How Pro Video Editors Approach Every Sound

Start asking this simple question and your editing will change forever.

In this article, I will reveal that question, I will explain why sound is so important, and I will share some practical tips that you can implement today.

Here’s a hot take: I think sound is more important than the visual and I’d like to convince you that it is AT LEAST of equal importance.

 Some of you might be too young to remember this, but in 1999 a film was released called The Blair Witch Project. It was 78 minutes of shaky, handheld footage. Now with social media and reality television, we are used to consuming vast amounts of low-quality images, but at the time, The Blair Witch Project was pretty groundbreaking. People embraced the "found footage" aesthetic and the film grossed over 240 million dollars. Here’s a question for you: do you think there will ever be a successful film with beautiful footage, but poor quality (scratchy, difficult to hear, dead and uninteresting) audio? I would venture to say no.

And here’s a fun fact about one of my heroes, Walter Murch. Not only is he arguably one of the greatest film editors of all time, he is also one of the greatest sound designers. In fact, in 1997 he won the Oscar for Film Editing AND Sound Editing for The English Patient. Do you think it’s a coincidence that one of the most influential editors was also a sound mixer? I don’t. And while I don’t think all editors need to be sound designers, I DO think all editors need to do some of their own sound design even if it is improved later by a sound team.

So what’s the question that will change your editing forever? It’s this: "What is the Sound of the Shot?"

When I started asking this question early in my career my edits really started to come to life, and I think they will for you too.

So how do you practically incorporate sound into your workflow and start to ask, "What is the sound of the shot?"

Well, I recommend joining a site with a searchable sound effects library like Artlist (affiliate). As you begin an editing project, ask yourself what the sound of each shot is. Do a quick search and start building out your edit with sound effects. Instead of thinking of sound as something you polish up at the end of a project, make it a priority from the beginning.

Now, a lot of the time shots call for specific sound design to tell the story, but sometimes the sound of the shot will be as simple as some morning park birds, the sound of a city street, a transitional whoosh or impact. And don't forget, silence is a valid sound choice as well.

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.