Doc filmmaker. TV Writer. Professor. Taught 1000+ students to shoot and edit. I post quick wins for making your video look and sound pro.
Toronto, Ontario
Joined June 2023
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The secret to progress is be wrong - but quickly.
A director once hired me to edit her demo reel. She gave me all the stuff and said “edit whatever.”
Like all clients I knew this wasn’t true. But I quickly put together a demo reel of some of her (I thought) best scenes.
Absolutely. You’re unlikely to get that from the client side but you as the producer need to be on top of any delays!
Pure AI video (like most AI content) is generally not copyrightable in the US. Studios are already suing over character and IP output.
You may not own what you make, and commercial use carries infringement risk the hype accounts never mention. Legal clarity is lagging the marketing.
How to stay employed as a freelancer:
Deliver on time
Do good work
Be friendly
(and if you’re having a bad day 2 out of 3 is fine, but don’t aim for that! )
Editing is the choices. Well said.
Nobody who edits for a living is mad about tools that kill the boring parts.
The problem is we take the entire creative process and throw it all under the umbrella of "editing."
Here's the reality.
Trimming dead space isn't the creative part of editing.
Captions aren't the creative part, unless you're doing real typography work.
Syncing A and B cam isn't the creative part.
That's factory work.
Editing is the choices and the creative direction. It's finding a way to tell a good story.
Automate the factory work and you get more time for the creative part. And your output goes up.
teapawt.net/Big_E/status/211412497…
Did you know holding the PERIOD key brings up all the .com, .ca, .net, .org suffixes?
Wish I learned that years ago!
What’s your go-to phone shortcut?
AI easily handles mechanical cutting and timeline labour.
Pacing still takes human judgment to know why a cut lands. When rhythm feels off, only craft fixes the beat.
My fallback check is watching the cut muted to see if visual pacing holds.
Shout out to @FacelessYTGrow for the wisdom you need for content - the idea needs to earn its budget.
Remember the 'home row' in typing? Remains relevant to today...
J - jump backwards 10 seconds in Youtube
K - Stop
L - jump forwards 10 seconds
Up and Down arrows for VOLUME.
F - Fullscreen
0-9 jump to that percentage of the video in the timeline (0 is beginning, 5 is 50%)
Well said - and true for not just editors. Keep getting better. Learn more. Show up.
To every editor who feels like they're falling off:
No clients.
No motivation.
AI getting better every month.
Watching other editors grow while you're stuck.
I get it.
But don't confuse a slow season with the end of your career.
You're not finished.
Get better at your craft.
Learn how to sell it.
Reach out again.
Post your work again.
Keep showing up.
AI can make editing faster. It doesn't replace your taste, ideas, storytelling, or ability to understand what a client actually needs.
AI will replace basic editing work. It won't replace great editors.
Use AI as leverage. Become a creative problem solver, not just someone who cuts clips.
You might be closer to a comeback than you think.
Don't quit in the chapter that was supposed to build you.
iPhone hack - press and hold the space bar and your keyboard turns into a trackpad - you can easily zoom your cursor around text. I wish I knew this years ago!
ALT screenshot of holding spacebar so you can move the cursor around more easily.
Studying screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre taught me that character arcs and story drive every single cut.
Tools can generate infinite footage, but without a story spine to tell you what belongs on the timeline, you just have loose clips.
AI can handle the production labour.
The editor who knows the story and what to cut is still the center of gravity.
Someone still has to decide where the edit lands on the timeline.
I taught 1,000+ students video editing.
I use Focusee for capture and rough edits, then move to DaVinci Resolve for colour, audio, and finish. Focusee is a one time payment versus monthly payments.
And if Resolve is too much CapCut has great transcript / text edit tools.
Essential Mac OS tips:
Select a file and press spacebar - instant preview.
CMD+SHIFT+4 = screenshot tool.
CMD+click on folder title to see path to that folder.
2 fingers on trackpad for scrolling. Works sideways too in a video timeline!
CMD+TAB switcher
Want to edit faster? Shoot less.
Amateurs spray and pray with shooting video, then drown in footage.
Watch TV news crews: they shoot only what they need to cut the story together. 3 seconds of handle, 5 seconds of action, move on to new angle.
Shoot with the edit in mind. The cut starts before you hit record.