Complete beginner: what should I learn to create short tech videos with animated text, icons, screenshots, transitions, and visual explanations?

I am a complete beginner and have never edited a video before. I want to start making short tech explainer videos for Instagram without showing my face initially.

I specifically want to learn how to do the following:

• Make words and sentences appear on screen at specific times
• Animate text so it moves, scales, fades, or slides
• Highlight important words while explaining a concept
• Add icons, arrows, circles, boxes, and simple shapes
• Place screenshots of apps or websites inside a vertical video
• Zoom into specific parts of a screenshot or screen recording
• Move screenshots smoothly across the screen
• Combine text, screenshots, icons, and shapes in one vertical layout
• Create smooth transitions between one explanation and the next
• Synchronize visual changes with voiceover or music

What I have tried so far: I have not edited anything yet. I am starting from absolute zero and currently do not know how to perform any of the actions above. I have only been observing Instagram Reels that use these elements, and I am trying to choose the correct first tool before spending money or investing a lot of time learning software.

For these exact tasks, what software would you recommend a complete beginner start with? I am especially trying to understand whether I should begin with a general video editor or a motion graphics tool.

I would also appreciate knowing which options are free and which require payment. My long-term goal is to practice seriously and eventually become highly skilled at video editing and motion graphics.

Comments

wesdacar•1 day ago•2

Start with a normal editor, not a motion graphics app. For the exact list you gave, CapCut is probably the fastest zero-to-first-video path: timed text, keyframes, simple arrows/shapes, screenshots in a vertical canvas, zooms, and transitions are all approachable without learning a whole Adobe-style workflow. The free version is enough to practice most of this.

Once you can make 10 or so simple explainers, then decide if you need DaVinci Resolve or After Effects. Resolve is better if you want a serious editor with a free tier; After Effects is better for custom motion graphics, but it is a rough first tool.

A good practice exercise: take one 20-second concept, write the voiceover first, then add only 3 visual layers: captions, one screenshot, and 2-3 highlight shapes. If you can make that clean, adding icons and fancier movement later gets much easier.

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itshailley•1 day ago•1

Since you want to create for Instagram I'd recommend trying Instagram's own Edits app. For awhile, they seemed to be boosting Reels created with their own tool. It's very similar to CapCut with the benefit of being built for Instagram.

Since you're starting from zero, I'd recommend keeping a saved folder of styles you like, some of them are even easy for you to copy with edits or you can use templates. It might be easier than you think to get started with templates - and Edits is free!

If you want to move towards eventually becoming more skilled I'd start with Edits and then maybe train on something like After Effects which has real power and goes beyond more basic edits.

ayecl•1 day ago•1

Learn one repeatable structure first, then add effects. For tech explainer shorts, a simple template is: problem in one sentence, screen recording or screenshot, one visual callout, then the takeaway. Get comfortable with captions, basic keyframes, zooms, and reusable text styles. A consistent template will make you faster than trying to learn every motion trick at once.

Recent-Rip4567•about 12 hours ago•1

I'd start with a beginner-friendly video editor and focus on learning the basics like timelines, keyframes and text animation first. These skills will carry over no matter which software you use later.

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