In what order do I make a gaming montage?

There are roughly three steps. First, gather plenty of impactful clips; second, pick music with clear beats and match your clip cuts to the points where the beats drop in the music's waveform (beat syncing); and third, emphasize the rhythm with captions and effects like zooms and slow motion to finish. Finally, export with the codec and bitrate suited to the platform you'll upload to, and you're done. The step that takes the most time is not editing but the first step, collecting clips.

How do I gather clips for a montage?

If you record by hand, you have to start recording every time a great play happens and then cut the part you need out of long footage, and the best plays tend to happen right when you forgot to hit record. DOR detects supported games and records the full match automatically, and in League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnite, CS2 and FC Online it saves moments like kills and goals as automatic clips. In other games, you simply cut the scenes you want from the recording, so just playing as usual builds up your montage material.

Can I use any song I want for montage music?

If you use copyrighted commercial music as-is, you can get a copyright claim on YouTube and elsewhere that blocks revenue or takes the video down. It's safer to use royalty-free music from the YouTube Audio Library or free music sites. The clearer and more dynamic the beats, the easier it is to match your cuts, which suits a montage well.

Do I need a separate editing program?

Any editor that handles beat sync and text will do. Clips you collect with DOR open right away in DOR Studio, where you can merge multiple clips, change the aspect ratio, adjust text, music and volume, and add effect templates like Shake Zoom, Punch Zoom and Glitch transitions. If you want frame-accurate beat sync or color grading, finish in an editor like DaVinci Resolve or CapCut.

What is the easiest way to make a League of Legends montage?

Start by automating clip collection. In League of Legends, DOR saves kills, multikills and objective moments as automatic clips, and since replay and spectate recording is on by default, playing back one of your own match replays records that screen too. Merge the scenes in DOR Studio, add music, text and effects, and export; if you need color grading or frame-accurate beat sync, pair it with an editor like DaVinci Resolve.

How to Make a Gaming Montage Video: Effects + Steps

Q: How exactly do I match the beat sync?

When you drop music onto your editor's timeline, a waveform showing the loudness of the sound appears. The waveform spikes up sharply at the moment a beat drops, and you adjust each clip's length so that the cut point where a new clip begins overlaps with that spiking beat. The key is to cut clips short and switch quickly in fast sections, and to show a single clip longer in slow sections, translating the music's dynamics into your cut speed.

Here is the short answer to how to make a gaming montage: collect the plays you want, merge them in order, lay down a track with clear beats and land your cuts on those beats, punch up key moments with effects like Shake Zoom or a Glitch transition plus a bit of text, then export as MP4.

That beat-locked feeling you see in pro League of Legends and VALORANT montages comes mostly from the beat sync step, while the step that eats the most time is, surprisingly, collecting clips. Below we go through each step, plus how to gather material for a League of Legends montage specifically.

What is a gaming montage? It is a short highlight video that cuts a game's best moments to the beat of a song. Compared with a kill compilation, which simply strings kills together, a montage leans much more on music, cut rhythm and effects.

A quick note on terms. Korean players call the same format a 'mad movie,' and the two words point to essentially the same thing. A video that just chains kills back to back is usually called a kill compilation, and we cover that format separately in how to make a kill montage.

The key to a gaming montage is that you weave short, impactful moments together with the music in one breath, rather than stringing out long stretches of full gameplay.

How to Make a Gaming Montage Video, at a Glance: Auto Highlights → Merge → Export

Looking for a site or program that makes gaming montages for you? Here is the honest answer first: the slowest step, collecting clips, can get close to automatic, and merging picks up right where it leaves off.

DOR is a free Windows app that detects supported games when you launch them and records the full match. In 7 games, including League of Legends, PUBG, VALORANT and Overwatch, it also cuts moments like kills into short clips and keeps them in the app's My Clips.

From there, open your clips in DOR Studio with nothing to install, merge several into one video, set text, background music and volume, add effect templates like Shake Zoom, Punch Zoom, Handheld or a Glitch transition, then download an MP4 or share a dor.gg link. Landing cuts exactly on the beat is a feel you build in Step 2 below.

1Collect your playsLaunch your game and DOR detects it and records the whole match. In League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnite, CS2 and FC Online, moments like kills and goals are saved as automatic clips; in other games, cut the part you want from the recording.
2Merge in DOR StudioDrop in the clips you want in order, tighten their length and join them into one video. Pick the aspect ratio here too: 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Shorts and Reels.
3Add music and cut to the beatAdd background music, balance it against the game audio, then adjust clip lengths so each cut lands where a beat drops. Put the kill on the strongest beat and the hit feels twice as heavy.
4Punch it up with effect templates and textUse effects like Shake Zoom, Punch Zoom or a Glitch transition only on the moments you want to stress, and pop the kill count or a short line as text. Effects look stronger the less you use them.
5Export as MP4H.264 in an MP4 container is the default. For YouTube 1080p, use at least 8 Mbps at 30 fps or 12 Mbps at 60 fps (YouTube's recommended values); for Shorts and Reels, export vertical 9:16 or share a dor.gg link directly.

