While you cuts and edit the clips, you have to know about this context
Solid Framework for editing
10 Elements that built your toolkit as an editor
Core Element in your video
Left to right you have to understand the decisions factors to combine it.
You dont have to focus on all of this decisions
Storytelling is so important
Context makes us understand the story
Emotion makes us feels the story
Rhythm makes us immerse in the story
They are interconnected each other and working hand in hand
Only context makes a video a heartless assembly of facts which is similar to a boring lecture
In a video in same time
Spoken language
refer statements of characters
Vision language
anything can be seen on a screen
Auditory language
refer anything can heared by the viewer
First concentrate on
A Roll and B Roll + (Voice Over)
voice over when ever needed before you spice it up with other editing elements
Nobody likes to listen to some one same information multiple times doesnt understand the viewer more about the story and they are bored
Doesnt connect to the previous context makes the viewer confused
The context you provide should always connect everything before
Good editor and medioker editor
That's why you as the editor need to adjust the amount of context to the importance of an event within the story. If an event is really important for the story, you need to slow down the pacing to expand the context. If an event is less important for the story, you need to increase the pacing to compress the context. And if an event isn't important for the story at all, you need to remove the context altogether.
Expand, compress, remove.
As you will come to understand, every story has less and more important events by nature. Therefore, you almost always have an alternation between compressed and expanded context throughout the video. In other words, every story-driven video will have a varied pacing from one sequence to another.
the red part of the timeline referred to compressed events with a faster pacing,
while the green parts referred to expanded events with a slower pacing.
To get the pacing of your video right, you need to become ruthless when cutting out unnecessary context
Compress or remove
In this case, you need to kill your darlings. This means that you need to drastically compress those events or remove them all together. Killing your darlings is one of the most important skills as an editor because it makes sure that every shot within your timeline contributes to the larger narrative of your video.
Once you edit the sequence, I recommend you to rewatch it and specifically look for unnecessary context. In most cases, you will find additional shots that aren't needed for your story and by removing them you will create even more clarity for the part of your video.
Progress happens when the character moves closer to their goal, while conflict happens when they move further away from it.
Physical
The physical journey refers to the physical events that happen on the surface
context helps the viewer understand the change of physical events
Emotional
journey refers to the emotions and thoughts that happen in the character's mind.
helps the viewer understand the change of the character's emotions.
Both journeys are intertwined with each other because events trigger emotions and emotions trigger events.
So to communicate the change within a sequence, you need to provide both physical and emotional context.
At this point, I want to remind you that context only makes the viewer understand, but it doesn't make them feel.
In my footage selection, there was a constant alternation between progress and conflicts which didn't communicate a strong change in any direction. The quick highs and lows basically cancelled each other out which made the sequence appear meaningless after a few interactions. In other words, the story stood still as the character didn't get much closer or further away from his goal. At this point, the storyteller in me realized that instead of constantly alternating between progress and conflict, I needed to first only focus on conflict and then only focus on progress. Why? Because this would allow me to communicate meaningful change within the story. Now that I found my North Star for the sequence, I started to assemble the right shots in the timeline. I decided to change the chronology of shots by clustering all rejections and all water sales separate from each other as this allowed me to first communicate strong conflict followed by strong progress. Here is what that first version of the edit looked like.
I needed to first only focus on conflict and then only focus on progress. Why? Because this would allow me to communicate meaningful change within the story. Now that I found my North Star for the sequence,
At this point, I want to remind you that context only makes the viewer understand, but it doesn't make them feel. So emotional context helps the viewer understand why the character feels a certain way, but it doesn't make the viewer feel the same emotion as the character.
you first need to spot the change in your story and choose progress or conflict as your North Star that guides you through the edit of a sequence and then you always need to provide both physical and emotional context in order to communicate that change.
Not that many people want to buy water. I liked both statements and they served as a good transition between the conflict and progress of my sequence. However, I felt like the viewer wouldn't be able to judge the weight of those statements without more emotional context. So I decided to add a voiceover section between those statements where I talked about why the rejections heavily impacted my emotional states. Here is what that looked like.
Physical context helps the viewer understand the change of physical events and
emotional context helps the viewer understand the change of the character's emotions.
A mediocre editor provides new context that builds on top of each other, but they often get lost in unimportant side stories that don't contribute to the main . This makes the story come to a halt and the viewer starts to feel disengaged as they don't understand how the side stories help the character reach their goal.
As you might remember from lesson 2.11,
Every story consists of the physical journey and the emotional journey. The physical journey refers to the physical events that happen on the surface and the emotional journey refers to the emotions and thoughts that happen in the character's mind. Both journeys are intertwined with each other because events trigger emotions and emotions trigger events.
and only emotion makes a video a meaningless assembly of feelings which is similar to a madhouse full of crazy people.
