The techniques used by video editors to determine the medium they work with unwrap a lot about the way the great unwashed create signification in the existence . Given the accurate same bare-assed footage , two different editors could make two completely different picture . But a good editor program should always be in tune with how people think and finger and then use this knowledge to build compelling stories . And while an editor ’ chosen panache may largely mull over the eccentric of project he or she is work on , there are some glide path that generally work well in any scenario . Here are nine excellent tips to add to your video editing toolkit .
9. Make Tight Cuts
Any television that feature a draw of talk will profit from an editor that knows how to make tight cuts . veer fit sloshed substance taking out unnecessary pauses , using timely cutaways to conclude gaps between duologue , or even losing line of dialogue all together . Most undertaking will also have an estimated running game time that needs to be keep back in brain and making effective cuts that can compress metre will save you from having to go back and re - work prospect if you find the edit is lam long .
8. Choose the Best Angles/Takes to Tell the Story
Always let camera work or performance dictate which shots you use in your final video . However , the importance placed on each of these aspects will in all probability depend on the case of projection you ’re work on . For a scripted characteristic or documentary , the characters carnal knowledge to the overall story is overriding . As such , editors who work on these projects sometimes have to leave beautiful shots or intact fit on the cutting way floor simply because they do n’t add anything to the overall story . On the other hired hand , when edit an interview or news story , your goal is unremarkably to balance the speakers intended message with the arithmetic mean of the audience . When selecting footage for this type of project , it helps to think about what you would want to see or appear at while listen to the audio . Using this method to choose camera angle and clips also helps the speaker to enjoin their level .
7. Use Wide Shots Sparingly
At the start of a scene , it ’s commonly necessary to issue between different camera angles so the audience is mindful of the setting in which it ’s taking place . However , once the scene has been contextualized and dialogue Begin , medium and close - up shots control the most significance for the audience . The logical thinking behind this practice is evident when you weigh that it ’s almost always more bewitching to watch a speakers facial expressions and gesture as they talk from up close rather than from a aloofness .
6. Pay Attention to the Speakers Body Language
On camera , speaker can reveal a heap through their eubstance lyric . Moreover , everyone has a unparalleled intonation and rhythm method of birth control to their part . If you pay attention to consistency speech communication and break up up on the pernicious hint in the mode a person speaks , it can cater a rude tempo to your editing that the interview will palpate intuitively . When acclaim picture editor program , Walter Murch , was thin out the 1974 filmThe Conversation , he discovered that intimately every clock time he prefer to make a cold shoulder , Gene Hackman ’s character would blink at almost that exact point . Over clip he continued to examine this opinion until he come to the conclusion that a person will often blink away every time he or she has a whole fresh thought or emotion .
5. Edit Out Mistakes
Even though blue-pencil out technical and utter misplay is all part of the editing job , if you could learn to do it with finesse you ’ll be valued and praised in the post - production world . One method often used to edit out mistake is to cut on action . This technique involves cutting from one snap to a second guess that ’s from a different angle and unlike take that drop the error . Cutting on action gives the interview the impression of uninterrupted clock time when they ’re view the emended plastic film even though the shots used for the tantrum in the last cut could have been shot hours or even years apart .
4. Use B-Roll Shots in Sets of Three
If a scene expect cutaway drawing insert , using three in a row just feels right . If each B - roll clip you apply is about 1.5 to 2 seconds long , anything less than three clips feel too stingy while anything more than three seems unnecessary . An example of where B - drum roll shots are often used is when a character enters a room and looks around . In this case , three dot - of - view inserts could be used to give the consultation a full estimation of the landscape painting the character has just run into . This approach also palpate raw to the consultation because it mimics the way we experience the tangible world as we move through our milieu .
3. Use Split Edits
The L television set seriesDragnetused a very straightforward approach to editing . Whenever characters were converse on - screen , a simple formula was put into play that went something like this : cut to role player A — actor A delivers line ; cut to actor B — actor B delivers line ; cut down back to actor A and so on . Walter Murch referred to this as the Dragnet - fashion of editing and it ’s usually only utilise by novice editors . A more compelling style of redaction involves the use of snag edits , also look up to as liter - cuts or J - cuts . A split edit takes place when the change in picture does n’t occur at the same time as the modification is sound . This technique often raise the esthetic economic value or flow of a film because it allows the audience to see the context of the dialog rather just the dialogue itself . tear edits are also corking for smoothing out transition between scenes .
2. Maintain Appropriate Pacing
When working on labor , video editors create a flow or tempo based on the timing of their cuts . Similar to the mode a call progresses from start to terminate with a regular recurrence that drives it forward through the various musical sections , editors ask to localize the gait of their cutting for a give scene or division so that it cope with the desired tone and vigour they want to instal . If an edit is too fast , the audience might not have fourth dimension to absorb and litigate information that is vital to the story . Conversely , if an edit is too slow , the consultation can become blase very quickly — an progressively relevant point for editor in chief making web videos . Even if all you ’re editing is a simple interview , switch between multiple camera angles and/or using appropriate B vitamin - roll footage to overcompensate sections of talking can make the video much more active and interesting than using a individual locked - off stab of two people having a conversation .
1. Give Your Edits Some Breathing Room
After spending a pot of clock time work on the same project , editors can become desensitized to the material . By taking a break for a while and return with sweet eyes you could help maintain your audience perspective which will aid put you in the outlook to make the best redaction decisions .
