CREATE A FINAL EDIT

Decide what footage makes the final cut and produce a video that truly wows

Once you’ve wrapped up your shoot, there’s a lot of footage that needs to be organised into a sensible timeline. Apart from adding the odd exposure adjustment, editing video is generally a very different skill to photo editing and the key is to engage the viewer by telling a story. Although, even in the case of genres such as wedding videos, this doesn’t have to mean a linear account of the shoot from beginning to end. Clips should be weaved together in the most engaging way, rather than just the order they occurred.

It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to editing. You might drag all of the essential video clips onto the timeline and trim them down. Make a very rough cut of the essential videos and then add in B-roll footage (all the secondary clips that add character and variety). If you’ve been filming a wedding, think about clips of the cake or the venue, for example.

Ellyn Cook starts by backing up footage and setting up a file structure: “I create an ‘all usable’ sequence that works out to being more than 90 minutes long, sync the sound and do a multi-cam edit. I usually hear a sound bite I know will start my story.” From there, she also creates a highlights sequence. “I play around with chronology, but it’s just about seeing what works with the footage.”

As the editing stage also covers audio, be aware of the copyright issues surrounding any music that’s recorded in the production (which could include the tunes blasted out at a reception disco). If your video is going to be shared or viewed online, you’ll need to licence the tracks that you use. Hit pop songs are expensive, so try checking out online sites that offer royalty-free tracks, such as Premium Beat (www.premiumbeat.com).

“I use the vocal and instrumental versions in my edits, but sometimes nothing sounds right and you just need to pay for the individual song you like,” says Ellyn. “Before buying, I always download a watermarked version and edit to that. If you find out the song doesn’t work you’ve not wasted any money.”

“Clips should be weaved together in the most engaging way”