10 Common Video Editing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

It’s hard enough to get started as a video editor without falling into the classic traps that all beginners face. We asked video creator Herman Huang, who has 13 years of experience ranging from commercials to live concerts, to help you avoid the common newbie mistakes and focus on making great videos. 

Here are Herman’s top 10 mistakes that every video editor should avoid.

1. Not organizing your files
2. Not making backups
3. Not making the most of your tools
4. Not having a workflow
5. Not enabling and disabling clips
6. Not motivating your cuts
7. Not using J & L cuts
8. Not creating visual variation
9. Not using the right music
10. Making SFX and music too loud 

1. Not organizing your files

It sounds so simple but taking a few minutes to name and organize your files properly will save you hours of time and a huge amount of stress in the future. 

For the main project file, it’s a good idea to create a file name that includes the project name, the version number and the date, for example: ClientProject_Ver1_MM.DD.YY 

Each time you create a new edit update the file name – so you’ll always be able to find previous edits and also know where your latest version is. 

If you have files of specific footage that come with cryptic names, rename them to describe what appears in the video, for example, “woman walking dog on the street daytime” or “boy eating an ice cream in a park”. 

Also create folders/bins for different types of assets in your project file – music, B-roll, icons, sound effects etc – so you don’t get overwhelmed with long file lists and can find things quickly.

This may sound like a bit of a pain – and will take a bit of time to set up – but is well worth it in the long run – trust me!

2. Not making backups

I got my first paid gig and was editing for around 13 hours. The project deadline was the next day and I learned the hard way that when your program crashes your project file can get corrupted. 

I had no backups of the project file or autosaves and I lost an entire day of work because I didn’t save my progress as duplicate files.

So, get in the habit of making backups for your project files and even making backups of the sequences that you’re editing. 

Now, whenever I make major changes to a cut I rename it and put it in an “archive” bin in case I need to go back to an old version.

3. Not making the most of your tools

To be honest, I still do this – but I’m getting better all the time. I’ve been doing the video editing equivalent of using a butter knife to chop wood. 

As a video editor, you’re always learning ways of being more efficient. One of the best tips is to use keyboard shortcuts in your software. In every video editing software, there’s a razor or blade tool that lets you cut your clip – this has been one of the main tools for me for over a decade. But then I learned that instead of switching to the tool and then clicking to cut the clip I can just hit one button to add an edit where the playhead is!

For examp,e the default shortcut in Premiere is Ctrl+Shift+K but because I use it so much I changed it to Ctrl+K.

Now you might think that one click or keystroke doesn’t make much difference but if it’s a tool that you use all the time it adds up.

So you don’t have to use this specific example but I do encourage you to find the hacks and shortcuts in your software that can make things easier and faster for you.

4. Not having a workflow

I wasn’t the most academic kid and during my time in film school, there were assignments that I just didn’t connect with because I didn’t realize their importance.

One of these was to create a post-production workflow. I remember thinking it was a waste of time – all I needed to do was bring in my footage, edit until I’m happy and then export. 

But when I started working with other people in post-production I understood how much more goes into an edit than I realized. 

A workflow is your game plan and without a game plan, everyone – including you – will get lost. When I’ve worked with people who didn’t have a plan – or sometimes had a plan but didn’t communicate it well – we’d miss important deadlines.

So build yourself a workflow before you even open up your editing software. It will help you decide if you need support taking on some responsibilities, how much time you’ll need to finish and if there’s more to this edit than you’d anticipated.

5. Not enabling and disabling clips

I didn’t even realize I was making this mistake until I saw someone else’s editing timeline and I wondered what it meant when their clips were greyed out.

It turns out they were disabling their clips and I couldn’t understand why – they could just delete them and clear up their timeline.

But what I didn’t realize was that this could be a very powerful editing tool. When I started editing interviews with A and B cameras there’d be times when the client would ask me to stay on the other camera angle instead – which was a big headache when my timeline was full of holes. That’s when I understood that keeping the other camera angle on the timeline would let me easily swap between the two in a matter of seconds.

This is also useful for narratives that involve different camera angles or montage edits.