Emotions are what makes a story come to life.
you as the editor can influence the viewer's primary senses of sight and hearing to immerse them into an ultimate reality.
In lesson 6.2 about visual psychology
you need to make the viewer feel the same emotion so they can relate to what the character is going through.
So just as you should intensify the highs and lows of the journey on a contextual level, you also need to intensify the highs and lows on an emotional level.
So while I asked you to use the change within your story as your North Star, I now ask you to also use the emotion as a second North Star to help you edit a sequence.
Ask yourself what you want the viewer to feel before throwing clips into your timeline.
If you don't yet know the emotion you want to convey, go through your footage again and again until you figure out what this part of your story actually feels like.
It always helps to put yourself into the shoes of the character and ask yourself what they felt in that moment. Or if you are the character of your own story, you can simply recall the specific memory and reflect on what you felt. As
Great editing is a mix of logic and intuition. You need to be logical and know when to provide which context, but you also need to let go of that logic and simply let your intuition run free.
While each editing element can convey emotion by itself, you usually use multiple elements in combination with each other in order to transport an emotion in the most intense way possible.
As I said, you first need to create an emotion and then you can intensify that emotion. A-roll, B-roll and voiceovers are the key editing elements that help you create an emotion and graphics, animations, color grade, music and sound effects allow you to intensify that emotion.
If you just show a character crying, nobody will know why they feel the emotion, which doesn't add anything for the story.
But if you show a character crying and at some point you provide the emotional context that their parents died, the viewer will understand where the emotion is coming from.
So remember that context and emotion always go hand in hand.
A ROLL
In general, there are three different approaches to create an emotion and provide the necessary emotional context by using A-roll, B-roll and voiceovers. The first approach is to provide both context and emotion in the A-roll. Here is what that would look like.
If you are editing a documentary, it will be the moments where the character becomes vulnerable while talking in front of the camera. If you are editing a staged video, it will be the strongest performances where the actor expresses intense emotions.
Brides or Grooms parents CONTEXT + EMOTIONS about the past
A-roll parts like this usually show an emotion in the most raw and authentic way, as the viewer can directly observe the character while they are experiencing the emotion. So it can be really powerful to only show the A-roll of your character's most emotional statements and moments.
The second approach is to provide context in the A-roll and create emotion in the B-roll.
OPTION 1
A ROLL Interview context and emotion in same time while interview
OPTION 2
So if the A-roll doesn't create such a strong feeling in itself, make sure to use additional B-roll shots that visualize the emotions and put them right in the viewer's face.
is to provide context in a voiceover and create emotion in the B-roll.
In this third approach, the voiceover adds the context to where the emotion is coming from while the B-roll shots visualize the emotion.
In the example, Natalie talks about breaking up with her boyfriend while contrasting B-roll shots of the good old times versus the current reality. Back then she danced with her friend in the rain and now she's sitting on the top of her van all by herself. Multiple shots in relation to each other allow you to create much more complex emotions that cannot be shown in a single shot.
This third approach is especially useful if you have powerful B-roll shots that show strong emotions, but you don't have the necessary A-roll to add context. In this case, you can simply record a voiceover that perfectly supports the B-roll, which allows the viewer to both feel and understand the emotion.
So to sum it up, the three approaches to create an emotion are context and emotion in A-roll, context in A-roll and emotion in B-roll, and context in voiceover and emotion in B-roll.
After edit the base you should as next step the intense
we as humans connect strong emotions to different colors. In fact, we collect emotions to the three color factors of hue, saturation and luminance.
Strong colors signal positivity and comfort,
while cold colors signal negativity and sadness.
More saturated colors make the character feel alive,
while desaturated colors make them feel dead.
And dark colors make a scene feel depressing and mysterious,
while bright colors make a scene feel uplifting and playful.
once you become aware of what colors trigger which emotions, you can actively intensify the emotion of your sequence by adjusting the color grade accordingly.
So for example, if you want to emphasize negative emotions of grief and isolation, make the color grade colder and less saturated. Or if you want to emphasize positive emotions like joy and freedom, make the color grade warmer and more saturated.
Negative
Positive - joy and freedom
is the most important editing element to intensify an emotion. The right song instantly changes the atmosphere of your sequence and helps the viewer immerse themselves into what the character is going through.
That's why you need to develop a good feeling of how different instruments, genres and rhythms influence the emotions of the viewer. For example, if you want to convey an emotion of tranquility and peace, you can use a slow song that was played on a piano.
On the other hand, if you want to convey an emotion of pressure and nervousness, you can use an electronic song with an irregular rhythm.
if you want to underline the adrenaline rush after a motorbike crash, you can add a fast heartbeat and flash sound effects to make the injuries appear even more dramatic.
