Getting Started: Shooting to Edit vs. Editing In-Camera

As a videographer, you can use a variety of methods to edit your video. These techniques can be broken down into two broad categories: in-camera editing and editing done in post production. The way you will edit your production greatly impacts the way you'll have to shoot your footage. Not sure why? Read on. In this month's column, we are going to look at these two styles of editing and at the shooting techniques required to make each one a success.

In the Camera
While the differences between editing in-camera and shooting to edit are many, the main difference between the two is a matter of sequence. When you shoot to edit, you can shoot your scenes out of order, since you're going to re-arrange them in post production anyway. When you edit in the camera, however, you need to shoot all of the scenes in order. Because in-camera editing requires that scenes be shot in the order, you might have to do some leg work to produce a scene that requires more than one location. Consider the following sequence: (see Figure 1)
Shot 1: A man sits on his couch watching TV, when he realizes that he is hungry.
Shot 2: He runs out the front door of his house, gets in his car, backs out of his driveway and screeches away.
Shot 3: He arrives at a fast food restaurant and orders a burger at the drive-up window.
Shot 4: He peels out of the drive-thru and
Shot 5: returns home where he gobbles down the burger at his kitchen table.

To edit this sequence in the camera, you would have to shoot the first few shots at the house, travel to the restaurant to shoot what is needed there, then return to the house to shoot the final shots in the kitchen. This running around can be time consuming, not to mention tiring. As productions get more complex, traveling can become quite inconvenient.

In addition, you'll need to get each shot right the first time. There's no "fix it later" flexibility here. As any extreme sports enthusiast will tell you, flying by the seat of your pants requires skill and planning before you take the leap. Editing in the camera requires a great deal of planning before you roll the…