Top FILM & VIDEO Editing Habits

I started out my professional career as an editor, and specialised in promo editing & sizzle reels before moving into news and later corporate filmmaking. I often use the mental checklist below before starting a new project, and then sending edits off for approval.

INGEST & MEDIA MANAGEMENT
- Renaming media: do not rename media - organise into folders (before importing it into bins), so that you can import a whole folder and have it automatically organised into bins; renaming media can be dangerous and cause issues with duplicates or missing footage you thought you had down the line
- Redundancy: only clear your cards once you are satisfied of having footage in at least two different locations or platforms
- Ingest: copy straight from the card rather than making a copy of a copy; as there might be issues with the original transfer

SETTING UP YOUR EDIT SUITE
- Make sure you set your cache locations: in Premiere, you set the Media Cache locations separately from the Project’s Scratch Disks location (two different menus); I would recommend using a separate drive for the cache and scratch locations vs. the media so you can clear the cache in one go if necessary
- Make sure you are using GPU acceleration (in Premiere you can use software only by accident)
- Screen - editing on as large a screen as possible to see as much as possible
- Make sure project frame rate, etc. matches your footage, conform the footage that doesn’t
- Make sure your previews are in an editing friendly format (not H2^4/ H265 - needs ProRes or MPEG, something friendly)
- Label and version your edits - never delete a sequence - v1, v2, etc. and label with SENT FOR APPROVAL or something similar for important versions

CREATIVE EDITING
- Timings: I usually lay out graphics and timings first, that way I have an idea of the duration I have left – usually if you have titles and endboards, etc. this will limit how much time you have with the footage
- Script & paper edit: your film has to make sense on paper, if you are having issues with your structure it's usually because some of the lines are too long or you have tried to move lines around in a way that doesn't work; writing down the script you've shot vs. the original one is a great way of solving structural issues and figuring out what to cut or add back in
- Music build: try to pick tracks that have a progression, rather than just a bed; a music track with a strong beginning and finish really helps lift the final result and gives it structure
- Avoid gold fishing, i.e., showing presenters in B-roll mouthing lines whilst someone else's voice is narrating
- Audio needs to be radio-friendly; avoid loud noises or sound effects that do not play well with the VO or dialogue; music cannot overshadow the person’s voice unless this is a chosen effect
o In Adobe - Peak level should be at -10dB
o Dialogue, 100% sound up, voice etc. should average around -9dB (dialogue especially should not drop too far below this)
o Music at 100% should be around -15dB
o Add 25 frames of silence at beginning and end to help transition into/out of the edit
o Hard limiter on the whole timeline at -10DB

QC & EXPORT
- When exporting, do a 5-point QC to check video and audio sync (pick 5 moments in the video when people are speaking to see if it’s in sync)
- Any important info needs to be correct; triple check this before sending for approval!
- Graphics need to be title safe - use an overlay if helpful to check your graphics fit
- Sound: make sure all lines are clear, deep-sounding and radio-friendly; likewise, do not mix music too loud to the point where you cannot properly understand what someone is saying
- Quality: do not hesitate to cut something down if needed, there is no point filling time in an edit