How Editing Can Make or Break Your Video

Having gone to all the trouble of getting the filming, lighting, sound, and everything else just right it’s still possible for everything to fall apart when you edit your video. This is one of the least appreciated stages of successful video production.

Before editing you really just have raw materials. It’s how you put those together that determines the impact and how well you get your story across. This is where you will notice how well your file-naming system works. Hopefully it’s all well organised so you can easily find what you need.

Good editors are ruthless. A piece of footage may be a thing of beauty. But if it’s not essential to tell the story and create the right impression in the minds of viewers - out it goes. The virtual cutting room floors of modern video makers are littered with great takes that never made the final cut.

It’s just as important not to make assumptions. Watch all of the footage before discarding anything. There might just be a hidden gem that you hadn’t expected or planned.

The Rough Cut

When you think you’ve selected all of the elements you want to use, put them together in a rough cut.

When you watch the rough cut the key questions are:

• Is the pace about right?

• Is all the important information there in the right order?

• Do the transitions work well?

• Is there an easy-to-follow narrative?

• Is there still material that doesn’t help move the story along?

• Is the sound always clear and are the levels right?

• Does the film have the emotional impact you planned for?

Armed with answers to these questions, it’s time to start refining. Even if you don’t have to cut or rearrange the content you will probably still need to adjust colours and sound to achieve consistency and continuity. Mix in music and sound effects to add emphasis or dramatic impact.

And once you’ve done all that. Do it all again. Attention to detail at this stage makes all the difference.