A good movie editor can cut and join movie scenes in such a way that scattered video clips are joined to become an astonishing movie.
Are you new to the video editing world or are you harbouring the desire to join the growing world of movie editors? Don’t worry, in this blog post, I got you covered.
Becoming a good movie editor requires a combination of technical skills and artistic vision. Here are some steps you can take to improve your skills as a movie editor:
Learn the software
Familiarize yourself with editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro.
Practice using the various tools and features of the software, and get comfortable with the user interface.
This in other words entails that you’ll need to be good at a single editing software before thinking of learning a different one.
Getting to know more about a particular editing software enables you to be perfect with it and can easily do your job.
Understand storytelling
Good editors have a strong sense of storytelling and know how to use the footage available to craft a compelling narrative.
Editors are often regarded as secondary storytellers. This means that a video editor can completely change the structure of a video hence, telling a different story from the initial way the story was structured by the writer.
I observed this happen some time ago. A story was given to me to edit. After finishing cutting the clips, I rearranged the scenes of the video to improve it into a more engaging story.
After my client went through the job, he was thrilled at what I have done.
Video editors are great storytellers and it is usually shown during their editing.
To improve your video editing skills, read books or watch lectures on storytelling techniques. Also, pay attention to how successful movies are edited.
Practice, practice, practice
When we were in primary school we were told that when you leave mathematics for one day, it will leave you for one month.
If you don’t study maths for one month or one year, you won’t be able to recall 97% of what you know about mathematics.
This is how it is with video editing. To be a good video editor you should learn to constantly practice your editing skills.
When you don’t edit clips for one week or more, you risk the possibility of forgetting almost anything you know about editing.
The more you edit, the better you’ll become. Create your projects and edit them, or find editing exercises online.
As you edit, pay attention to pacing, continuity, and how different shots and cuts affect the viewer’s experience.
Never for once decide to stop editing videos else, the one you know already, you will forget it.
Collaborate with others
Editing is often a collaborative process, so it’s important to be able to work well with others.
Seek out opportunities to work with directors, producers, and other editors to get feedback and learn from their experiences.
Stay current
The field of film and video production is constantly evolving. It is important to stay up to date with the latest techniques and technologies.
Attend industry events, read trade publications, and follow industry leaders to stay current and continue learning
Wrapping things up on how to be a good video editor
The video editing industry is gradually becoming a field that almost everybody wants to venture into.
There is always a big difference between a video editor and a good video editor.
You must decide either to be just a video editor or to be a good video editor.
Put into practice the aforementioned things you should put in place to be a good movie editor.
Hope this was helpful.
