Best Video Editing Exercise: Master This Process

Don’t download another stock transition, footage overlay, light leak collection, or motion-graphics template until you’ve mastered your editing fundamentals.

I’ve been a pro editor for over 20 years, and today I’d like to invite you into my edit suite so I can share exactly what those fundamentals are. I also developed a unique exercise that will help you practice them, and completed the exercise myself (watch the video above for the complete lesson and my take on the exercise assignment). 

Imagine you’re a pro basketball player and you’re at practice. Does the coach say, “Okay everyone. Today we’re going to practice our 360 dunks"? No. Rather, they probably say, "Line up and shoot 100 free throws, 100 mid-range jumpers, and 100 corner threes."

Dunks look great in a game, but you win or lose based on how well you execute the fundamentals.

It’s the same with editing, and today we’re going to practice our mid-range jumpers.

 For this exercise, I chose a footage collection from Artlist (affiliate link) called "Baker’s Day" (download here). The assignment is simple: I want you to create a 30-60 second edit that utilizes this footage. But before you dive in, I’m going to explain step-by-step the process I’d like for you to follow.

Let’s start with the most important thing: emotion. What do you want the audience to feel? This step is simple, but I can’t overstate its importance. There are an infinite number of ways to put together a scene using these clips. You need a clear north star (the emotion you chose) so you can edit with intent. When you share your work with someone the last thing you want them to say is, “I’m not sure what you were going for here” (and that happens all too often). So decide how you want your audience to feel and then make all of your other editing decisions to support that.

What’s the next step? Story. Look through the clips and decide what story you want to tell. This is going to be a pretty simple story, but I encourage you to still come up with a story that has a beginning, middle, and an end.

This next step may be the most boring of all: review all of the clips, and select the shots that tell your story best. There are 43 clips in this collection and you only have 30-60 seconds, so you have a lot of decisions to make. One of our main jobs as editors is to make good choices, so this is a skill that needs to be practiced and refined. Spend time here and don’t rush through it. Watch the footage carefully. Make notes on clips that stand out to you. Maybe organize them so you can see all the various options for each story beat you’re trying to convey.

Now, start putting your clips in order. Once you have an overall story structure in mind, it’s about the story progressing from shot to shot. Getting your shot order right is one of those boring editing fundamentals that you need to practice again and again.

Next I want you to think about rhythm. What pace makes sense for the emotion you’re targeting and the story you’re trying to tell? Let’s say you’re planning a 60-second edit. Are you going to use ten six-second shots? Or 20 three-second shots? Maybe 30 two-second shots? Or more likely a mixture of all three? There are infinite possibilities, so feel free to experiment as you get into the edit.

And now sound. What role will the soundtrack play in your edit? Will you have sound design, music, or both? Will it be a quiet, meditative piece, or a loud, energetic piece? I’ll ask it again—what makes the most sense for the emotion you’re targeting? Choosing the right music and sound effects for a scene is one of the most critical jobs of an editor. It’s another editing fundamental that deserves deliberate practice and attention. For this exercise, any sound effect or music track from Artlist is fair game.

And finally, action. What are the in and out points for every shot? I like to think about in and out points like this: I cut in at the beginning of an action and I cut out at the end of an action. It sounds simple, but once you get into it, the possibilities are endless. And for every in and out point you set, you should consider all of the criteria so far: emotion, story, rhythm, and sound. I want you to take your time and be deliberate with every single in and out point in your edit.

After you complete the exercise, please post it in YouTube, leaving me the link in the comments; I’d love to see it.

The emotion I was targeting in my video was “impressed”. I wanted the audience to feel impressed by the baker’s skill and speed. I decided I wanted to tell a linear story—the baker preps the area, kneads the dough, bakes the bread, and prepares to sell it. It doesn’t get simpler than that.

Because I wanted to make the baker seem impressive, I went for a quick rhythm. I used 13 shots and the full piece is 34 seconds long, which comes to about 2.5 seconds per shot. I found a really cool percussion track that had stems available ("stems" are when a music track is split up into multiple files so the instruments are separated, giving you more control). Quick tip: if you want to take the audience on a little journey, use a track with stems and bring individual instruments in and out throughout the piece to add interest.

I hope that the next time you are about to reach for another flashy element for your edit you’ll remember to first check your fundamentals. Were you going for a target emotion? Did you have a story in mind? Did you take your time picking the best shots? Were you deliberate with the shot order? Does the rhythm of your piece add to the emotion? Did you take your time selecting music and sound effects that add to the target emotion? Were you deliberate in choosing the in and out points of each shot?

Is reviewing the basics as fun as executing a 360 dunk? No, but mastering the fundamentals will take you far as an editor.

Austen is an ADDY award-winning film & commercial editor with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with global brands like Meta, KPMG, SAP, and Christianity Today. His PSA work has championed causes like school safety (with Matthew McConaughey), driving safety, and anti-tobacco. A thought leader in the editing field, his online lessons quickly amassed over 100K views after launch.