{"id":74751,"date":"2021-05-24T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=74751"},"modified":"2021-05-24T10:18:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T15:18:10","slug":"video-editing-tips-cutting-documentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/video-editing-tips-cutting-documentary\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Video Editing Tips for Cutting a Documentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From file management to lower thirds, these fourteen video editing tips will help you shape your documentary film.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Weeks, months, and sometimes years after you\u2019ve captured all your footage for a documentary, you have to put it together. Whether you captured everything you needed or not, miracles can happen in the editing room. So can disasters, but let\u2019s focus on the positives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the editing room, you\u2019ll find the story and put it together to craft a narrative. Of course, that\u2019s after you\u2019ve done the tedious work of organizing and backing up all of your footage and transcribing interviews. Then, you can start making action cuts, L cuts, J cuts\u2014all the cuts. Have fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kidding aside, cutting a documentary takes time, patience, and skill. We can\u2019t help you with that. What we can do is offer advice. Below you\u2019ll find fourteen tips for cutting a documentary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Back up Your Footage<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"External<\/a>
Back up footage in at least two different spots. Image via Nor Gal<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s because you misplaced the storage device or the data corrupted, losing footage is never ideal, especially when shooting a documentary. You just can\u2019t recreate some scenes. You need to back up footage to ensure that it doesn’t get lost. Ideally, you’ll want to back up footage in at least two separate locations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backing up footage at the office is the obvious choice, but don’t forget to also back it up on a portable drive, such as a portable SSD<\/a>. That extra layer of protection secures the files if the original is deleted, lost, or corrupted. Using the cloud as a secondary option is also a good idea, and it allows access to your footage from wherever there’s an internet connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Organize It All<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Woman<\/a>
Make your life easy\u2014organize your files into a specialized folder. Image via 13_Phunkod<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having an organized file structure makes it easier to find everything you need later on. You can create an in-depth file structure, breaking up all your footage and assets into a specialized folder. Or, you can use Digital Rebellion\u2019s PostHaste<\/a>, a piece of free software that creates file structures based on your project. It\u2019s available to download for PC and macOS devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the software is a huge timesaver, it doesn\u2019t do miracles. You\u2019ll need to put all the files in the folders yourself, but at least you\u2019ll know where to put them. Tori\u2019s piece<\/a> on footage archival is an excellent read, diving into the pros and cons of physical versus cloud storage and how to organize files. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Transcribe Every Interview<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve done my fair share of interviews over the years, and transcribing is second nature at this point. Doing it isn’t fun, but it helps a lot down the road in two ways. First, it helps me become more acquainted with the interview, picking up interesting quotes that I may have missed the first time around. Second, finding any quote is as easy as searching for a keyword within Google Docs or Word. Transcribing everything will take some time, especially when talking about transcribing interviews for a feature-length documentary. But, it\u2019s worth it. You\u2019ll also want to place a timestamp<\/a> after every quote so you can quickly locate it within the footage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have the budget, hire someone to help. If that\u2019s not in the budget, I suggest using Otter<\/a>, which is free for the first 600 minutes of audio it transcribes every month. The app uses AI<\/a> to transcribe in real-time, and it also works on uploaded recordings. Apart from adding timestamps, it knows who’s speaking, though you\u2019ll have to identify the people before it can attribute lines to them. If Otter messes up, you can edit within the app. The Pro version is $100 for one year, and it\u2019s worth every cent, with 6,000 minutes of transcription every month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Use Close-ups and Medium Shots over Wide Shots<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Saving<\/a>
A medium shot of Tom Hanks<\/a> and Tom Sizemore<\/a> in<\/em> Saving Private Ryan<\/a>. Image via David James\/\u200bDreamworks\/\u200bAmblin\/\u200bUniversal\/\u200bKobal\/\u200bShutterstock<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How a shot is framed matters. Framing too wide for anything other than an establishing shot can lead the viewer to wander and lose the plot. You\u2019ll want to use medium shots for most interviews. A medium shot<\/a> frames a subject from the waist up. The medium shot feels the most natural when a person is talking, but when you emphasize or add tension\/drama to a scene, the close-up is the way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A close-up frames the subject above the neck, but it can sometimes just frame the subject\u2019s face. The close-up can also be used as a way to transition between interviews, which feels less jarring than transitioning between two identically-framed interviews. The close-up is also perfect for capturing and highlighting small details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Avoid Jump Cuts with Multiple Camera Angles or B-Roll<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"B-Roll\"<\/a>
Fill uncomfortable transitions with B-roll. Image via PopTika<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

People don\u2019t speak perfectly like in the movies. Real life is rife with filler words, such as “umms” and “ahhs,” which you\u2019ll have to edit out. The problem is that cutting out those filler words mid-sentence results in jump cuts<\/a>. Jump cuts look unprofessional, and while they may get a pass on YouTube<\/a>, documentaries are different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One idea is to cut to a different camera angle when you need to make a cut. The problem is you need to shoot an interview with multiple cameras, which can eat into a tight budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other solution is to cut to B-roll<\/a> instead, which adds context to the story. When an interview subject says \u201cahh,\u201d cut to a close-up of their hands, a cityscape, a bowl of fruit. It doesn\u2019t matter, though it should be somewhat related to the story. It\u2019s better to cut to something that visualizes what the interview subject is saying. If they\u2019re speaking about their childhood, maybe cut to a picture from their yearbook or a home video. You get the idea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. Cutting on Action<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Much like low-quality sound, viewers only notice bad transitions when done poorly. Cutting on action is one of the most straightforward cuts for a seamless transition. As the subject moves and grabs the viewer\u2019s attention, that\u2019s when you cut to the following clip, and no one\u2019s the wiser. When I say action, I don’t mean movie<\/em> action. It’s more like motion, and it can be something as simple as an interview subject looking off-camera or shifting in their seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. Lead into the Next Clip with a J Cut or L Cut<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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