Find Your Editing Workflow

There is no question that editing is the most time-consuming part of the video production process, especially when you’re just getting started. You may have a vision for what you want the final result to look and feel like, but how do you get there? Where do you even begin? I’m sure if you sat down with 100 different video editors, they may give you 100 different methods for the ‘perfect’ editing workflow, and while I do believe much of it comes down to personal preference and style, there are a few things that just make sense to do in a particular order.

As I unpack these steps, please keep in mind that each project may call for something different. Most (not all) of my videos are shot with a single camera, a single subject, and a single scene/backdrop/location. There are certainly exceptions to the steps where it would make sense to rearrange things a bit. That’s okay! There’s a reason I titled this, “Find Your Editing Workflow” and not, “The Perfect Editing Workflow.” There’s no such thing as perfection here, but with some experimentation, you may settle on a process that’s pretty darn close for you. So, after all that, where do you begin? Let’s get started with the basics.

Step #1 - Set up your timeline

After you’ve launched your preferred video editing software and set up your project, the very first thing you need to do is pull your footage and audio to the timeline. When filming videos for YouTube, I’ll leave the camera rolling until I get a take I’m happy with. In many cases, I have one video clip and one audio track that I’ll add to my timeline. Sure, this makes for a long first clip, but I’d rather cut out what I don’t need, than to sift through a bunch of smaller clips to find the best take.

Additionally, by pulling your footage to the timeline, it automatically adjusts your sequence settings to make the frame size match your camera, giving you the best format for editing. Okay, but chances are you didn’t hit record on your camera and audio device at the exact same time, and things aren’t quite lining up. Let’s start making some adjustments to the raw footage and audio, so that it starts to feel like one cohesive package.

Step #2 - Clean up audio

Without even playing back the footage and audio on your timeline, you’ve probably noticed that the audio track does not line up with your footage. Have no fear! Most editing programs have an ‘auto-synchronization’ feature built-in which makes solving this a snap. Just highlight the footage and audio you wish to sync, right-click, and choose “synchronize” from the menu. In no time, your external audio is perfectly lined up to the video, and you can mute the lower quality camera audio track, or delete it entirely (I usually just leave it muted in the event I ever need to sync something else later in the edit).

Now since we’re on the topic of audio, I like to take this opportunity to jump into the Audio Workspace (Premiere Pro) and clean up the audio track while I’m at it. You can choose to edit the audio clip itself, or affect the entire track. For me, it makes sense to edit the entire track at once because I only have one person speaking inside an isolated or controlled environment. This allows me to balance my effects across the entire track for much more consistent audio throughout the video. Now that the audio is sounding great, let’s start adjusting the color and look of our footage.

Step #3 - Adjust your color

Here is one of those times where you could go out of order. Since audio and video are independent from one another, it really doesn’t matter which you do first. Personally, I start with audio, because I’m already focused on it when syncing to the video. Also, if I need to play parts of the video back during the edit, I’d rather listen to clean, clear audio where I can detect imperfections and fine tune as needed. Versus listening to the muddy, echoing audio from my camera the whole time.

Your video may not require any color correction, especially if you’re shooting in one location with a single camera and you like the color output. But you may want to make adjustments or add a LUT to achieve a desired look. You’ll want to do that before cutting anything up, or you’ll need to copy and paste the parameters to each clip which can be tedious. Pro Tip: You can always add an adjustment layer to your timeline and do all your color adjustments in a new layer. That way the original footage remains intact, and you have the option to turn the adjustments on and off as needed during the editing process.

Step #4 - Cut it up

Finally you can begin cutting things up! Now, why is it so important to sync audio and make your color corrections before this point? Every time you make a cut, you add another clip to the timeline; another clip that will then require a new set of audio/color adjustments. This may not sound like a big deal with 2 or 3 cuts, but some videos may call for 100 or more cuts, and now the time starts adding up! If you complete the audio and color before you begin cutting things up, you’ll save yourself a ton of time, because every clip will already have the desired parameters, and no further editing is required.

Sure, there are ways around this as mentioned in the ‘pro tip’ above, such as using an adjustment layer on your video for color correction, and doing the audio cleanup on the whole track as opposed to individual clips, but I find it best to get the look and sound out of the way first. Remember, your video may involve several cameras with different color casts, and multiple locations with varying light. Best to get the audio and color set, and building from this foundation.

Step #5 - Captions and graphics

Now that you’ve laid the foundation, you can begin adding graphical elements and animations on top of your footage. These may be used to create new transitions that hide jump cuts, or maybe you want to include lower thirds that introduce the speaker. You may want text to emphasize impactful parts of the dialogue or even captions throughout so viewers can follow along with subtitles.

Having completed the story in Step 4, it will be much easier to determine what else is needed here to take your video to the next level. Once you’re happy with the result, there’s only one thing left to do…

Step #6 - Export and publish

The title of this step says it all! By the time you add in your final graphical elements, the video is essentially finished, and you’ll need to get it out of the editing software. Simply follow your menu prompts to export the video and save it to a logical folder that will be easy to find later. From there, open your favorite video-hosting site, or social media, or wherever and upload the video!

Try, fail and adjust

I should have made this disclaimer in the beginning, but if you’re a Hollywood filmmaker, this is not for you (sorry!). I’m guesstimating here, but I’d say about 99% of general content can easily be edited by following this 6-step format, and it’s the method I’ve been using for years. That said, take some time to find the editing workflow that works for you! Are there times that I’ve deviated from this process? You bet. My hope, however, is that this will allow you to streamline an already tedious and time-consuming process in a way that makes editing logical and, dare I say, fun! For help getting familiar with my preferred video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro, check out my recent video on YouTube: How to Edit a Video From Scratch - Navigating Premiere Pro.

If you forget everything you just read above, then remember this: The most important thing you can do is start and edit as many videos as possible. You do this and I promise you’ll discover your editing workflow and be creating something amazing in no time.