How to Make a League of Legends Montage: Auto Clips and Replays

A League of Legends montage is one of the easier ones to gather material for. In League, DOR saves kills, multikills from double kill up to pentakill, and objective moments like Dragon and Baron as automatic clips, so a few games are enough to build a pool of candidates.

Replay and spectate recording is also on by default, which means when you play back one of your own match replays (.rofl) in the client, DOR records that screen too. In other words, you can recapture a teamfight you missed with the replay camera.

Replay files only play on the patch the match was played on, so record the games you want for your montage before the next patch lands. The full process is in how to save a LoL ROFL replay as MP4.

Other games follow the same flow. In VALORANT, kill clips get Ace and Clutch tags, which makes picking highlights easy; in PUBG, material comes from kill and knock moments plus the post-match automatic highlight analysis; in Overwatch, from kill moments.

For games outside those 7, DOR records the full match, so cut the scenes you want in My Clips and merge them the same way. If you mix several games in one montage, record them at the same resolution and frame rate so the edit stays smooth.

Gaming Montage Effects That You Should Use

Zoom punch: a quick push-in on a strong beat, then back out. This is the bread-and-butter montage effect that makes hits feel heavier.
Speed ramp (slow to normal): drag the moment before a kill in slow motion, then snap to full speed as the beat drops.
Camera shake: a short shake on the frames where gunfire or a hit lands adds impact. Keep it to 2 or 3 frames; longer shakes just cause motion sickness.
Flash or white cut: a single white frame on the beat where the cut lands makes the transition pop. Save it for the drop.
Transitions (cut, fade, wipe): plain cuts in fast sections, and a fade or wipe only where the mood changes.
Color grading (LUT) and vignette: unify the tone across different games and maps, and darken the edges slightly to pull the eye to the center.

Step 1: Start by Gathering Great Clips

The quality of a montage is decided more than half by your raw material rather than your editing skill. No matter how well you sync the beats, if the clips themselves are dull the result falls flat, and conversely, if you have enough impactful moments, even rough editing becomes watchable. So the very first thing to do is to secure a generous supply of usable clips.

What kind of moments work well in a montage? Aces and multikills in Valorant, pentakills and clutch teamfight comebacks in League of Legends, environmental kills and a decisive ultimate in Overwatch, moments that are short and explosive in their own right, are great. Prioritize clips with immediate visual impact over strategic plays that need a long explanation to land.

Moments with clear impact: multikills, clutches, comebacks, moments where the result is obvious at a glance
Keep them short: about 3 to 8 seconds per clip, starting just before the climax and keeping only the core
Collect with room to spare: gather 2 to 3 times the footage you plan to use in the final video so you have the freedom to pick and choose
Keep quality consistent: record at the same resolution and frame rate when possible to reduce conversion loss during editing

This is where most people get stuck the hardest. The amazing plays always happen when you didn't have recording on, and manually hitting the record button every time you play is a hassle. If you're short on clips, montage production never even gets started, so how smoothly you clear this Step 1 determines the pace of the whole project.

Automate Clip Collection and Step 1 Disappears

DOR detects a supported game the moment you launch it and records the full match in the background.

In 7 games, League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnite, CS2 and FC Online, it also cuts moments like kills, multikills and goals into short clips on its own; in other games, cut the parts you want from the recording.

There is no record button to press, and recordings and clips gather in the app's My Clips, so the instant you close the game your material is ready to edit. The biggest chore of Step 1 practically disappears.

Step 2: Pick Your Music and Match Cuts to the Beats

Once your clips are gathered, it's time for the heart of a montage: the music and beat syncing. This step is exactly what makes a montage different from a plain highlight reel. When your cuts land in lockstep with the music's beats, the video gains energy and the viewer's body starts moving to the rhythm.

Decide on the Music First

The right order is to pick your music before you start editing, because the music sets the mood of the whole video. Tracks with clear beats and strong dynamics make it easier to match your cuts. Copyright comes in two parts.

First, the music: using commercial songs as is can trigger copyright claims on YouTube and other platforms, sending revenue to the rights holder or blocking the video, so tracks from the YouTube Audio Library or royalty-free music with stated terms are the safer choice.

Second, the gameplay footage: each publisher sets its own policy on how game footage can be used, so if you plan to monetize, check that publisher's fan content or video policy first. Some publishers, Riot Games among them, allow gameplay videos as long as you follow their terms.

Find the Beats Using the Waveform

Most editing programs display a waveform showing the loudness of the sound when you drop music onto the timeline. At the moment a beat drops, the waveform spikes up and down sharply, and that spike is exactly where you want to place your cut. If you play the music and drop a marker on the timeline at each audible beat, those markers become the grid for cutting and arranging your clips.

Place Your Cuts on the Beats

Now arrange your clips to match the beat markers you dropped. The key is to adjust each clip's length so that the cut point where a new clip begins overlaps with the moment a beat drops. In fast sections, cut clips short and switch quickly; in slow sections, let a single clip play longer. Think of it as translating the music's dynamics directly into the speed of your clip transitions.

