Why you need an Editor.

Editing is a vital part of the creative process. It’s taking your initial ideas and raw footage; organizing, distilling and compiling it all into the perfect final product - so it has to look good. That much is obvious.

So, why do you need an editor? Why not just do it all by yourself?

Well, there’s a number of reasons for us to explore here.

Time.

We’re often fighting against the clock at the best of times, especially when it comes to creative and video work. Deadlines are strict, subject relevance has a short window and there are only so many hours in a day.

Filming takes time. Though it’s important and often the shortest of tasks to complete, you need to make sure you’re accounting for re-shoots as mistakes and accidents do often happen.

Cutting down and streamlining your timeline is a big eater. Let’s say you’ve got 20 minutes of raw footage. Out of that 20 minutes, you may find it being condensed down to 10 or 15 minutes, maybe even less. Now, let’s say you’re using two, or maybe even three cameras, all at different angles. What about B-roll or location changes?

What if you need to source assets, figures, music or meme’s for your video? That’s often very time consuming.

We can’t forget about colour grading and audio processing too. People are going to watch a video that looks bland and desaturated, or sounds like it’s being broadcast over a HAM radio.

Skill.

Now, I don’t mean to offend anyone with what I’m about to say here, but editing is not as easy as you may think it to be. Sure, a lot of it is common sense and fairly rudimentary - but having a creative mind and an eye for design is something that you can’t really learn. Yes you can improve upon your creativity, but it takes time and a lot of trial and error.

We’re sort of doubling back on ourselves here, but I promise it is all relevant.

Learning how to use the tools in your software of choice is pretty easy, but there are a lot so it’s easy to forget about or simply gloss over some of them. But using them effectively takes practice, and practice takes time. Time that you probably don’t have to spare. Having a creative mind and an eye for design is also a huge benefit. Not quite a skill, perhaps maybe a talent? But it is something that can be improved upon in time.

However, some people just can’t quite get to grips with it - and that’s okay. It’s important not to get disheartened about not being able to produce an edit you’re happy with, because that’s what your editor is for!

Equipment.

This one is important, because you can’t achieve quality results with bad equipment - but that doesn’t mean that inexpensive facilities are useless. Personally, some of the best footage I’ve captured has been on a sub £500 camera running freehand - but that’s a story for another day.

The software you run is a key factor in your work, as it determines how much creative flexibility you have with your work. I personally use Adobe Premiere Pro primarily, but you might use DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro - or maybe even something completely different like YouTube Creator Studio, or even WIndows Movie Maker and iMovie (although I personally wouldn’t recommend them).

Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve are all incredibly powerful tools, but they can prove to have quite a steep learning curve for some; and that’s just the beginning.

Premiere, like all of Adobe’s creative software requires a subscription. Dependent on your wants and needs, it can be anywhere from £20 - £50 a month, rounded off as of writing this blog.

Final Cut Pro is a one-time purchase of £300 (as of writing), however it’s only available on Mac. So if you work primarily from Windows, I have bad news for you.

On a brighter note, DaVinci Resolve is free and just as powerful - but with great power, comes great demands.

(I’m sorry, but the reference just doesn’t work here)

All of the above demand some pretty good specs from your PC/Mac to run effectively, so you won’t be getting very far on that £400 notebook you bought in the Black Friday Sales. Your editor on the other hand, will already have all the tools and equipment they need for the job, and probably then some!

An outside perspective.

Last, but by no means least, is having an outside perspective.

You’re creating content for the wider world to see, so the perspective and opinions of a third party are invaluable to you - as they will also be a consumer of your content and they will often suggest and implement ideas that normally wouldn’t have crossed your mind. It’s almost like a collaboration, I suppose you could say? You’re both exploring different avenues and trains of thought that you normally would never even consider, and it’s this bouncing of ideas off one another that helps to drive the creative process even further.

The more you develop and refine your ideas with your editor or even your editorial team, the more your content will evolve and improve in quality and well, content. Your editor will also pick up on any little things that you may typically miss in the process, or recommend changes and ideas for future filming that may well improve the quality of your pre-production quality massively.

I could talk all day about just how helpful having a second or even third opinion and perspective is when it comes to creative work, but I’ll save you the essay. Just remember, it’s near invaluable.

To recap.

Editors are incredibly helpful assets to have when producing content. A good editor is worth their weight in gold! They will save you time, stress and resources, as you’ll be able to delegate your work efficiently and effectively. That aside, you’ll also come out with a much better end product, often in much less time too!

But be careful, quick doesn’t necessarily mean good. Yes, turnaround time is important, but being quick and rushing are two very different things, so bare that in mind when you set deadlines for your project.