Editing Workflow

Question 1

Simple 5 Step Editing Workflow

Answer 1

1. Find Your Story
2. Organize Your Footage
3. Watch & Transcribe
4. Select Your Shots & Cuts
5. Correct Your Colour

Question 2

Define: Find Your Story

Answer 2

tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end

Question 3

Define: Organize Your Footage

Answer 3

• Keep a daily log detailing the footage you’ve obtained
• Separate your footage in folders—for interviews, b-roll, etc —when you import it to a computer
• Label individual clips/files so that it’s clear what each of them contains

Question 4

Define: Watch & Transcribe

Answer 4

• Write down what happens in each clip, making note of any especially germane material
• For interviews, consider going a step further by transcribing them in full, complete with timestamps

Question 5

Define: Select Your Shots

Answer 5

• Vary Your Shot Use

remember that medium shots and close-ups tend to forge a stronger connection with viewers, lending the impression that they’re having a conversation with whoever is on screen

• Cut to a Logical Rhythm

​if you need to make an edit, do it on an action (like, if your subject makes a hand gesture). Or cut to dialogue—words that are given particular emphasis by the speaker

• Minimize Jump Cuts

​you might make an aesthetic decision to retain one here and there in your “talking head” footage. But in general, such cuts are jarring. Instead, cut to b-roll, archival, or stock footage to help hide edits you make to interview audio.

Question 6

Define: Correct Your Colour

Answer 6

Low-budget doc will be edited together from varied sources: interviews, b-roll, archival videos, photographs, and more, all shot at different locations and under different lighting conditions. Colour correction is needed to make these disparate images appear seamless.