Landing a kill or impact moment on the hardest beat drop doubles the sense of impact
Place your most impactful clips on the chorus or drop section of the music
Start the intro slow, then drive the cuts fast on the chorus to create a build and payoff
Don't insist on one cut per beat; use cuts on strong beats and effects like zooms or shakes on weak beats to add variation

Pro tip: Matching the game's own sounds (gunfire, hit sounds) to the music's beats makes the sync feel even crisper. Some editors have a feature that automatically detects the start of a sound (the audio onset), which makes it easy to find sounds with a sharp attack, like gunfire, and align them to the beat.

Step 3: Finish with Captions and Effects

Once your cuts and beats are locked together, the video's skeleton is complete. The last step is to layer on captions and effects to raise the level of polish. Just remember that with effects, more is not better; they're most effective when used sparingly at the moments a beat is emphasized.

Add Context and Rhythm with Captions

Captions play two roles. One is delivering context. Briefly telling viewers what kind of play it is and which champion, agent, or weapon is involved helps them understand the scene quickly.

The other is emphasizing rhythm. Popping a kill count or a short exclamation onto the screen in time with the beat makes the caption itself part of the beat sync. Keep your text large and short, and place it where it won't block the view.

Use Effects Only Where the Beat Is Emphasized

The effects most commonly used in montages are the zoom punch that slightly enlarges the screen on the beat, transitions that smoothly bridge cuts, and slow motion that emphasizes a slowed-down action.

If you apply slow motion just before the most impactful moment and then burst back to normal speed as the beat drops, the sense of impact comes alive dramatically.

But putting effects on every cut just makes things busy, so the right answer is to pick and use them only on the key moments you want to emphasize.

Zoom punch: enlarge the screen for an instant on a strong beat, then return it to visualize the rhythm
Slow motion: apply it just before the climax to build tension, then release to normal speed on the beat
Transitions: bridge cuts smoothly, but in fast sections a simple cut looks cleaner
Color grading: unifying the tone of the whole video ties together footage from different games into one piece

Exporting: The Last Step to Preserve Quality

When editing is done, you export the video. Set your settings to match the platform you'll upload to. For a standard horizontal video, the basic formula is the H.264 codec, an MP4 file, and a generous bitrate appropriate to your resolution.

For YouTube, set 1080p to 12 Mbps or higher so that motion-heavy game scenes don't get muddy. If you're uploading as Shorts or Reels, make it at the 1080x1920 vertical 9:16 ratio so the screen fills completely with no black bars on top and bottom.

When CapCut or DaVinci Resolve Is the Better Tool

Frame-accurate beat sync: if you want to spread the waveform wide, drop a marker on every beat and snap cuts to them, a timeline editor like DaVinci Resolve is the comfortable choice.
Color grading and LUTs: matching the tone of footage from different games precisely is where DaVinci Resolve's Color page shines.
Styling vertical Shorts on your phone: for adding text and stickers fast and finishing a vertical edit, CapCut is easy to pick up.
Splitting the job is fastest: let DOR handle collecting clips and the first merge, and hand the fine finishing to an editor. For more effect ideas, see the gaming montage effects guide.

Go Deeper, Step by Step: The Game Video Editing Series

Merge multiple game clips: ordering, transitions and matching resolution in 5 steps
Trim game clips: keep only the parts you need without losing quality
Add music and sound effects: from picking a track to beat syncing and volume balance
Find copyright-safe free music: sources you can use without a claim
Add captions to clips and Shorts: captions that hold viewers even on mute
Add slow motion: speed ramping to emphasize the kill moment
Export without quality loss: bitrate, codec and upload optimization
Turn clips into a highlight reel: from auto-extraction to a finished reel
The full game video editing workflow: all 7 steps from clip selection to export

Finishing Clip Collection and Editing in One Place

Looking back at the steps, the parts that take the most time are, surprisingly, not the editing but collecting clips and the prep work of moving them into an editor. DOR shortens both at once.

It records supported games automatically and gathers moments like kills as automatic clips in 7 games, and in DOR Studio you can merge those clips, add text, music and effect templates, then download an MP4 or share a link. If this is your first League of Legends montage, start by playing a few games tonight with DOR running.

To sum up, here's how to make a montage. Gather plenty of impactful clips, pick music with clear beats and match your cuts to the beat points on the waveform, emphasize the rhythm with captions and effects to finish, and then export with settings suited to your platform.

The first one takes time to make, but once you automate clip collection and get used to beat syncing, your pace picks up fast. Check out automatic clip examples on the pages for the games you play most: Valorant, League of Legends, Overwatch.

Pro tip: For your first montage, try starting with 6 to 8 clips and a short 30-second track. With a short runtime, your beat sync practice finishes quickly, and the satisfaction of completing one piece carries you into the next. Several short, finished pieces build your skills faster than one long, perfect one.

How to Make a Gaming Montage Video (2026): Effects You Should Use, Beat Sync, Captions and Export