Video editing

Video editing is where the story really comes together in this third stage of your video creation process: you started with pre-production, then you filmed your video, and now you’re in the edit suite.

The first step is to lay down your audio: this could be interviews or voiceover. If you plan to edit the video to the beat of a piece of music, it needs to be laid down first, but if your soundtrack will be in the background rather than driving the narrative then it’s best to leave it until last.

Once you’re happy with the audio edit, then drop in footage that matches the spoken narrative. 

Determining the pace of your video

Viewers have a short attention span and will decide within the first ten seconds whether to watch your video or bounce off and watch something else. So, when editing, think about how to hook them straightaway. 

The pace of the video will be a key factor in whether they stick around for the full duration of the video. If viewers feel the narrative is dragging, they will be less likely to watch until the end.

This doesn’t mean that every video needs to have a cut every two seconds. The pace needs to match the content: for example, if you are promoting a seaside guesthouse or a meditation app, which would require an atmosphere of calm and relaxation, a slower pace would be fitting. 

Elevating the look of your video

Some editing software — including Adobe Premiere Pro, which features an Overcast Panel that facilitates editors to work from remote locations — includes grading options. This adjusts the colour and exposure to make your video look truly cinematic.

Stylistic elements

During the editing process, you can add captions: for example, to inform viewers of the name and title of a person being interviewed; or as the narrative tool that moves the story forward if you are not using voiceover or dialogue.

Your video will also need transitions to move from one shot to the next. Classic transitions include a straight cut or a dissolve. There are lots of other options provided by editing software but choose carefully: many won’t stand the test of time, so your video could look out of date in a relatively short space of time.

You can also add effects like filters (for example, a sepia filter to create a retrospective feel) or split-screen (to merge two different elements); or you can alter the speed of clips (slow motion/sped up). All of these determine the style of your video.

Sound design

While it’s natural for viewers to be strongly impacted by the visuals in a film or video; it cannot be overstated how much the sound contributes to their experience of the story. Think of the typewriter keeping the beat in Briony’s theme on the film score of Atonement or Chewbacca’s unique voice in Star Wars. 

Sound design is how content creators explore the aural aspects of a video to influence the mood, atmosphere, and/or tone. Its components include dialogue, sound effects, Foley, and music — culminating in how these are mixed together. Sound design is a critical tool to underscore and enhance the narrative.

Music Soundtrack

Having a suitable soundtrack on a promotional video is essential for setting the mood and tone. It also influences the pace. Most importantly, people choose to buy for emotional reasons, and music evokes emotion.

There are plenty of soundtrack libraries online from which you can select/purchase a suitable piece of music for your video. Ensure you read and abide by the license terms of whatever music library you choose to use; for example, some licenses require attribution (crediting the creator) while others may allow you to edit the soundtrack.

Using copyrighted music (e.g. pop songs) is very expensive. If you wish to use a piece of commercial music, contact IMRO or, if you are not based in Ireland, check in with your national music rights organisation. 

Sound Effects

Your video may benefit from using sound effects; you (or the editor) can download free sound effects from the BBC Sound Archive under the RemArc licence. 

Recording a voiceover

If you need to record a VO (voiceover) after the shoot to include in the edit, a local radio journalist or actor would be a good choice since they are accustomed to delivering performances through audio.

You can record the voiceover through software such as Audacity. It’s free sound recording software. Download it to your computer and ensure you know how to use it in advance of the VO recording. There are tutorials and an instruction manual on the Audacity website. 

It’s a good idea to do some test recordings ahead of the VO recording.

Rights are always an issue when you commission someone to contribute to your video. It’s a good idea to ask the VO artist to sign a release form that includes a full buyout.

Video Management

Video production and distribution involves a lot of people, so it makes sense to use a tool to make collaboration efficient. 

Overcast makes it effortless for your team members to view, collaborate on, share, distribute, archive, and control your content.

Our Video Content-As-A-Service platform integrates seamlessly with your existing technology and also gives you the option of decommissioning legacy technology over time if you choose.

The advances in automation and AI (artificial intelligence) services mean that you no longer need to depend on engineers and editors: now, less-technical employees can manage your video content just as easily.

Working like this also allows you to scale up your video production and future-proof your technology roadmap.

The cherry on top is the ability to consolidate and orchestrate microservices (such as storage, transcoding, metadata enrichment) to optimise speed to market and efficiency.

We’d be delighted to talk you through all of this, so please reach out to our CEO Philippe Brodeur. You can do so at info@overcasthq.com or click here to contact us. Find out how Video Content-As-A-Service will save you time and money while increasing revenue opportunities.