One simple special effect you can apply using many video editing programs is reversing video footage so that the video plays backwards. Use reversing footage to generate many creative effects. For instance, reversing video footage can make it look like someone is walking or running backwards. It can also create a telekinesis effect where something flies from the ground into a person's hand, simply by having them throw the object.
Altering the play speed is a basic effect that can enhance a video. You can apply slow motion in many editing programs, something useful in situations with extremely fast movement that is hard to see at regular speed. It can also make stylized scenes and add impact to video clips. For instance, a bird flying in super slow motion may have a greater impact than a bird flying at regular speed. Speeding up a video clip can highlight the hustle and bustle of a city street, or simply get through slow sections of a video clip faster without actually cutting footage.
Stop motion is a video effect created by aligning a series of still images to create an effect similar to a flipbook. Stop motion can make it look like people are sliding along the ground or flying through the air. It can also animate moving objects. Stop motion can be a time-consuming video effect since you must take and align many still images to create even short clips of stop motion.
Greenscreen effects (sometimes bluescreen effects) are special effects created by filling a scene with a green backdrop. Filming with a green backdrop can allow video editing software to take out the green color and add a different backdrop or scene to the video. For instance, if you were creating a video set on a desert island you could shoot the characters in front of a green screen, and then edit in a backdrop of an island and ocean.