In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast from Unsplice, we explore the art of storytelling. We start by discussing why simply grabbing interesting dialogue is not enough. We then introduce a fundamental storytelling technique that will help you create engaging content. We delve into the 3-Act structure, as first introduced by Aristotle in 335 BC, and explore each act in detail. To illustrate how the 3-Act structure can be used, we analyse the story of Little Red Riding Hood. While this...

Russell Griffin A.C.E is a multicam sitcom editor, and the editor of Hulu’s second season of How I Met Your Father. In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast, he shares his wisdom on how to ‘find the funny’. If you’re unsure about professional workflow then join the community of video editors all working towards their goal of working as freelance video editors, learning professional practices to help them get freelance work sooner. Sign up for Unsplice Pro Schedule your onboarding...

Networking is tough, and it can become a bit of a grind. In this unplanned episode of The Video Editing Podcast I get vulnerable and reflect on how I’m feeling currently about my career trajectory - am I choosing the trajectory based on my idea of success or what I believe others consider success to be as an editor. If you are lost and don’t know how to make your video editing career a reality, Unsplice Pro teaches you the exact step-by-step process you need to get there in the shortest...

To be a successful video editor, it's important to bring more than just technical ability to the table. Clients want to collaborate with creative problem solvers and value trust over money. Aim to be a brilliant creative storyteller and clients will view you as irreplaceable. It's important to keep in mind that AI cannot be brilliant or predictable, and clients want predictability. To learn how to become a brilliant Creative Storyteller, join the waitlist to be notified when enrolment...

When a client gives you complete creative control, it can be frustrating to come up with ideas. This may be due to a lack of understanding of the SHINY framework, the Rocks in a Glass principle, and not thinking about how to tell the best story with what you have. Technical ability is often emphasised over storytelling ability, which can lead to a focus on flashy transitions and effects rather than creative problem-solving. I believe that creative literacy is as important as reading and...

Are you an editor (or work with one) who has been editing at least one day per week, but you’re frustrated because you haven’t seen much improvement over the last three months? If so then this episode of The Video Editing Podcast will give you an idea to help you overcome that plateau. Unsplice prepares you for life as a career video editor so that you can take back control of your time and say yes to work you enjoy, wherever you want to do it. If you are lost and don’t know how to make...

In December 2022 I finished cutting a documentary series with Vice New York. The job went well, and at the end of the I did what I recommend all editors do when they’ve finished a project - ask for feedback. In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast you’ll hear the story of how that went and what I learned from that feedback. You’ll learn from my mistakes on the craft of editing and hear tips on ways to grow your network naturally. Unsplice prepares you for life as a career video editor...

Greg Wright is the Supervising Producer for Vice and Showtime in New York, but he started his career working as an editor. In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast he shares some of the main considerations that go into the editing of their shows, but also you can hear about his journey from Editor to Supervisor, and why that could be a viable long term option for editors who may have reached the ceiling of their career. Unsplice prepares you for life as a career video editor so that...

You’ve taken on a job and you’ve agreed to the delivery deadline, but then you receive the hard drive of footage from the client and you see they’ve shot days worth of footage for a 2 min vid. What do you do? In this episode you’ll learn steps to take to avoid overwhelm and find the footage you need as quickly as possible so that you can deliver on time. The lessons in this episode are a sample of one of the courses included in Unsplice Pro called ‘How to get Hours of Footage Down to...

If you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s or even 60s and you realise that your work is really not that fulfilling, it can feel really daunting to switch careers. You know that you need to do something because the idea of staying in the same situation sounds miserable. But if you move to a new career it can feel like throwing away a ton of years of your life to pursue the new thing that you know will make you happier. This isn’t your fault, this is because of the terrible design of the school...

Matt was feeling unfulfilled creatively and realised he had no passion for his Physical Therapy job. He’d been keen on the film industry for a while but never really explored that interest. The pandemic was the nail in the coffin and he decided to take his freedom into his own hands and pursue video editing. Now he enjoys working at home so he can be close to his children, and flex his creative muscles as a freelance Story Producer - a kind of assistant editor that specialises in crafting the...

When you’re starting out you may be tempted to just say yes to any job that comes your way. That is a sure fire way to work with terrible clients, burning out as a result. It took me years to see patterns in some of the nightmare clients I worked with. In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast you’ll learn some of the red flags to keep an eye out for so that you can avoid taking on clients and jobs that are more hassle than they are worth. Unsplice helps you escape mundane work by training...

We’re not talking about basic technical things beginner YouTube editors do, this episode of The Video Editing Podcast goes deeper on the fundamentals of expert professional video editing for commercials and documentary editing. You’ll learn about storytelling, money, career mistakes, and creative faux pas. What are the main things that inexperienced editors put too much emphasis on, or forget is important? Here’s 15 of them to start. Unsplice helps you escape mundane work by training you to...