In Premiere you just have to right click the clip and uncheck Enable but to make things faster I have it on a keyboard shortcut which you can easily customize in your software of choice.

6. Not motivating your cuts

Some people see editing as the second phase of directing because of how much influence it has on shaping the story and intention. And the fastest way to turn your video into a disaster in editing is by not motivating your cuts.

Have you ever watched movie scenes that give you visual whiplash because of how many cuts there are or music videos that take it too far?

Some may say this is a stylistic choice but the reason these scenes feel off is that the cuts don’t feel like they have a reason to be there. That’s why I strongly encourage you to get into the habit of asking yourself “why am I cutting here?”.

There are many reasons for making an edit and it’ll also depend on what exactly you’re editing but I think the biggest difference between an amateur and a pro is just understanding why you’re making the decision to cut. 

Are you cutting to a reaction shot because it’s more powerful than staying on the person talking? Are you cutting more often to have the visuals match up with the fast-paced music?

When I first started editing I felt like a toddler running around with a pair of scissors just cutting everything because I felt like it but I learned with time that every cut should have a reason and that different editing decisions will accomplish different things.

7. Not using J & L cuts

When I first started editing videos I would cut the audio together with the video and I couldn’t figure out why my cut wouldn’t feel smooth – particularly when I was working on projects that involved dialogue.

That’s when I realized that you can have audio from your previous shot overlap with the visuals of the next one, so it seems like everything is happening at the same moment instead of it being two different takes. 

It’s known as the L cut because of the shape of the clip when the audio layer is extended.

You can also pre-lap your audio before cutting to the person actually talking which is called a J cut – with the audio layer sticking out to the left the clip looks like a J.

Read more about J cuts and L cuts

8. Not creating visual variation

Another mistake I’ve made in the past and see a lot with beginner editors is not having enough visual variation in the cut. 

Imagine if you watch an entire video with just me talking to the camera without any cutaways or graphics. You probably wouldn’t stick with the video for very long.

Now there’s a balance – because I already talked about making sure you motivate your cuts. It will really depend on what you’re editing. 

For example, if you’re working on an intense documentary where your interviewee is about to say something really important there’s no need to cut away from that because you want to stay in the moment.

But if you’re working on a fast-paced music video you might want to jump to different angles or insert shots to support the tempo. Or if you’re creating a video for social media visual variation can prevent viewers from scrolling away.

9. Not using the right music

A lot of beginner editors don’t realize how powerful music is in setting the shape and tone of your story – the wrong type of music can really throw a viewer off.

I’ve spent way too much time looking for music even before I begin to edit so I understand how hard it is to find the right song. 

Fortunately, platforms like Artlist are really good at making it easy to find royalty-free music that can be a perfect match. Just make sure you’ve made a decision about a theme or a genre for your video. Use the right filters and you’ll get a few options that can work for you.

I like to download a couple of songs I like and throw them into the edit to see if they fit with the mood and pacing of the visuals.

If they’re close but not quite hitting the nail on the head, Artlist has a useful feature to look for similar songs. And with the subscription, I can download as many songs as I want to make sure I get the perfect one for my edit.

10. Making SFX and music too loud 

The last mistake that I notice often (and I’m still guilty of to this day) is having my music or sound effects too loud.

Music and sound effects can be a great way to keep your viewers engaged but if it’s not done right It can take your viewers out of what they’re watching because of how jarring it is. And music that’s too loud can also make it hard to hear the dialogue.

When I started out I often got carried away with sound designing because it’s fun to layer sounds to enhance the visual but I encourage you to always step away from your edit for at least a few hours and then listen to it again with fresh ears. 

It’s worth listening on your own, with friends, and also playing it on different devices like your TV or your phone as it will sound a bit different.

Make sure to also gauge the levels of your dialogue, music and sound effects with the audio meter of your editing software. 

Good sound design should be just as invisible as your edits.

Now you’re good to go

Follow these ten tips and you’ll avoid the main pitfalls as you start your video editing journey and will be creating professional edits in no time at all.

Check out the Artlist YouTube channel for more tips and tricks to create and edit high-quality videos.