TikTok Video Editor is TikTok Ads Manager's web-based video editor that gives you access to a suite of TikTok-style editing features.
Want to see what the tool can do? Check out the video to see TikTok Video Editor in action.
How to use TikTok Video Editor
There are four steps to creating videos using the TikTok Video Editor.
Access the tool
Add assets to the timeline
Edit your content
Preview and create
Step 1: Access the tool and create a draft
You can access TikTok Video Editor from two locations in TikTok Ads Manager:
1. From the Ad module: select Single Video as the format, and then click Create a video.
2. Go to Tools and select TikTok Video Editor.
3. If you want to start working on an editing project, but haven't yet uploaded any materials, you will need to create a project draft. To create one, click Create a new draft after opening the tool.
Step 2: Add assets to timeline
Once you open the tool, you will need to add your assets to the editor, and then arrange and layer them on the timeline to create your final video. In this context, assets refer to the footage, images, music, text, and stickers you use to create your video.
Note: Your video drafts will automatically save. You can access your video drafts by opening up the tool from your Assets > Creatives > Videos page.
Add video and images
1. Select the Film clip icon.
2. Upload your video/images or select them from your account's asset library.
To upload footage to the editor, click New Uploads and add your content from your computer.
To choose footage from your assets, select Assets, and find the video/image you want to use in your edit.
3. Once you have uploaded/selected the content you wish to use, you will need to add your footage to your timeline. Adding your footage to the timeline will create a media track, which you will use to organize and layer your footage, text, and music.
4. Drag and drop them directly onto the media track in your video's timeline.
5. Hover your mouse over your footage, and click the + icon on footage's right-hand corner. This will instantly add the footage to your timeline.
Add music
1. Click the Music note icon.
2. Select the All Music tab, then upload your music or select from our music library.
3. To use a soundtrack from the music library, you can browse music by Recommended for You, Metal, Children's, Folk, Pop, etc.
4. To upload music, click the upload icon, and then add your music from your desktop.
5. Add your music to the timeline.
Drag and drop the track directly in the timeline.
Hover your mouse over the track and add by clicking the + icon.
Add text and subtitles
1. Click on the Text icon.
2. Select the style of the text you wish to use in your video.
3. Drag the text to the timeline or hover your mouse over the text and click +.
4. Double-click the text's media track in the timeline to pull up the text editor.
5. Write your copy in the text box and select your desired formatting options.
6. To adjust the position and change the size of your text box, click your text's media track and then use your mouse to re-size or change the position of your text in the video in the preview module.
Add stickers
1. Click the Sticker icon on the top menu.
2. Browse our library of stickers, and choose from:
TikTok Stickers: These stickers are popular on TikTok.
Regular Stickers: These stickers are suitable for general use.
Commercial Stickers: These stickers will help you promote your brand or products.
Holiday Stickers: These stickers are holiday-themed.
3. When you select a sticker you like, you can add it to the timeline by clicking + or dragging it to the timeline. Then you can:
Move the position of the sticker in the timeline,
Change its layer on the timeline.
Adjust its size and position from the preview screen.
Arrange assets on the timeline
1. After creating the media tracks in your video's timeline, you may want to re-arrange the footage, trim/cut your content, or create a new media track.
Use your mouse to drag and drop each media track into your desired location on your video's timeline. To identify the location of your media track in your final video, reference the time code shown at the top of the timeline.
2. To trim or adjust the length of your media tracks:
Select a media track and then grab the end handles to isolate or extend the desired footage.
Hover your mouse over the media track to pull up the scissors icon and then cut the desired clip.
To create a new media track from an asset in the timeline, drag the asset to a new position in the timeline.
3. Once you've added your media tracks, you can freely arrange and re-size them. Just click the asset in the preview screen, and then re-size the asset by dragging the 8 black positioning dots to your desired placement.
Note:
The order of your media tracks is essential. The top-most media track will be displayed in front, while the bottom track is displayed at the back.
TikTok Video Editor can support up to 30 media tracks per video.
You can save drafts of your unfinished projects.
Step 3: Edit your assets
When creating your video, you may want to edit some of your video's assets. Currently, the TikTok Video Editor supports the ability to:
Add effects and transitions
Crop videos/images
Erase objects from videos/images
Adjust the volume levels of your music and videos
Separate audio tracks from videos
Format text
Select an aspect ratio
Auto-Caption
Quick Translation
Convert-to-Vertical
Text-to-Speech
Before you begin
You may find it helpful to assemble your edits in full-screen editing mode. To enable full screen, click the Full Screen toggle on the top right corner of the media track.
