Logan Paul's Editor On How To Edit Better (I watched all his videos; synthesis below)

The Editor is Hayden Hillier Smith. I copied/distilled his teachings into 15 points below.

1/ Rhythm

Think about the Rhythm or speed of your cuts - you can't maintain a 10/10 energy the whole time. Vary the pace of cuts depending on what's been happening and where you are in the sequence. Arbitrary fast cutting doesn't necessarily translate into intensity - it can easily descend into incoherent visual noise.

The rhythm of your cuts will help the audience anticipate when the next cut happens - you can play with this. Breaking with the rhythm of what's come before helps highlight certain key moments in the video. Example: The average length of the previous 4 cuts was 1-2 seconds but there's a funny moment you want to emphasize so you hold for 4 - 6 seconds.

2/ Contrast/Emphasis

Going from total silence to sound at certain moments is a powerful way to add emphasis. You can also do the reverse with a volume swell that then cuts to something much lower in volume to emphasize a specific moment or give the viewer a break.

@Ross Sinclair

uses volume swells really well. I'd watch his 'Don't Overcomplicate Body-Building Video'.

3/ Using B-roll

B-Roll is literal. Just find footage that literally show what you're talking about in the video.

4/ The 'Zenith Cut'

The Zenith Cut is your most exciting cut. It's the money cut. It's what the whole movie or sequence is building towards. Think about the end of Fight Club when the buildings come down or Casey Neistat's 'Make It Count' video when he splices all the separate running shots together in different locations near the end of the video. It's a big pay-off.

5/ Murder your darlings

Just because you worked on it for 6 hours doesn't mean it's good. The things you most want to include (or think are cool) may not necessarily serve the overarching story. Does it undermine the value of the rest of the edit? Respect the audience's emotional investment and get rid of anything that doesn't serve that goal.

6/ Length vs Quality

Focus on quality; forget length.

7/ The J-cut & the L-cut

Changing both the audio and visual simultaneously is a lot of information to process all at once. One of the ways you can ease transitions is using something called The J-Cut or the L-Cut.

J-Cut is a cut where the audio from the next scene plays just before the visual. It helps to ease the audience into the next scene.

L-Cut is a cut where the audio from the preceding scene plays a bit after or into the following image or visual.

8/ Music

Music is the biggest influence in creating the feeling of your video - choosing wrong music = death. Spend the time to find the right feel.

9/ Arbitrary Cutting

Set up a clear motivation for why you're cutting. Don't just cut to cut because you think that's what you have to do.

10/ Authenticity + Standing Out

You and your You-ness are your ticket. Authenticity is critical.

11/ Tease

Use a promise of reward or engagement. Ask yourself what is the pay off for the audience at the videos end? How can you reward them? Beautiful shots can be rewarding. So can narrative conclusions or climaxes.

You must make a promise and then you must deliver. The first seconds must reinforce that promise and hint at a high payoff deliverable. After you've got them invested past minute 1, then it's okay to breathe a bit.

12/ Eye-line Matching and Continuity

Make it easy for the eye to follow the action by composing key figures in one shot to match key figures in the next one. Ask yourself: where is the audience's eye-line in the previous shot and then how does that compare to where it is in the next shot and where the main action of the shot is taking place.

Example: shot one the protagonist is in the dead centre of the screen. Shot two: cuts to something else and the main character is way off to the left. The audience must exert effort to find out what the hell is going on and where the focus is. It takes them out of it.

By considering Eye Line Matching, you make it easier for the audience to follow.

13/ Creating Hooks & The Cold Open

What is the most interesting, funny bit---the thing that is most captivating--that you can put in the first 7 -10 seconds--that gives you so many questions and makes you want to watch the rest of it?

Think about the first 7-10 seconds in Hamza's video 'Society Failed MEN' or Andrew Callaghan's videos.

The cold open is when nothing is explained. Think the Matrix opening. Unanswered questions create anticipation and are satisfying when answered.

14/ Call and Response

Shots should be responding to each other - think about Jaws' climax scene. 1 - we see shark approaching boat. 2. we see man holding gun. 3. we see the gas-tank in the sharks mouth. 4. we see man shooting obviously trying to hit the shark. 5. we see the bullet sail past the shark (builds anxiety). The shots are reacting to each other.

15/ Further Reading.

Hayden recommends:

Steve Hullfish - The Art of The Cut

Walter Murch - In The Blink of an Eye

Hope this is helpful!

31 comments