Wanted to make sure I got this week’s editing tip in because in about 4 – 5 hours the New England Patriots are going to be playing in the AFC Championship game and my day will be spent watching the game and either (hopefully) celebrating a victory after that or wallowing in despair.
***update, I celebrated!!!***
This week’s tip goes along with this theme I have going “Keep it ____.” What exactly do I mean by good? Does it mean it is well written, well edited, the FX are good, the color-correction is good?
What I am really talking about is good in an over arching sense. When you work on something, whether that be an edit, a script, a shoot, a lighting design, anything really, know that your name is on it. We all at some point work on projects that aren’t exactly creative or something that gets those creative juices flowing. It can be easy to say “well, it is just this or just that, it doesn’t matter.” Guess what, it does. Why? Because your name is on it.
The first video I ever edited as a professional was cutting 4 segments together, putting a dip to black between the 3 cuts and putting a fade on the head and tail. Sounds easy, right? I was working at an entry level position trying to work my way into the editing suite. That day I realized that if those simple edits weren’t correct, I may not be able to get more chances to edit. Those were the best damn fades and dip to black edits to ever leave a NLE edit system. Why? Because they had my name on it.
Whether you are working on a complex build in a video composite or you are editing the boss’s daughter’s wedding ceremony, always make it good. Never let apathy get in the way of quality.
Barry Clegg 
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