Video Tip of the Week: Think like an Editor

If you had to pick the most valuable person involved in creating a video, who would you choose? The talent? The producer? The make-up artist?

Wrong.

The editor wins the MVP title, and they can make or break your video. So here are some tips on how to help her during filming, and by doing so, giving her the chance to fix your mistakes and make you look your best.

Pause, baby, pause. Editors will cut and paste you to perfection, but if you are doing a running monologue without stopping for air they will have to spend a lot of time trying to make cuts work. Slow down and they will love you for it.

Play to the camera. Don’t forget where the lens is and make sure your face is always available to it. Pull back long hair and cheat your face to the camera, even if you are looking somewhere else. *Added bonus, your camera op will love you too.

Think big picture. On high level shoots you may have a crew of people writing and producing for you, but if you don’t have a network style budget you will probably be crafting the piece yourself. So don’t just think about your personal performance on screen, think about the overall story of the piece and make sure you cover all the points that need to be included.

Give them options. Digital video is a magical thing. It can be erased quickly and easily. So you can make mistakes and take chances without much risk. Give your editor a ton of different styles and takes for them to choose from and they will reward you in spades.

Feeling inspired? Make a great video, then send me your links at laura@randylane.net.

Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/newtown_grafitti/