How to generally improve your editing?

practice. know the hot keys for your NLE software. practice more.

and if you really want to learn more about professional film and video editing read books like these:
http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?productid=16608&cat=350&page=1
http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?productid=16450&cat=350&page=1

What youtube videos of pros editing their videos, check out kelby one

study cinematography and learn from others. Also talking to filmers and editors and getting wisdom from them is another good idea. How are you gonna be great if you don't study greatness?

Time shots to the music - cut on the beats of the song you're using. If there is a "drop" in the song, time an impressive shot to sync up with it. Also try to sync up landings with beats in the song.

Cut tight - Cut every part of the video that doesn't either show something important or add to the video's flow. Don't make the video longer than it needs to be.

Aim for continuity - Read up on the 180 degree line (axis of action) and try not to break it. This isn't vital and rarely is done but in my opinion it makes things a little more smooth. This is most important when showing multiple angles of the same shot.

Be subtle - Use effects like film burns and colored tints sparingly. One thing that annoys me is when people inconsistently just toss in a black and white clip for now apparent reason. When editing, don't do anything without motivation.

Don't forget sound - Clean up your sound. If there's annoying wind or background noise that is not contributing to the video, remove it. Sometimes it's also a good idea to boost the sounds of the skier stomping tricks. If you feel like it, you can try adding what are called non-diegetic sound effects. These are sounds that don't come from the things in the video. One example would be the "whoosh" sound that Stept frequently uses. Sound is so important and rarely used well. If you take the time make it good, you will have an advantage over 97% of the edits posted on NS.

Color correct - At the very least, fix your white balance. It can be fun to try to give your video a unique style by messing with other aspects of color. Try lowering the saturation or messing with the contrast. Just make sure these changes are consistent throughout your video.

Speed ramping - Tasteful use of slow motion can improve a video's flow and emphasize certain moments. If there is an especially badass moment of the video, consider slowing it down. Speed ramping (in my opinion) makes slow motion a little more graceful but it isn't necessary. Ramping background noise can have sort of a cool effect too.

Choose the right song - When choosing a song, find something that fits your footage but also something you like. If a song makes you feel something, it will be much easier to make a video that will make other people feel something and that is your goal.

In the end, the best editing goes unnoticed. Try to find your own individual style but keep it clean and keep it subtle.

Trial and error my friend. Go out there and film anything with any camera that you have (even your phone if you have nothing) and just keep on practicing cutting and putting different stuff together. Add effects and see which ones work and which ones don't. To be a good editor its all about practice and experience!

watch your old stuff, you'll see so many things you would do differently

homestarTime shots to the music - cut on the beats of the song you're using. If there is a "drop" in the song, time an impressive shot to sync up with it. Also try to sync up landings with beats in the song.

Not necessarily. I can't articulate it as well as Landis, but video is not necessarily meant to be driven by the music. You get caught up trying to cut to a beat. He explained it really well and I can't remember what thread it was in, but maybe he can talk about it if he sees this.

gavinrudyNot necessarily. I can't articulate it as well as Landis, but video is not necessarily meant to be driven by the music. You get caught up trying to cut to a beat. He explained it really well and I can't remember what thread it was in, but maybe he can talk about it if he sees this.

I would be interested in hearing more about this. I've always edited ski videos using the songs as a sort of template to fit the videos into.

homestarI would be interested in hearing more about this. I've always edited ski videos using the songs as a sort of template to fit the videos into.

Editing is a very musical art form. You are arranging aural and visual elements creatively. Notice how I didn't say "syncing" or "matching."

When a band plays a song, not everyone is hitting notes in perfect unison. Imagine if a song had each drum hit and note play at exactly the same time with nothing in between. Pretty boring and staggering, right? The way music works is that each part both stands on its own and is harmonious with the others. A drum beat has fills and textures between each hit on "the beat" (which is the "cue" of the beat that the other instruments aim to align with). A bass guitar will hit the root note at the same time the drummer hits the beat, and in between those hits the bass and drums might go in different directions (fills). These different directions sound musically pleasing as long as they reunite on the beat. My point is that each instrument weaves in and out of alignment, and the points in the song when they align are decided consciously and artistically. In between those moments of alignment are harmonious but contrasting "fills" that operate on some shared fundamental level (tempo, time signature, key) yet still go off and do their own thing. There are intentional sections where they are not aligned because by definition the alignments only exist in contrast to the parts that are not aligned. It is a dance, not a march.

Your shots are made up of "cues" - visual signifiers that catch the viewer's attention. This could be the skier absorbing the landing, doing a pow slash, or a lens flare. This also plays into the concept of gesture: the defining geometric and spatial character of the object. The gesture of a bullet is not a pill-shaped object, but a straight line. These cues are the most fundamental element of what you're portraying visually. Think of them as notes, or chords.

Think of your timeline as a band on stage. Each visual cue will have its own propensity and cadence, as will many parts of the music underlying it. Your job (and this is totally an opinion on my part - there is no "correct" way to make art) is to arrange these elements in a musical way rather than mindlessly aligning them. So yes, you have the right idea in that you will want to sync visual cues (e.g. cuts, landings) to the beat of the song, but you want to do this strategically and with the overarching flow the video in mind. You want to build up to it then "unleash" it at its climax. You want to create moments of tension, contrast, and resolution in the way you align elements in your edit. If everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized.

I can't find a particular example, but look towards the end of this video when things speed up. Yes I am syncing cuts to the beat (but not excessively), but I am also looking for gestures in the shots that "bloom" in a way that compliments (not matches) the cadence of the song and the overall "feel" of the edit. For example, the snow spray dispersing all over the frame in unison with the drummers crash cymbal fills at 2:12, or the ending shot of the skier falling out of view as the song concludes and "departs" with you.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/656902/Ski-2013


tl;dr be mindful of tension and resolution in how you arrange things on the timeline. Gesture and cadence are king.

lIllIThis also plays into the concept of gesture: the defining geometric and spatial character of the object.

I feel like this deserves a better definition. Gesture and gestalt go hand in hand:

http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm

Really interesting read. I'm excited to work those ideas into my editing in the future.

Thanks for that post again Landis, wish I had a fraction of the insight you had.

These posts could be entire blog entries.. thanks so much for posting guys!

NachowhoaHow to generally improve your editing? dose anyone have some helpful tips and advice?

Honestly just watch countless hours of videos on editing. Try to try something new everytime you edit and see how you like it, and play around with old edits too. Quite honestly practice makes perfect and I'm sure guys who are at the very top like e heath, jacob callaghan and gavin rudy will tell you that they still learn new stuff everyday. Just get as much info as you can and when you think you know all you need to know, you don't, find something else to get into about editing like titling or advanced colour grading etc.

threads

the more practice you have, the better you will find your editing to be.

Make sure you know how to work your editing program 110%.

For choosing a song, think about how the footage makes you feel, and maybe the type of personality the skier has. like for example I would use a slower hip hop song for a guy with a style like will berman.

make sure the footage is good. good footy makes an edit look so much fucking better it's insane. If the footage looks shitty, you can edit the fuck out of it and it still won't look any better.

thats about all i have i hope it helps man!