Editing Advice for the Beginner

Hey y'all, welcome! I’m Adrienne. Today I’m going to give some advice to any beginner editors out there.

Editing can’t be avoided, unless you are doing live streams - it is part of the process of having a YouTube channel - or even a social media account. You are doing basic editing for your short form content as well.

I hear so many people tell me that they hate editing. It takes such a long time. And maybe I can understand that - I mean I really enjoy editing. But you have to go through and get used to watching yourself. And you are also having to comb through all those messed up takes. But once you get all the good takes, it becomes like solving a puzzle. I have all these takes that are really awkward, so how do I stitch them together to make something great? I worked in documentary production for a long time and there is a similar puzzle to solve in those kinds of projects, and I really like it. I think it is interesting and engaging, and really gratifying when I figure it out and play it back from start to finish. You get that moment - Oh, yeah, this works. And it’s awesome. 

Watching yourself is how you get better. I was not used to being on camera when I started making videos for YouTube. And I found that I’d watch myself during my edits and remember the coaching I used to give my on screen talent and I would start telling myself those same things. And then I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I actually saw myself applying those changes in the next video edit.

Now, you record your video, take your footage, and you have the task of making a great video. So what makes a video great? 

1 - Storytelling & change. You want your audience to click on your video, and by the time they are done with it, you’ve learned something. So all the work you are doing in the editing process is propelling your video towards that goal, of showing your audience something new by the end.

So think about your edit and how what you are watching reflects the energy of the video. For instance, fast cuts will convey a more frantic energy. Is that what your video needs? Or do you hold onto longer shots so the audience can really absorb what the person on screen is feeling.

What if you are editing an interview? Well you can do quick cuts on the person answering questions. You can hold on that person for a longer period of time while they think and answer questions. You can cut to the person asking the questions whenever they nod, because that will signal to the viewer - ok that is a good point I need to hold on to. 

Think about your music. Do you want swelling music to underscore something profound? Do you want a point to drop on a musical beat or a new song change? These are all ways to signal to your viewers that that was an important moment.

We are talking a lot about feeling and emotions in this video, because editing isn’t just about taking out the bad takes. It’s about figuring out what you want your audience to feel, and then making sure that you make edits that will make them feel exactly what you want. 

Over editing - like too much motion blur, colorful title graphics, too many cuts that are happening too fast, can make your video too chaotic and could convey a sense of insecurity. Like you are worried that it isn’t good enough. Remember that there is confidence in an edit that is clean and seemingly straight forward. 

Here are some good things to learn if you are just starting out editing:

Learn your J cuts. The audio starts a few frames before your video and there are small fades in and out of your audio clips.

Capcut is a good software to start out on, but I would definitely recommend advancing enough that your skills outgrow capcut, and move on to something like Premiere Pro (which is what I use)

And that’s it! Editing is like this emotional puzzle that I personally really like getting elbows deep in.