To add transitions
There are two different ways to add a transition between your video media tracks.
1. Click the Transition icon and drag it to your desired location in the timeline and select the type of transition from the Transition panel.
2. Click the + button between two media tracks, then choose which transition you would like to add by clicking the + button from the transition panel; this will automatically insert the transition.
To add effects
1. Select the media track to add a visual effect.
2. Click the magic wand icon.
3. Then select the effect from the Effect panel and add it to a video track.
To crop video & images
1. Select a media track you wish to crop.
2. Access the crop tool.
Click the crop icon in the toolbar over the timeline.
Click the crop icon in the toolbar over the video preview area.
3. Select an aspect ratio to crop your footage.
4. Use your mouse to position the cropping frame and use the blue corners to change its size.
5. Confirm your crop by clicking the checkmark at the bottom of the preview field.
To erase objects from videos and images
1. Select a media track from where you can erase an object.
2. Access the object erase tool.
Click the eraser icon in the toolbar over the timeline.
Click the eraser icon in the toolbar over the video preview area.
3. From the preview field, use the eraser tool to highlight the element you wish to remove from your footage - any item you erase will be highlighted in pink.
4. After you have selected the items to erase, click the checkmark at the bottom of the preview field to confirm your actions.
Note: The object eraser is a smart removal tool and will replace erased content with elements based on the video/image's surrounding details.
To adjust the volume of a video track
1. Select the media track of the video or music.
2. Click the media track to pull up the editing options.
3. Adjust the volume using the slider.
To adjust the volume of an audio track
1. Click the media track.
2. Then adjust the volume using the slider in the asset selection window.
To separate an audio track from a video
1. Click the video asset with audio on the media track.
2. The Split Audio Track button will then appear next to the preview screen.
3. Click the Split Audio Track to split the audio from the video.
4. There will now be a new media track in the timeline of the video's audio.
To format text
1. Select the media track of your text or subtitle.
2. Click the media track to pull up the text editor.
3. From the text editor, use the available options to customize:
Text and copy
Font
Font size
Font color
Background color
Font Style
4. To adjust your text box's position and relative size, click the media track, and then re-position and re-size the text box from the preview window.
To select an aspect ratio
Choose the aspect ratio for the video you are working on by selecting one on bottom left corner of the preview screen.
Use Auto Caption to Add Subtitles
Auto-Caption is a feature that recognizes the speech of the original video and automatically generates subtitles for the video.
1. Select the media track to apply subtitles.
2. Click the Auto caption button and choose the original language in your assets.
3. Click Generate caption and then you will have captions generated on the track.
Use Quick Translation to Translate Text Into a Selected Language
Quick Translation is a translated text feature, which translates text into a selected language.
1. Select the media track to apply Quick Translation.
2. Click the Quick Translation button and choose the target language.
3. Click Translate all and then you will have translated text in the track.
Use Convert-to-Vertical to convert horizontal videos into vertical ones
Convert-to-Vertical is a feature that identifies the main scenes and dynamically crops the scene from horizontal to vertical for the assets.
1. Select the media track to apply Quick Translation.
2. Click the Convert-to-Vertical button and then you will get 4 vertical options.
3. Choose your preferred option and click Confirm.
Use Text-to-Speech to transform text into speech
Text-to-Speech is a feature that helps advertisers transform text into speech. Advertisers can also adjust text content and set the narrator and speed.
1. Select the media track to apply Quick Translation.
2. Click the Text-to-Speech button, adjust text, narrator and speed.
3. Click Generate speech button and you will see the generated speech on the track.
Step 4: Preview and create video
After you have assembled and edited your video, you may want to preview your video. TikTok Video Editor will allow you to preview your video as it will appear in the TikTok feed or without any TikTok UI elements. To disable the UI overlay from the preview pane, set the Masking toggle to off.
When you are ready to create your video, click Confirm. If you accessed TikTok Video Editor via the Ad creation process, your video would appear as your ad's creative. If you accessed the tool through Assets > Creative, the completed video would appear in your video list. Moreover, all videos made using the tool will be available under your video list on the Assets > Creative page.