8 video editing tips that will make the production process easier

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Having a production team who understands the post-production process will ease the video editing process saving you both time and money. Here are some tips to help you think ahead to the editing process while you are shooting your footage.

1. Plan your video production

Planning a video production is not only essential in terms of creating an efficient production experience, it also goes a long way to ease the video editing phase of your project. Planning should include having a storyboard and a shooting schedule so that you know what you are shooting and when. This means that when your footage enters the editing suite, it will be accompanied by the original blueprint you had for filming. The editor will know roughly what order your footage is in, and more importantly, they will know what ‘story’ you are trying to tell.

2. Use extra takes

Whilst shooting, consider when a couple of extra takes might be useful. For example, you may be shooting a scene and you may not feel 100% about a first take. There is no harm is shooting a couple of extra takes so that your video editor has some options to work with; they may be able to see pros and cons in the editing room that you aren’t able to see on location.

3. Getting the sound right

Many people producing video fail to see the importance of good sound… until the first time they are faced with really poorly recorded sound in the editing room (and then they shouldn’t make the same mistake again!). There are quite few things you can do to give your video editor a fighting chance with your sound.
a) make sure you are using the correct equipment for the occasion (e.g. a directional microphone for interviews).
b) ensure that you take all of the correct equipment with you on your shoot – including spare batteries (for radio microphones for example).
c) make sure that you record a ‘wild track’ of the sound at each location. Sometimes, all an editor needs is some silence from a particular location to fill gaps – you would be surprised how difficult this is to find in a recording when it hasn’t been captured intentionally. read more...