When it comes to cinematography in film production, every skill in filmmaking matters. Like a good camera is needed for a perfect shot, good directing is essential for your scenes and story to be in sync. Similarly, video editing is a skill that we require in post-production to bring all the aspects of video production to come together and become the masterpiece you want it to be.
Good video editing skills can take an utterly messy shot and turn it into absolute wonder.

To understand why video editing skills are so important to learn, here are some points to brief you out:

Decision-Making Power

The editor has the power to rearrange shots and scenes or jump forward/backward in the timeline. Video editing software allows us, the freedom to add their little effects for comedic timing or long pauses for dramatic/suspicious sequences.

Cutting through

Cuts are the perfect way to make the film flow at a smooth pace. We are required to cut shots at a perfect time to get a perfect, undisrupted scene. Cut a scene too soon may result in an abrupt stop while delaying the cut may drag the scene forever.

Transitioning

Transitioning can turn the world inside the scene upside down. The scene might just come out to be a fast-paced, chaotic mess without the transitions. Good video editing skills help in smoothening the transitions and give them a clear, sophisticated touch. It keeps the pace of the flow under control and simultaneously focuses on continuity editing, sound editing, etc.

Color grading and color correction

Improving the appearance of the images in your scenes is also necessary to make them look presentable enough on any device. That’s where color grading and color correction come in. Color grading helps in enhancing various attributes of an image like contrast, color, saturation, etc. Whereas color correction balances the amount of color appearance in a scene.

Now we are clear on what exactly video editing is and what major role it plays in post-production.

There are a lot of video editing courses in Delhi or filmmaking courses for beginners in India itself. They provide you the right filmmaking techniques and filmmaking tutorials to help you learn how to use all these filmmaking tools in video editing. We have extracted some essential film editing tips and tricks for beginners to fasten up the otherwise tedious process of editing, throughout the filmmaking process.

Cuts along with movement

As mentioned above, we can achieve seamless transitions through cuts, in an on-screen movement, or a camera movement.

Keep it compact

Decision time. We need to make the call whether we need an elongated montage in a scene or a character walking an entire flight of stairs. One needs to cut between different camera movements/angles or remove extra/unnecessary footage to speed the process.

Reestablishing the purpose

To keep the central idea of the scene intact, you need to edit it accordingly. Like rapid movements showing time or clock can increase tension in an action movie.

Use of the audio match and motivated cuts

In addition to visual editing, we can achieve powerful effects by good audio tracks, matching the dialogues and sound effects in a scene for dramatic sequences. We can use motivated cuts on the other hand to simply link between two scenes/shots, to heighten the tension or suspense.

Insert shots for revelation

Close-ups, also known as insert shots can help to bring the audience’s attention to a particular detail or a specific shot. They can also help in the transition between the scenes.

As long as you keep the above tips in mind, and have the required skills and passion, you’re going to start editing right away!