Access to Echo360’s editing tool is available from your Echo360 Library. You can access your Echo360 video library from Canvas by going to the left hand menu in your course site, then clicking on Echo360 > Library or by going to https://www.echo360.org and logging in with your WPI credentials.
Click on the Video in your Library you’d like to make edits to to open the Media Details page.
Click Edit Media option below the preview panel, identified in the below image.
Once we’re in the editing interface, you can see the tools available to make edits.
Toolbar
On the right hand side under the video playback area, you’ll see a toolbar with several buttons. The question mark is access to Echo360 Help articles, arrows which allow you to undo or redo an action, the trash can to delete a segment of video, Actions drop down menu (details below), and to a button to Save your work.
Get Help
The question mark icon opens a side panel that contains the Editor Shortcuts article. This includes a list of the keyboard shortcuts for the tools described on this page as well as links to video tutorials for using the editor, and links to Echo360 help articles.
Undo and Redo
The EchoVideo video editor allows you to undo and redo your edits as you go along. Use the Undo and Redo buttons shown below to revert or restore any changes you’ve made.
Delete Segment
Discussed in more detail in Echo360’s help article Removing Video Segments and Inserting Other Media, the Trash Can icon, identified below, is used for deleting any segment of the video that you have placed cut marks around.
Actions Button
The Actions button is a drop-down menu on the right hand side of the interface which contains multiple commands or actions.
Clear Unsaved Changes – This reverts all changes made during the current editing session, or since you last clicked Save.
Restore To Original – Reverts all changes ever made to the video and restores the original video file. This option is only active if you have selected to edit a video that had previous edits applied to it. It also means that if you made changes and saved at some earlier time, using this command REMOVES all earlier edits as well as any you may be making now.
Set Thumbnail – This allows you to choose a new thumbnail for your video from a still frame within the video or you can upload a custom image.
Save As – Creates a new version of the media from the changes you made.
If you are an instructor or teaching assistant, you also have the option to Save Course Copy, which expands the box and lets you post the new media to a class in a course section.
You can use the Save As command in the Actions menu to save your changes as a new media file. If you would like to save versions of your work as you go, this is how I recommend to do it.
Save
Do not use this Save button until you are FINISHED editing completely. It is more like a “Publish” button. The editor will save your work as you go. This Save button will begin processing your changes immediately. There are more details on this at the end of this article.
Editing and Removing Video Segments
The cut marker is that blue “signpost” indicator in the editing panel. It identifies WHERE any change you select will occur. The marker itself contains the following buttons:
- A left bracket for “trim in” to identify a new beginning location for the video
- A right bracket for “trim out” to identify a new ending location for the video
- A menu button in the middle, which when clicked provides Insert Clip, Split Clip, and Set Thumbnail commands. The menu is open in the below image.
Advanced Video Editing Instructions:
Trim in and Trim out actions: Trimming and Splitting Videos.
Insert Clip and Split Clip commands: Removing Video Segments and Inserting Other Media.
Custom preview images: Applying a Custom Thumbnail and Preview Image for Videos
Playback and Cut Markers
Use the playback controls in the TOP “playback” section of the editor page to play the recording and move the playhead. This makes it very easy to find specific locations to mark or cut.
The cut marker is that blue “signpost” indicator in the editing panel. It identifies WHERE any change you select will occur, and contains a menu button, and “top” and “tail” buttons described later on this page.
There are several ways to move the playhead/cut marker to the location you want:
- Play the video to the location you want to work with.
- Use the Skip Forward/Back buttons in the video player to move the playhead by 10 seconds in either direction.
- Click on the playhead and use your right and left arrow keys skip forward or back 10 seconds.
- Click and drag the playhead to any location in the video.
- Click ON the playback timeline to move the playhead to that location.
- Click and drag the cut marker to an approximate location. You can then use the player to play or scrub in the video player and fine tune that location.
Trim In
This removes the beginning of your video.
The left bracket icon on the cut marker, identified below and located left of the menu button lets you mark a NEW BEGINNING LOCATION for the video. This action is referred to as “Top” or “Trim in“. Move the marker to a new location to make the icon active; it’s logically not available if the marker is still at the current beginning of the video.
Trim Out
This allows you to mark a new end location for your video.
The right bracket icon on the cut marker, identified in the below figure and located to the right of the menu button, lets you mark A NEW END location for the video. This action is referred to as “Tail” or “Trim out“. Move the marker to a new location to make the icon active; it’s logically not available if the marker is still at the current end-point of the video.
Saving your Video Edits
Please note! The Save button, shown below, applies your changes to THIS video file and immediately sends the video to the media processor. In this case, you are automatically exited out of the editor.
Do not use this Save button until you are finished editing.
After saving, the processing of your changes begins immediately. After the processing is finished, the edited version replaces playback of the original in all locations it may reside. However, processing may take some time to finish, depending on the video length and the number of edits.
1. Students or other users will not see the edited version until processing is complete.
2. You should not try to re-edit the video until the initial changes are processed.
For more information about editing your educational videos, email atc-ttl@wpi.edu.