As you see, you have to get creative and think about how both real and artificial sounds can help you underline the emotion while making it appear believable.
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As the first point was only about giving you a general understanding of why we feel emotion,
let me start with the second point of how I figured out what emotion I needed to focus on. When going through my footage, I found an A ROLL part when Julian explains how people doubted his abilities and what it felt like to ride a bike for the first time in his life.
When watching this part of the interview, I could feel a hint of negativity as he's been doubted for his whole life, but I could also feel a massive amount of positivity as he felt completely free when stepping onto his bike. So I knew that in this sequence, I wanted to contrast the emotions of doubt and freedom, which gave me a good direction for the edits.
HOW TO
Now that I knew what emotion to focus on, I had to create the emotion. As you could see, Julian didn't show strong expressive emotions in the AWOL. On top of that, I had to cut out sections of the interview every few seconds as the statements had long talking breaks and I wanted to keep it dynamic. So to avoid constant jump cuts and better visualize the emotions that Julian was talking about, I decided to go for approach two of context in AWOL and emotion in B-roll. I looked through my footage timeline in order to find shots that would help me visualize the emotions that Julian felt during the moments he talked about. I found a series of shots where Julian switches from crutches to his bike and puts on his helmet, which was perfect to visualize him picking up his first bike. Then I found a shot where he looks very serious and focused, which was great to show his reaction to the doubts from other people. I purposely decided to show this shot for a bit longer in order to really let the emotions sink in. At this point, I knew that the emotion now had to change towards joy and freedom. I wanted to transport the viewer back into the moment of Julian riding for the first time, so I added dynamic shots of him paddling on his bike mixed with some motion shots of him discovering new tricks. Towards the end, I felt like Julian proved the mechanic who doubted him wrong, which I tried to visualize with a B-roll shot where Julian looks very prideful and happy. Lastly, I added a shot of Julian doing a trick during sunrise to let this last statement of being free really sink in. So check out what this sequence looked like with A-roll and B-roll.
I had to intensify the emotion with additional editing elements. I color graded the negative and positive parts of the sequence slightly different in order to further emphasize the contrast of emotions.
Rhythm in video editing can be compared to rhythm in music.
In music, rhythm refers to the temporal arrangement of sounds, beats and pauses.
In video editing, rhythm refers to the temporal arrangement of shots, cuts and transitions.
The tempo refers to how fast the cuts are on average
the pattern refers to how regular the length of those cuts is.
So you can have a slow tempo, which is equal to long cuts, or you can have a fast tempo, which is equal to short cuts. And you can have a regular pattern, which is equal to cuts with a similar length, or you can have an irregular pattern, which is equal to cuts with varied lengths.
Next up, here is a sequence with a fast tempo and irregular pattern.
Now here is a sequence with a medium tempo and irregular pattern.
And lastly, here is a sequence with a medium tempo and irregular pattern.
We also create short slowly edit without cuts and also actionful rhythm scene without cuts
Essentials
A common mistake of many editors is that they try to adjust their cuts to the exact beats of a random song.
There are two problems with that. First, you shouldn't adjust the rhythm of your cuts to a random song that you like.
As always, story comes first and that's why you first need to figure out the rhythm of your sequence before searching for a song that fits.
But the second issue is that you don't need to always cut to the exact beats of your music. Cutting to the beat might be the right choice in certain situations as it makes a sequence appear dynamic and engaging, but oftentimes deviating from the strict rhythm of your music can add visual interest or emphasize key moments in a more effective way.
So instead of simply following the beats of a song, you should always adjust your rhythm to the moment of your story. As you know by now, the three story-based decision factors are context, emotion and rhythm. Those three factors should always go hand in hand with each other and that's why it makes sense to adjust the rhythm of your sequence to the primary factors of context and emotion.
here are the five shots of my alarm clock example with a slow rhythm.
And here are the same shots, but now with a fast rhythm.
As you see, both versions provide the viewer with different contexts.
The slow rhythm makes it look like the character is lazy and struggles to get out of bed,
while the fast rhythm makes it look like the character is disciplined and gets started with his day right away.
Context helps the viewer understand the story and that's why your rhythm needs to communicate the right context.
On top of that, the rhythm helps to support the pacing of your shots.
To recap, rhythm refers to the tempo and pattern of cuts in relation to each other on a micro level and pacing refers to the speed at which the events of the story unfolds, which is synonymous to the compression or expansion of context on a macro level. So rhythm and pacing refer to different aspects, but still you can adjust them to each other to clarify the intention of your sequence.
So for example, if the pacing of your sequence is slow and you only show a short moment of reality, then you can support the expansion of context with a slow rhythm.
On the other hand, if the pacing of your sequence is fast and you show multiple weeks of real-time events, then you can support the compression of context with a fast rhythm.
