Editing is a skill that seems basic on the face of it but which is actually very nuanced with lots of things to consider. There’s a huge gulf between being able to edit and being able to edit well, so read on and we’ll try and ensure that you are doing more of the latter.
Give Yourself a Fighting Chance
The first tip, is to try and give yourself a fighting chance for editing. This means ideally creating as much footage as possible in your recordings so that you have more to work with. The more filming you do, the more options you’ll have when you arrange your video into a sequence.
The Objective of Editing
Now when you come down to editing, make sure that you have a good idea of what you’re setting out to do. Primarily, the job of a good editor is to try and ensure a sense of flow so that all your individual parts stick together in a way that doesn’t draw attention to itself. At the same time, you want to remove mistakes and long pauses that might take the viewer out of what they’re watching.
To ensure flow, you need to make sure that you never seem to lose time. This means that there should be continuity between your shorts as though it was all done in one take but you moved around a lot. That’s why you should never edit together two shots from the same angle without a transition. If you do do this, it will look as though everything has suddenly moved and you’ve skipped time.
There are exceptions when this is a useful technique. It is called a ‘jump cut’ and actually it can be very useful when applied to a vlog format for comic relief.
Otherwise, try to always use a transition between your shots, or better yet, jump between different angles.
Transitions
Transitions are things like fades, peels, dissolves and slides that animate your edit. As mentioned, these can be useful for avoiding the jarring feeling of a jump cut.
But it’s generally preferable to switch angle instead. Why? Because when transitions are overdone, it has a tendency to feel a little amateur. Use this technique sparingly and when you do use it, choose transitions that aren’t too over the top.
Movement
Another tip in your editing is to try and keep the movement going and to keep the energy high. This means avoiding long pauses and trying to trim more and more off of your shots. Be ruthless and you might be surprised how much it improves the flow of your video.