Have you every watched a video and thought, “That was really well edited,” but you’re not sure why? It’s one skill to be able to edit well, but to be able to edit well consistently, you have to know what sucks about your edit and how to improve it. If you want to know what to look out for when you’re reviewing your edit, this episode of The Video Editing Podcast will give you an outline of what to look out for. Improve 5 things and you’ll see your edit transform to something a Pro would be...

Editing is all about storytelling. But how do you tell a story if your footage doesn’t have any dialogue? I todays episode of The Video Editing Podcast from Unsplice you’ll learn 4 things that you can incorporate into your edits to help create a sense of a story without using dialogue. If you’d like to learn 4 times as much about telling a story without dialogue then join Unsplice Pro before February 24th 2023 to be able to join the live workshop on storytelling for commercials. Join the live...

You’ve probably heard that good editing is invisible. It’s one of the reasons you are able to tell when something has been edited by a junior or a pro. But what are those subtle differences that are so imperceivable to the conscious mind? What tips, tricks and techniques does a pro use to manipulate the audience and make the edit feel so polished? In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast you will learn 7 surprising considerations pros utilise to create powerful edits. To learn how to tell...

It’s true. You are correct. Being a freelance video editor really is one of the best jobs worth pursuing. I may be biased but allow me to share my opinion as to why that is. In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast you’ll learn some of the great benefits of working as a freelance video editor. Of course, no job is perfect; you can expect long hours and tight deadlines, but you get the freedom to choose to take on those more challenging but more rewarding jobs. Unsplice helps you escape...

Documentaries have exploded in popularity in the last decade. And we’ve seen some memorable ones bring amazing characters into our lives. So, what makes a documentary good? In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast from Unsplice you’ll learn the 4 things that all good documentaries have and how you can implement those things into the documentaries you are cutting. PLUS, if you’re quick you can enjoy 50% off Unsplice Pro FOR LIFE! Unsplice Pro members are improving their video editing...

At the beginning of the year, a lot of people assess their working life and are thinking about making a career change to find more fulfilling work. If you're condering a change in career towards filmmaking then one of the first places you may think to aquire the new skills you need would be film school. But, should you go to Film School? In episode 18 of The Video Editing Podcast, I share the pros and cons of Film School from an editor's perspective. I look back on 15 years in the industry...

In February of 2022 I released the very first episode of The Video Editing Podcast. Little did I know the kind of impact it would have on video editors across the globe. Before that I’d posted tutorials on Instagram, but that account was taken down without explanation. In 2020 I launched the YouTube channel sharing creative editing tutorials, but catering to the algorithm and not the human just didn’t align with my values. After a few months of starting the podcast earlier this year, it...

Saving 1 second by moving a clip to the timeline using the keyboard instead of the mouse isn’t gonna impress anybody. But if you’re making only 10 cuts per minute, that’s 1h 20m per day you are wasting by not using keyboard shortcuts.   There’s a more efficient way of doing almost everything when it comes to editing, and I’m not just talking about keyboard shortcuts. Project organisation, software interaction, apps, tools, and hardware. All of these have an incremental impact on your...

Are you trying to launch your video editing career but you’re unsure where to start? Do you feel overwhelmed with all the things you feel you need to learn? Firstly, chill. Because you don’t have to know absolutely everything to start earning money from video editing. Once you have a basic understanding of how to use the software, you’ll need to know the technical side of handling assets/files to make sure your software doesn’t crash/lag. Then you’ll want to know the optimum way to build...

As a video editor, it’s all too easy to become burnt out. But it isn’t always just from overworking. In this episode of The Video Editing Podcast from Unsplice, you’ll learn the 5 main causes of burnout so that you have the knowledge to be able to avoid burnout and stay happy and productive.   Burnout isn't something we should ignore—it's important to recognize when it's happening so we can take steps to stop it before it gets worse (or even takes over our lives).   If you’d like to learn...

Which software should you learn before you enter the world of professional video editing? That’s the question we’re going to be seeking the answer to in this episode of The Video Editing Podcast from Unsplice.   Each NLE (Non-Linear Video Editor) has its pros and cons, and so you’ll find different pockets of the industry prefer different software. In this episode you’ll learn what software is used where, the pros and cons of each, and which software you should invest your time (and money)...

If you’re still early in your video editing career and haven’t built up a network of clients, it can be difficult to find work. So, where are the main places you can find video editing work as a freelancer when you’re starting out? In this episode you can learn 8 routes to finding work. It’s more effective if you concentrate on one route at a time. Once you’ve figured out where you are going to look for work, you have to be mindful with how you approach clients if you want them to like and...