Rules of Video Editing

There are certain rules that are very important in a well-edited production, some of these rules are usually stated in black and white in the video editing institutes while some are not mentioned and left for the video editor to figure out on their own Here a few rules are:

1. The Perfect Length.

One of the most important reasons for this skill is to ensure that footages last only for the time in which they are relevant. Any extra length of footage in the final output that seems not to carry any weight or seems to be unnecessary would always serve as a dent in the video editor’s work. This, however, is not directly mentioned in institutes but simply implied. Making footage too short to be comprehensible is also a flaw in editing that can render a whole editing job useless. This rule is very important for editing for Television where programs have time slots and would simply be yanked off the air when the time expires. Same with commercial ads that are paid for by the second and an extra second might mean an advertising budget overshoot. The length of each shot also falls under this rule. Depending on what the film is to be used for a short duration may range from 5 to 30 seconds, this requires that editors work hand in hand with videographers in capturing enough shots to tell a story without dragging out time on a single shot.

2. Seamlessly Fit.

Another very important rule of editing which is stated continuously is that edited shots must transition seamlessly, no jerky footage, empty or ghost frames. This is the mark of professionalism and is constantly hammered in the institutes. Scenes should seamlessly transition between each other and create a continuous flow of motion pictures.

3. Effects, Transitions and Graphics Use

The Effects, transitions, and graphics should never take attention away from the main object of focus which is the footage and should not be distracting, and the story the motion picture is trying to tell. The mark of amateurism is the use of specialized unreadable fonts, overuse of transitions, and excessive jump cuts. One of the rightful functions of institutes is to ensure that students are rid of all amateur traits in this skill if they are ever going to work as video editors.

4. Perfect Audio sync.

Audio editing is for the audios of an edited video to still appear in its raw unedited form with background noises and varying volume levels or overshadowing background music. The audio is a critical part of a footage and work should also be done to ensure that the audio is up to par. Most times audio files have to be exported to an audio editing software for better final output.