I’m relaunching the Edit Foundry blog.   I’m going to go thru every post and update them.  It’s been a few year since I created these posts.  I have different views and different perspective on video editing now.  Here’s a new version of my very first post.

Please watch Run Fast, Shoot Slow. 

The first few shots are pretty quick.  Why?  I wanted to create a fast pace for the entire piece.  When your editing short piece like this it’s a good idea to set you pace early.  There is a plethora of natural sound in the beginning.  I am setting up the viewer to the style so they’ll be prepared to see and hear this throughout the story.  

In this opening sequence

I am taking an edit as close to the action as possible.  

For example at (:11) 

You see the gun recoils frames after I take the edit.  I don’t sit on the shot for more than a few frames before action happens. Once the action completes I move on to another shot.  I’ve always strived to have a shot up only long enough for the viewer to see what they need to see and then move on.  Try editing a section of a story with very quick edits.  If there is proper information in the shot (well composed easy to see) and good sound you be amazed how quickly you could make an edit and the viewer would still grasp it.  

If you were at the gun range watching all this action would your eyes be darting around trying to capture everything you see or just watching one part of the action?  I think your eyes would be darting around.  I like to edit how I think you eye would capture event if you were actually there.  Your eyes would rarely capture an action like the gun firing before it fired.  Your eyes would more likely capture the action in mid-action, just like my edits are.

Take a look at editing in movies.  Notice how during all those action scenes the edit is taken well into the action.  Watch fight scenes.  So many edits taken with the action half-way complete.  Your edit should do their best to imitate how the eye captures life.

Speaking of action.  Also notice how much movement is in every edit.  I mean something is moving in every single shot (Ok, a few times there isn’t).  Simple things like this guy adjusting his gun at (:52) add the the shot.  We are a visual medium.  This isn’t still pictures.  Strive to have some movement, any movement in every shot.

Trimming your edits by just a few frames can often give you some movement that just adds to the shot.  These are simple and easy things to work on that will help you to start improving your editing.

Go back and watch is again.  Run Fast, Shoot Slow 

What you should take away from this post is

1. edits are important.  
2. The specific frame you take an edit is important.  
3. Just trimming an edit a frame or to could make all the difference in your editing.
4. Let the action happen and then take your edit.  This imitates real life and how your eyes capture everything