Video editing is the process of manipulating and rearranging video shots to create a new work. Editing is usually considered to be one part of the post production process — other post-production tasks include titling, color correction, sound mixing, etc.

Editing is where the story comes to life. It’s taking the raw ingredients and baking a cake out of them.

One part of the editing process is the client review. Client review is a way for us to make sure we are on the right track, telling the right story in the right way.

Usually that means that as a client you’ll be receiving a link to a video file from us that is labeled “V1” or “Edit01”.

This file is a “rough cut”. This means that it isn’t the final product. It often doesn’t have “b-roll” (supplemental or alternative footage intercut with the main shot). It may have temporary music that still has an audible watermark and the levels are not mixed. The video likely isn’t color graded. And it may not have any graphics, or only have temporary “placeholder” graphics.

The term “rough cut” describes it well. It’s the basic shape of the video we are making, but it hasn’t been finished.

Finishing a video is a labor intense process. Graphics need to be created and animated, music needs to be chosen and cut to fit the timing and mood. B-roll needs to be placed strategically over the interview footage to enhance the story.

We don’t want to buy and cut the music, add the “b-roll”, and create graphics that will then need to be moved, re-cut or taken out, which adds time and money to the project.

So, what are we looking for you to tell us when you review this file?

Is the story being told the story you want to tell? 

Another way to say this would be, is the messaging right? Is the arc of the story compelling?

In any given interview or set of interviews there are multiple stories to tell. Editing is culling out the extraneous information so that one story (or set of stories) shines through. We want to make sure we are telling your story.

Often, we “paint with a broad brush” and include more story beats than may be needed. This is often because the beat is adding more detail or flavor to the story, or it’s a nice moment or sub-story that would add to the emotion if there is time in the piece. We want you to help us know what to sacrifice. Maybe you have a time constraint. Maybe you’d rather dive deeper into that story. It’s up to you.

If the project is a written script, this step is more important in the writing stage. But it’s still part of the feedback we need on a rough cut, as sometimes seeing the images and words together shows the flaws or redundancies in the script.

Is the mood and emotion working to tell your story?

Is the video you are looking to create fast paced and energetic? Or is it more emotional and introspective? Is the video we sent you in line with what you expect?

Everyone is different when it comes to style and emotion. Music that causes one person to feel an emotion may not work on another person. 

We want to know if the style of the video is working for you. Making you feel the emotion of the story and want to keep watching. You know the purpose of the better than anyone, so we want to make sure that it’s working for your purposes.

If there is music, is the style working for your video?

Everyone’s taste in music is different. Some people like epic, orchestral music. Others like punk rock. Both could work in any given context.

We choose music based on our tastes, and what we think works in the video. You may have a different opinion. We need to know that so we can make sure the final product matches what you want to see.

You may think the music is too loud or too soft. That’s ok. You may hear a voice in the background saying something. That’s a “watermark” in the music, and it is there because we’ve only downloaded a temporary music track.

We always run our videos through an audio mixing process to smooth out edits, reduce background noise, and level out the music and voice levels. This is also where we buy the music. The mixing process is labor intense and requires copying the project into another piece of software. If we must make changes to the story, we’ll need to go through that whole process again, so we don’t do it until the video is not going to materially change. We call this “picture lock” and will ask that you approve everything except for the audio mix before we start.

If there is b-roll, is it complimenting the story?

Much of the time we will add basic b-roll to the video in a rough cut. We do this to make sure the b-roll is matching the style of the video you want, and because we are using the b-roll to help tell the story. We can cut between shots quickly, or let the video sit longer to make more of an impact.  

We like to know how the shots are affecting you as you watch the video, and if they are helping to compliment the story you are telling. You may see a “watermark” on some pieces of video. This means the video is from a “stock” footage site, and we will need to pay for that footage in order to use it. We don’t want to buy it until you are sure you like the footage.

Once we get feedback on the “rough cut” we’ll start to incorporate it into the video, and we’ll start to polish the video. As you see the new iterations of the video, you’ll start to see b-roll and graphics added to the video, the audio will get mixed, and we’ll color grade the video. We’ll need feedback on all of this as we continue.

Our ultimate goal is to make sure that the video you get at the end of the process is as close to what you wanted at the beginning as possible. Sure, things change, and sometimes there are problems we encounter in the process that affect the outcome. But ultimately, we hope that the end product tells your story and accomplishes your goal.

Will Sarris