BEST PRACTICES
BEST PRACTICES
Cutting down. After organizing your interviews and b-roll into bins of sub- clips, you can begin to edit your video. As previously discussed, the first part of editing is to lay down the radio edit of your story. If your soundbites make sense in your timeline, then you can begin to add b-roll and develop scenes.
I often use the analogy of rock sculpture to describe video editing. Like a sculptor, video editors start with a massive amount of unformed material. But by chiseling away at the footage, eliminating some material while refining other elements, the editor eventually produces a refined and complete work. Editors produce various versions of the video story during the editing process: assembly, rough cut, fine cut, and final cut. Each version removes material from and refines the previous version. The first edit or cut of your story will never be your final version.
Assembly edit. The assembly edit is a broad and liberal edit of your film. Unrefined b-roll and scenes are brought down into the timeline to go along with your interviews or narration. This version is used to determine which scenes work, which action makes sense, and whether you have enough b-roll to illustrate your story. Assembly edits can be many times longer than the final version of the story, and the editing can be choppy and unrefined.
Rough cut. The term rough cut can be misleading. A rough cut is a version that has had most of the extraneous scenes and footage edited or removed from the assembly. Rough cuts are only “rough” in the sense that they have not been polished with final credits, mixing, or color correction. They are well-edited and do not possess many technical errors or missing elements. Rough cuts present producers and editors an opportunity to view a more complete version of their story to make further edits, script changes, and other refinements.
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Figure 6.15 An example of an assembly edit.
Fine cut. The fine cut is, for all intents and purposes, the final version of the film. This version is a final opportunity for producers to make sure that they have smoothed out any technical errors, clarified any confusing scenes from the rough cut, and made sure that the audio has been properly mixed. The fine cut is often only missing some final color correction and the beginning titles and closing credits.
Final cut. As the name denotes, the final cut is the finished version of your film that is ready for airing or distribution online. The final cut is referred as being “locked.” At this stage, the video story is clear and complete, the audio is well-mixed, and the footage has been carefully edited and color-corrected.
Editing rules and tips. As you progress from the assembly to the final cut stages of your story, keep the following rules or best practices in mind. Regardless of your personal style, the pacing of your story, or the look-and-feel of your film, these guidelines and editing tips will help you produce professional-quality videos with high production value.
Mix up wide shots and close ups. In a previous chapter, we discussed the importance of getting a variety of shots: wide shots, medium shots, and close ups. You must use these shots thoughtfully in your editing. When putting clips together to form a scene, edit from a close up to a wide shot, a wide shot to a close up, or a close up to a close up. Avoid editing from a wide shot to a wide shot.
Wide shots can give the viewer great context, but it is important to follow a wide shot with a detail shot. Think about how your eyes naturally scan any environment. When you step into a room, you will first take a wide look at the entire room. Then, you will immediately
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Figure 6.16 An example of a final cut.
scan for a specific object or person. If you try, you will find that it is hard to avoid focusing on details in the room. As an editor, you must cut to close ups to satisfy the viewers’ need for details and close ups.
Lead with audio. When you cut from one scene to the next, or transition between scenes, lead with audio. In Figure 6.18 notice that the audio from the b-roll plays before the viewer sees the video from the b-roll. This technique is called a “J-Cut.” An “L-Cut” is when the audio from your video clip continues to play after the video has been cut. Leading with audio makes for smoother transitions than straight cuts.
Cut on completed action. Avoid cutting in the middle of an uncompleted action, as it can be jarring for the viewer. If your character is reaching for
a cup of coffee, let the viewer see the completed action before you cut away. Unrefined edits like these disrupt the story and pull the viewer out of the scene. Wait until your character has grabbed the cup of coffee before cutting away. This does not mean that you can only edit on
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Figure 6.17 Edit from wide shots to close ups to provide context and detail in your scene.
Figure 6.18 An example of an L-cut.
stationary shots; this will make your videos dull. You can and should edit on motion, but be sure that the motion is complete.
Dissolves have meaning. New editors tend to overuse cross dissolves to transition between two clips. Dissolves should be used carefully and appropriately. A dissolve is the equivalent of an ellipsis in writing—it connotes a passing of time in the action. Often, you will see cooking videos dissolving between shots of the chef stirring or mixing ingredients. These cross-dissolves signify that some time has passed for the chef to make his dish. Avoid using dissolves without their intended meaning.
Let the story breathe. Videos should be a carefully paced series of interviews and narration mixed together with active scenes. Avoid putting soundbites too close together. Your video should breathe— there should be space between thoughts and scenes, and you should have moments of b-roll without any narration. Putting interviews and narration next to each other throughout your film will exhaust and overwhelm the viewer.
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Figure 6.19 Put spaces between your soundbites to create a natural rhythm to your interviews.
Use minimal text. Viewers watch videos to see action, not to read words. Do not rely on text to advance your story or provide too much context. Text should be used to identify your sources and to give minimal contextual information such as the location and date of your story. In longer-form documentaries, text can be used to provide some deeper background information. But, as a rule, avoid using text in place of interviews or b-roll. Your viewers will grow tired of having the action of your video interrupted.
Mix audio well. Audio is, by far, the most important technical element of your video story. Poorly recorded and edited audio will not be tolerated by your viewers. When putting together your radio edits, make sure that all your interviews are mixed to peak at around −12db. Avoid having certain interviews louder than others. This will frustrate your viewers, and, editorially, it may serve to give more weight or value to your louder sources. Also, avoid having b-roll, music, or other audio conflict with your interviews or narration.
Color correct footage. While all effort must be made to properly expose and white balance your footage in the field, you will always shoot some imperfect video. In post-production, be sure to correct these exposure and white balance problems. Footage that is too dark or the wrong tint will be distracting to the viewer.
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Figure 6.20 The image on the left is straight from the camera. The image on the right has been corrected to achieve better exposure and white balance.