Creating an efficient work-flow requires trial and error. Many new editors can find themselves stressed without proper organization. For easier editing on your next video project, follow these 4 post-production tips.
Choose Your Favorites
The first thing an editor should do after beginning a new project is choose their favorites. Picking out the favorite parts of each clip serves 2 purposes: 1.) It trims the fat. There is no need to work from clips that will not be used in the final product. 2.) It allows the editor to get a sense of what material they are working with. This can be extremely helpful for editors who were not involved in the actual filming of a project. Choosing your favorites first, helps you understand the timeline of events, which will lead you to the next step of assigning keywords.
Use Keywords
Think of keywords as chapters in a book. Keywords sort the favorited clips into categories. The keywords should describe the time and location. A wedding for example, may use keywords like: Bride Prep, Groom Prep, Ceremony, Family Pics, Reception, Cake Cutting, Main Dances, Send Off, ext. Once all of your clips are grouped together by time and location, put them on your timeline in the order needed to tell your story. Also, It is important to keep your keywords as simple as possible.
Pace Out Your Timeline
Now, it is time to pace out your timeline. Every story has a beginning, middle and end. Viewers are kept interested by consistent pacing between each section. Take whatever the length of the finished project should be, and divide that by 3. That should give you an idea of how long each section should roughly be. While the beginning, middle and end don’t need to be the exact same length, keep them similar enough that no section is noticeably longer or shorter than the others.
Color Grade Last
Lastly, it is time to color grade. It can be tempting to color grade your clips right away so they look clean and cinematic. Don’t! At least not yet. Color grading takes alot of time. It does not make sense to color grade clips that could be cut later in the editing process. Basically, if you color grade last, you save time and energy.