Video Editing Vs. Film Editing

My first experiences editing video made an enormous impression upon me. I'd had some experience editing film, but video was very different, in that my edit decisions could be executed and viewed very quickly. I remember specifically the night of my first video editing experience as the apparent power that I had as an editor captured my subconscious. My dreams that night were unusual--I felt as if I had the ability to "edit" the present reality or real life, to control the essence of time itself. The experience of editing the past had lead to a dream about editing the present.

This awareness of the power of a video editor to control the essence of time itself has some truth to it. When someone sits down to watch a video program that you have created, you have a great deal of control over his or her time. Depending upon the situation, the audience has varying degrees of control over its own time. For example, if someone was playing your program on a VCR at home, he might be tempted to hit the stop button or the fast-forward button. If your program was being broadcast, a viewer could be tempted to channel surf. If you were showing your video at a screening where you were present, most people would sit through the entire program. Good manners (hopefully) would prevent them from walking out. Any way you look at it, you do have a degree of control over the time that your audience spends in front of a TV, and therefore you have control over its time.

Most people who make video take this serious responsibility too casually. Remember to be kind to your audience. Keep your presentations as short as possible. The broadcast industry has settled upon 30 minutes as a standard program length because this works very well for it. If your program is not appearing on broadcast TV, however, there is no reason to commit to the 30-minute standard. Make your videos as short as possible to present the necessary information. Use images to tell your story quickly and avoid narrative rambling. A helpful habit to get into is to begin every video project with an end in mind.

Shorter videos also work best if you are using the Internet as a distribution method. Right now, very few people are streaming video through the Net because it is slow, grainy and jumpy, but it is getting better every month. There is no doubt that before long the Internet will be the major video distribution tool for the types of people who read this magazine. Video on the Internet must consume limited resources like bandwidth and silicon. This means that short videos are very practical for the Internet.

As Internet video multiplies, there will soon be more than enough for viewers to choose from. They will be intolerant of "programs" that ramble or run on too long when another video is just a click away.

Those who make industrial and training videos for captive audiences might be tempted to ignore this caution to produce shorter videos. But I think it's a mistake to try to pass off a long program to this type of audience. Remember that viewers can still channel surf in their minds if your video doesn't get to the point soon enough.

Shorter videos improve the quality of life of the video producer. In their attempts to emulate TV, beginners tend to start out with a 30-minute project and have a hard time finishing it. They underestimate the time required to shoot and edit a 30-minute video. All too often, newcomers quit before they complete their first projects and never become the video producers that they have the potential to become. Let's not forget our original goal: to send a message to an audience.

Short videos are good videos for producers ... and viewers.