Video editing is an art that requires both technical skill and creative vision. These are two different qualities, which in combination give explosive skills! Every video editor should pay a lot of attention to both directions and improve them step by step. While technical skills can be learned through training and practice, creativity is a personal trait that can be honed and developed over time. And to know that you are doing everything correctly, you need to analyze your work. Or rather, analyze the target audience for which you create your works. The ability to work with the audience helps a video resonate with the audience and is more likely to be successful than one that doesn’t.
One of the most important aspects of working with the audience is understanding who they are and what they want. This involves researching your target audience and learning about their interests, preferences, and habits. By doing so, you can tailor your video content to their needs and preferences, making it more likely to resonate with them.
You edit for your audience
When editing, always keep about who you’re making your video for. Consider audience interests, and what will keep them engaged throughout the video. It’s important to be able to maintain your editing style, but you also need to learn how to adapt it to the audience you’re trying to reach.
The interaction between the editor and the audience can take many forms. It can be both one-way and two-way communication. The editor communicates his thoughts, ideas, and message to the audience with the help of video. A well-edited video can also evoke emotion and elicit a response from the viewer, whether that’s laughter, tears, or a sense of wonder. Usually, the video editor predicts what emotions he wants to see on the face of his audience. But any emotions are already a sign of a job well done. You can’t please everyone. And you should always be ready for this. Praise and criticism are an integral part of the work of any video editor.
In addition to the creative elements of video editing, there are technical considerations when interacting with the audience. Namely, the video editor must ensure comfortable viewing of his works for the audience: must ensure that the video is optimized for the platform on which it will be viewed. This includes picture quality: aspect ratio, resolution, format, etc.; and high-quality sound: without unnecessary noises and sounds, a well-processed voice, well-chosen musical accompaniment, etc.
But that’s not the end yet! The editor’s work doesn’t stop once the video is complete. Let’s go back to praise and criticism. The editor must be open to feedback from the audience. The lack of feedback will mean the editor is selfish (there are exceptions, but they are not many). It will also affect development. Without constructive criticism, the editor will continue to make mistakes that the audience does not like. Eventually, this will lead to the fact that the only viewer will be his mother (and that’s not a fact!).
And vice versa: сomments, ratings, and constructive criticism engagement can provide valuable insights into what the audience liked (or didn’t like) about the video. This feedback can improve future videos and make them more engaging and appealing to the audience. A video editor depends on its audience. Without it, his work cannot be evaluated. Because it is an independent viewer who was not present during the creation of the video, will be able to fully appreciate its quality.
If you use creative and technical techniques to keep the audience engaged and optimize the video for different platforms and devices, you can create videos that will resonate with viewers and leave a lasting impression.
And after, ask people what they liked and what they didn’t like! Necessarily!
Get rid of professional deformation
If audience feedback can only be received when the work is done, then some people can give feedback during the video editing process. Such people should be independent and objective. You must trust and listen to their ideas, criticisms, and suggestions. They can be the face of your target audience.
There is such a concept as “professional deformation”. Over time, the video editor loses the ability to soberly and objectively evaluate his work. And that’s normal. This is part of a professional career. Therefore, it is important to listen to the opinion of those who can look at work from a different angle: refresh it or give it a completely new look.
Let your friend see the rough edit. Ask him what he thinks about what he saw. What does he associate this video with? Is there anything extra, or maybe something needs to be added? Do not be afraid to implement other people’s ideas in your work. It can enrich your video. Ask if the sound is too loud or too quiet. Different details can indicate important nuances that can be corrected and make your video truly high-quality.
Want more specifics? Let a colleague at work or a person who knows how to edit videos take a look. Listen to everything and conclude. It is not necessary to follow all the instructions you hear. The end result is still up to you. You are the author of your videos and you decide how they will be. But constructive criticism has never been superfluous and has never harmed the final result.
That’s why it’s important to understand who you’re showing your unfinished video to. Do you trust this person? Is her opinion authoritative or important to you? Do you listen to them in your everyday life? Are you familiar with their views? If yes, then feel free to show your work! Show and listen to everything they tell you after watching.
Collaborate
Video editing is often a collaborative process, particularly when working on larger projects. In this case, there may be two or even three video editors. Also, often there are separate people on projects who are responsible for color, sound, graphics, retouching, etc. This is a professional level where jobs are worth both big money and big effort.
One of the most important aspects of collaborating with other video editors is communication and subordination. It is important to clearly distribute responsibilities and the work schedule so that each of the editors does their work and does not do too much. It is also important to immediately determine the reporting system so that each of the reactors is informed about the completed work of their colleagues. Also, the collaboration includes naming conventions, folder structures, and cloud-based file-sharing services that allow multiple editors to access and collaborate on the same project files. Usually, the deadlines for such projects are not long, so clarifying all these nuances at the start will save a lot of precious time. Communication is the foundation of all foundations.
But if you didn’t get to work at this level, then it’s okay. The easiest way is to join forces with another beginner video editor. Create several projects together, sharing knowledge and experience. This will increase confidence in your decisions and reduce the fear of showing the final result to the target audience. By supporting each other, learning, and working diligently, you can quickly reach a good level of skills. And then develop a solo career.
