effect to last just a few moments, simply grab the borderline of the layer and drag it to the left.
5. Now go to the Properties window on the right-hand side, scroll down to “Crop effect settings” and click “Crop tools”. You’ll see a contoured frame on the video.
6. Resize and move the frame to the area you want to zoom in on a video – see the illustration below.
7. Go back to the Properties window and use the “Apply effect” button. You’ll see that the part of the scene you selected is now cropped and enlarged in the Preview window.
8. Return the cursor to the beginning of the scene and check the result. Stretch, shrink, or move the Crop effect layer on the timeline if needed.

How to zoom in on a video gradually

Gradual zoom looks smoother and makes a perfect transition between scenes. In VSDC, gradual zoom can be applied via the cropping tool, too. Half of the steps will repeat the above-described path, so feel free to jump to step #5.

1. When the video is added to the timeline, place the cursor to the moment in time when you’d like the zoom-in effect to go into action.
2. Then go to the “Video effects” tab and select “Transforms --> Crop”.
3. A pop-up window with the object’s position settings will appear. Leave everything as is and press Ok. This way, the effect will start from the cursor position and last until the end of the video.
4. Now go to the Properties window on the right-hand side, scroll down to “Crop effect settings” and click “Crop tools”. You’ll see a contoured frame on the video.
5. Resize and move the frame to the area you want to zoom in.
6. Now go to the Properties window and scroll down to the “Cropped borders” menu. There are 4 borders there: Left, Top, Right, and Bottom. Notice that each one has a coordinate and a dash in front of it. Click on the dash once to switch from “Constant parameter value” to “Linear parameter change”.
7. Once you do that, each border will have 2 coordinate values: one for the beginning of the effect and one for the end of the effect. That means zooming will be stretched over time.
8. Set the initial values for each border to the following:
   • Left - 0
   • Top - 0
   • Right - 100
   • Bottom – 100
     Notice that the final values should remain untouched since step #5. Having the initial and the final values differ is the whole point of gradual zoom.
9. Use the “Apply effect” button and preview the result.

Now, using the same logic, you can apply a gradual zoom-out effect. The only difference here will be that the values 0; 0; 100; 100 should be set for the final coordinates of each border.

Remember, you can always adjust the duration of the effect as well as the time it starts and finishes. To do that, grab the Crop layer and move it back or forward on the timeline. Once you’re happy with how the effect looks, go ahead and save the video to your PC using the “Export project” tab.

Awesome effects and transitions involving zooming in on a video

Hopefully, you’ve got the idea and now will be able to replicate the zooming effect for your projects.  Once you get the hang of it, you might want to check out the following video tutorials showing how this feature can be used for adding dynamics to your video:

• Pan and zoom effect. Also known as Ken Burns effect and originally used to add motion to still images, it allows for focusing on details and panning across the scene.
• Zoom blur transition is one of the most popular transitions on the Internet. It creates such incredibly capturing dynamics that will probably save even the most boring video.
• Zoom fade transition looks great when applied to titles as well as images or videos and might serve well for opening scenes.

Some of these tutorials employ VSDC Pro features available in the premium subscription. However, the subscription is only $19.99, it’s valid for a year and is certainly worth the money if you’re enthusiastic about video editing.

Subscribe to VSDC YouTube channel for more inspiration!

Do you need to protect your clips from being copied? Or willing to promote your brand through video content? Video watermarks are a proven way to do that. They may appear as text or as an image, and they can cover most of the visual part - stretched to the dimension of the video - or sit quietly in the corner.

If it sounds like something you’ve been looking for, keep reading this tutorial. We’ll show you how to add a watermark to a video using free video editing software called VSDC. After you read the instructions, placing a watermark over a video will take you two-three minutes or even less. And unlike a watermark on a picture, this one won’t be easy to remove because it will be literally embedded into each frame of your video (in fact it’s highly unlikely anyone will be able to remove it at all).

Download VSDC Free Video Editor here

Technically, a watermark is an added object placed over footage and visible throughout the entire video. In other words, you need to have an extra layer in your project where a watermark - your text or your logo - will be located. We’ll start with a text watermark and then show you how you can create a watermark with your logo or any other image. You may want to check out the video tutorial before reading the text instructions below.

How to add a text watermark to a video

After downloading and launching VSDC on your computer, go ahead and import the video you want to place a watermark on.

1. Once it is placed on the timeline, you’ll need to add a text to your video. The corresponding icon is located on the left-hand side of the menu and looks like a “T” letter.
2. When you click on the “T” icon, the “Object’s position settings” window will pop up. Choose “Whole parent duration” in the first column.
3. Place the cursor on the scene to create a space for the watermark. If you misplace it – no worries, you’ll be able to move the watermark at any moment.
4. Type text in the field you’ve just created. You’ll notice that a text editing menu has appeared at the top of the interface – use it to design your watermark.
5. Play around with the settings changing font, size, thickness, and other parameters of the text. If you want to use a specific font, and it’s absent from the dropdown menu, download it to your PC first – and then VSDC will “pick it up” automatically. There are multiple websites where you’ll find free fonts to download, here is a list of them.
6. Here, you can decide how thick the borders of the letters should be and adjust the text opacity to make the watermark transparent. The latter is located in the “Text color” tab – see the illustration below.

7. Click on the watermark with the left mouse button and use the dragging motion to place it exactly where you want in the scene. If in the process of editing, you’ve added more files to the timeline, make sure that the text layer is the same size as your entire project. You can stretch the layer manually if needed.
8. Once ready, go ahead and save the video to your computer using the “Export project” tab.

How to add a logo watermark to a video

If you need to add a watermark to a video, and you need it to be an image – say, your logo or any other creative – you can do that too. Ideally, you want to use a high-quality PNG image with a transparent background, however, colored logos will do as well. Here is how the process goes step by step:

1. After you import the video to VSDC, go ahead and click on the “Add object” icon. Select “Image” and upload the creative from your computer.
2. In the “Object’s position settings” window, select “Whole parent duration” in the first column.
3. Move it around and resize if necessary.
4. Go to the “Tools” menu located at the top of the interface and click on the icon that looks like a wrench – the Opacity setting will be available there. Adjust the scale until the image is at the right transparency level.
5. Make sure the layer with the watermark on your timeline is exactly the same size as the entire video unless you only want it to appear for a particular moment.
6. Save the video to your PC using the “Export project” tab.

Now that you know how to add a watermark to a video, go ahead and explore our 3 most popular tutorials:

• How to apply a slow-motion effect to a video
• How to create a picture-in-picture effect
• How to blur objects in a video to hide them from the viewers