While a director will take far more video footage than will be used in the final product, editing is about finding the perfect shots for each scene as well as adding to the shots, rather than taking stuff away.
Capture Enough Footage
When you begin to edit video, you want to create a flow that works, create emotion in the viewer, and entertain on some level. If you plan on producing the video footage that you will later use in video editing, and it’s a good idea to film while keeping the editing process in mind. This means taking various shots of the same scene from different angles, using wide shots, and even panning. This will give you plenty of video to work with once you’re in the studio editing. The last thing any video editor wants is to realize, once they are working on the editing process, that they simply don’t have enough footage to create an ideal finished product.
Cut Out the Needless Shots/Scenes
If you have done your job as a director, then you will have more footage that you could possibly use. This means that when you are video editing, you’ll need to cut out a great deal of footage. Sometimes there will be scenes or shots that, at the time of filming, might have been considered ideal. However, when you get in the suite to edit, you realize that the shot does not add to the story you’re trying to tell and can actually become a burden to it. Be willing to cut out anything no matter how much you like the scene when you are filming.
Keep the Story in Mind
Whether you are producing a full-length movie, a short film, or a five-minute seminar to post online, you have a story to tell. When it comes to video editing, it is vital that you keep that story in mind. Anything that does not add to the story needs to be left out of the video itself. You may think that a scene was shot extremely well, acted perfectly, and the lighting was ideal, but if that scene does not help move the story forward, it is considered clutter and needs to remain out of the final product.