Even at the start of your journey, you can agree with an experienced video editor about cooperation. Or rather, offer your services as help. Don’t expect to be paid for your work. This is not the main thing here. Experience is what you should come for. Performing simple work, such as sorting materials, synchronization, etc., you will have the opportunity to observe the work of a professional. And you can ask questions and get answers to them! This is a kind of “young fighter’s course” for a video editor. Priceless information that can quickly bring the necessary knowledge. You don’t have to go through a lot of trial and error. Although there will be mistakes, that’s normal. By watching the magic that happens during the creation of a project, you will be able to see how the project is created from the beginning to its export.
There are also quite often one-time collaborations. These are usually amateur projects that challenge video editors of different levels. You can always agree with colleagues in the shop about cooperation on a project of interest to both. Even a novice video editor can cooperate. Collaboration with other video editors can bring a variety of benefits, from sharing ideas and techniques to dividing up the workload and saving time. In essence, this is a test of the strength of each of the editors. After all, both already know something. Everyone may already have professional standards and habits. The ability to combine this is the main goal. And to create an interesting product, of course! Don’t be afraid to share your experience if you want it to be shared with you. Do not think that the person next to you is your direct competitor. Now he is your ally and the outcome depends on him just as much as on you. This should be remembered during the entire period of work. If you do not know something, do not hesitate to ask a colleague. He may not know it either. And you will have to work hard together to close this issue. Thus, cooperation can teach patience and attentiveness. You will take into account not only your interests but also the interests of your colleague. And more, it can also present its own unique challenges. Healthy competition can take you to a whole new level of work.
By working together effectively, video editors can create high-quality videos that meet the needs of clients and engage viewers. And of course – audience exchange.
Keep up with trends
The world of video editing is constantly evolving, with technologies, and trends. These trends can have a significant impact: from the tools and software used by editors to the styles and aesthetics of the videos they produce. It’s essential to keep up with the latest trends and techniques.
The main trends and their impact on the field of video editing
One of the main trends that have significantly affected video editing in recent years is the development of social networks. Their number is increasing every year: old ones are retiring or being modernized to compete with new ones; new social networks such as Tik Tok are rapidly gaining popularity and becoming multi-user worldwide. And the most important thing is that all these social networks (Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Facebook, and others) are becoming more and more filled with video content. This has led to a shift to shorter, visually appealing videos with an emphasis on grabbing viewers’ attention in the first few seconds. It has become popular to use filters for color, animation, and text accompaniment. Dynamic music, bright colors, and vertical video have become canon for many editors. And video editing on the phone has gained such momentum that there is more software than for computers.
Platforms like YouTube are also not standing still. If videos were once limited to amateur home videos of gameplay, now everyone can find something for themselves: travel blogs, fashion videos, cooking shows, commercials, music videos, tutorials and lectures, short films, and clips with memes (and much, much more). More and more people are learning the craft of video editing and creating unique content for the general public. And this led to great competition for the attention of every viewer. It is becoming increasingly difficult for young editors and already experienced professionals to surprise their viewers. They resort to mastering ever-new techniques: interesting and dynamic transitions, creating a more interesting picture with the help of color, processing the voice more qualitatively and in more detail, selecting music and additional sounds more clearly.
Another trend that has influenced video editing is the rise of virtual and augmented reality. Thanks to this, 360 videos became popular, when you can watch the video yourself in any direction. The viewer no longer just sits and watches the content, but can interact with it. 3D format video is also being developed. Impressions from watching such videos are greater than from ordinary ones because the image becomes voluminous. Spectators see objects moving in their direction and getting closer and closer. Such voluminous videos have become popular in the advertising industry. They attract and focus all the viewer’s attention on the video. And visual effects have become a must-have skill for a video editor who wants to be competitive.
Finally, the trend toward authenticity and storytelling has also had an impact on video editing. If the previous factors were the result of the previous few years, then it is now that there is an oversaturation of content. It is already difficult to impress viewers with extraordinary graphics and visual effects, and video dynamics no longer attract as much attention as before. Therefore, more and more video editors are returning to the basics. Finally, it’s time to rethink everything you’ve experienced. In modern realities, people are becoming more and more interested in an ordinary hero with whom they can associate. Simple story videos with real people and real events are what’s really becoming popular right now. Emotions that will stay with viewers for a long time – this is the main task for every video editor.
Creating dynamics and adding a lot of effects is not a big deal. It’s just a matter of time to learn how to do them. However, it is not so easy to create an emotional, real (meaning a realistic story) and at the same time not complicated video. Here we need to return to the basics and theory of video editing.
Trends come and go, and what works today may not work tomorrow. While trends can have a significant impact on video editing, editors need to remain flexible and adaptable. Ultimately, the most important factor in video editing is to create content that resonates with the target audience, regardless of the current trends. And the video editors themselves can be the creators of certain trends.
Who knows, maybe you will be the next innovator who will create a global trend soon.
Conclusion
Working with the audience is an essential part of video editing. By understanding who your audience is, engaging them, soliciting feedback, and using technical skills, you can create videos that will be remembered for a long time. Technical aspects are also important in working with the audience: pacing, color grading, and audio design that can help keep your audience engaged and interested in your content. And for this, it is necessary to follow the trends and novelties that are popular now. By creating relevant content, the video editor “speaks the same language” as his audience.
Improving your video editing skills by working with the audience requires a lot of time, effort, and patience. You can also exchange experience with colleagues to enrich yourself with experience. You can also collaborate with colleagues to learn how to work in a team and see other approaches to an already familiar work process.
So don’t be afraid to search and don’t be afraid to share your experience with others. It will only help you on the thorny path of video editing.