The Video Editing Theory

The most important aspect of video editing is the telling of the story. Everything that moves the story forward, makes it more interesting or enhances it dramatically are tools that every video editor should employ. If you compare the video editing process to a contractor building a house you may begin to see the relationship between the raw video footage and what the video editor brings to that footage. The raw footage can be compared to the lumber, concrete, roofing material etc.

The video editor, like the contractor, takes the various piles of materials and transforms them into a house by cutting, nailing pouring etc. That is precisely the service that the video editor performs with the raw footage from the video shoot. Video editing transforms the basic footage into a story with a beginning, middle and an end. The quality of the final product is based on the quality of the raw material, the video footage and the skill of the video editor.

The video editor has many tools in his video editing toolbox. The choices that are open to the editor depend, to a certain degree, on the video footage that he is editing. When there is a dialogue sequence, it is important that you hear clearly what the participants are saying, so naturally it would not be wise to lay music with lyrics under the sequence. Music is a tool that the editor can employ, but it is important that the editor use the right editing tool depending on the sequence that he, or she, is editing. It is almost if the medical credo should apply to video editing, i.e., first do no harm.

With that thought in mind, it is the duty of the video editor to use only the tools at his disposal that enhance and move the story forward. Editing video requires the talent to recognize the things that are important to the story, combined with the common sense to know which of the tools at the editor's disposal to use in a given situation. Straight cuts, dissolves, or other video transitions, music, moves, blowups and color changes are just some of the video tools available to the movie editor while in the video editing process. The wise use of these tools at the correct time separate the amateur from the professional video editor.

Once you begin to look at your video footage as part of a story and treat the material as if you were a master story teller, your video editing will step up to the next level. The theory behind video editing is quite simple, first do no harm and second use only the tools that enhance and move the story forward.