Let's begin with a sequence that has a slow rhythm.
a slow rhythm conveys a feeling of calmness, contemplation and melancholy.
melancholy. In other words, a slow rhythm transports a low energy which perfectly fits to reflective moments in your story.
Next up, let's look at a sequence that has a fast rhythm.
a fast rhythm evokes a feeling of excitement, urgency and exhilaration. It creates a high energy which in the case of this example perfectly supported the adrenaline noted bike tricks of the character.
Next up, let's look at a sequence that has a very regular rhythm.
regular rhythm like this evokes a feeling of consistency, comfort and control. In other words, it creates a balanced energy that stays consistent throughout the sequence. And in this example, it helped to underline the good drumming performance of the character.
However, a few moments after the section from the previous example, the editor used an irregular rhythm in order to change the emotion.
see, the music teacher wasn't happy with the student's performance which he shows him in a pretty aggressive way. Obviously, the student is very confused and that's why the irregular rhythm perfectly supports his emotions. An irregular rhythm evokes a feeling of unpredictability, edginess and confusion. It creates a variable energy that can shift from one moment to the other which can be the perfect choice for specific parts of your story. So as you see, every type of rhythm conveys different emotions and a different energy.
The last few minutes should have shown you why rhythm is such a powerful tool to communicate the context and emotion of your story. And while we only watched examples where the rhythm stays consistent from beginning to end, it is important to mention that especially the changes in rhythm have the biggest impact on the viewer.
CONTEXT & EMOTION
The viewer automatically recognizes when the video deviates from the bass rhythm which influences how they perceive the different sections. So you can for example use a slow rhythm to build up tension and then you can switch to a fast rhythm to let the actions quickly unfold.
Yellow = Irregular
Long shots to emphazise it
Green = Fast and regular cuts
As you see, the rhythm of this edit plays an important role for how you perceive the different parts of the story. The editor uses a fast and irregular rhythm to create unpredictability and confusion. Then he contrasts the previous rhythm with one long shot to emphasize the meditative feeling of cycling. Then he again uses some fast but regular cuts when the character prepares his camera, then he also tries to make the video more effective.
Then he again uses some fast but regular cuts when the character prepares his camera, contrasted by slow cuts when the character takes the image and focuses on the present moment. And towards the end he again uses a few fast cuts to signalize that we move forward in the story, contrasted by slow cuts to emphasize the character's moments of contemplation.
ASK YOURSELF....
CONTEXT: WHERE IS THIS GOING?
EMOTION: HOW DOES IT FEEL?
RHYTHM: WHAT IS THE FLOW?
Every cut in your sequence should answer each of those questions, and if a cut doesn't answer one of them, it needs to be removed or adjusted.
IMPORTANT to learn
As it is hard to equally focus on all decision factors from one cut to the other, you can use the so-called story triangle to shift the priorities between them. The factor at the top of the triangle is the main priority, while the two factors at the bottom are there to support it. Throughout your edits, the priority should constantly shift from one factor to another. So sometimes you prioritize the context, sometimes you prioritize the emotion, and sometimes you prioritize the rhythm. The triangle doesn't need to shift for every single cut, but it should at least shift every few seconds.
Why? Because this ensures that you create a varied but balanced edit. If your story triangle stands still for too long, you will neglect some of the factors and the audience will feel like the edit is missing something. So if for example you prioritize the emotion for too long, the viewer might get lost in terms of context, or the rhythm might not be as immersive as it could be. So make sure to always keep the triangle moving. To help you understand how this framework would actually be applied in the edits,
From context to rhythm
faster cuts
Rhythm to
Emotion
In those first few seconds, I clearly prioritize context as I introduce me as the character and the topic of death by showing me on a graveyard.
Also, the viewer can hear the overarching question of what would I do if I only had seven days to live in the voiceover.
But while the priority is on the context, I still support it with a slightly negative emotion through the graveyard location and the less saturated color grades.
At this point, I just established the bass rhythm so it doesn't have any effect on the viewer.
But in the following seconds, I break that rhythm.
Now I prioritize the rhythm by showing quick cuts that contrast the energy of the previous shots. In terms of context, I foreshadow the most intense moments of the video, which provides the viewer with possible answers to the question of what I would do if I had seven days to live. And in terms of emotion, I support the new rhythm by showing the most positive and exciting moments of the character.
I've been asking myself this question over and over again. For this part, I prioritize emotion to remind the viewer of the negative feelings that the character experiences while reflecting about life. In terms of context, the viewer now understands that the previous moments took place in the future and the character is still thinking about the question of what he would do if he died in a week.
Lastly, I also change back to the slower bass rhythm to help the viewer make the connection that slow cuts refer to the present with negative emotions and
fast cuts refer to moments in the future with positive emotions.
Last changed8 days ago
