6. Editing

It seems like all we’ve been doing so far is getting ready. That’s important, to be sure, but it’s nothing to write home about. Now the fun part starts...editing. Editing is the process of deciding how to combine all the different media at your disposal to tell a compelling story. And story is the key word here. Never lose sight of the reason you are editing—you are telling a story. Ideally, it’s a story someone else wants to watch.

Here’s the key point: In the initial edit, edit your clips as quickly as you can into the Timeline. Don’t worry about perfection—that’s why it’s called a rough cut. It isn’t until you see what you actually have to work with that you can start making meaningful decisions about how to best tell your story.