10 Steps for an Organized Editing Workflow

video editing workflow

Highlights

An effective editing workflow breaks down the larger task of creating a video into smaller, more manageable stages.
A well-defined editing process ensures that each stage of post-production is completed in the correct order.
A clear editing workflow can help to prevent problems and make it easier to collaborate with other members of your team.
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Editing a video is a big task that can be overwhelming. A good editing workflow breaks the more significant video creation task into smaller, more manageable stages. Aside from creating much-needed focus in your editing, your workflow can also help prevent problems at a later stage. This tutorial will explore the editing stages and how to optimize your workflow.

  • Learn what an Editing Workflow is and why you need one
  • Discover the order of the 10 stages of post-production.
  • Check out our top tips for optimizing your editing workflow.

What is an Editing Workflow?

Editing Workflow is the structured process an editor performs to edit a video. In short, Editing Workflow is the order in which the editing stages should take place.

All Editors will have their preferred workflows, often depending on the type of content they create. However, all forms of video editing can be broken down into XX stages, each requiring specific skills, tools and time.

Why is an efficient editing workflow essential, and what are the Benefits?

Within the editing process, some tasks should be completed in a specific order; while editors may differ on the techniques used, there is no doubt that a lot of it comes down to common sense. For example, color grading is always done after the assembly cut; it would be pointless to spend your time color grading footage that will not be used in the video.

The editing workflow also helps manage projects across teams where more than one person completes a part of the editing. Having a well-organized project and sticking to a pre-described editing workflow makes it easier for edits to be passed between editors, color grading, VFX artists, and sound designers.

10 Editing Stages to Follow

There are 10 stages to the editing process, but these can be broken down into 3 categories; Project Setup, Offline Editing, and Online Editing. Check out this handy checklist to see the order in which your editing should take place.

Project Setup Capture and Rushes Must be completed first
Import and Organize
Offline Editing Assembly Editing Must be completed Second
Editing
Online Editing VFX Can be completed in whatever order your project dictates; some are optional, depending on the type of content you are creating.
Sound Editing
Color Correction and Grading
Music
Titles
Accessibility Editing Always done last

Capture Rushes

Capturing your footage is the first step to creating any project; this could be importing purpose-shot footage from a camera, downloading assets from a shared space, or organizing stock footage selections. All videos require raw assets, and the best editing workflows start with how you organize your media.

To learn more about Organizing your footage before beginning your editing, check out our handy guide.

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Import and Organization

Once your media is on your editing device, you can begin importing your footage into your chosen editing suit. Again, setting up the project correctly is vital; an error at this stage can create numerous problems in the future.

It is always worth double-checking your project structure; where are the raw files stored? Where is the project saved? You can also use your editing software organizational tools to favorite, reject and tag your clips, making it easier to find everything you need.

Assembly Editing

The Assembly Edit is the first stage of laying out your Timeline. Some editors prefer to start at the beginning and work their way through, perfecting every cut. However, the Assembly Cut is an opportunity to sketch out your whole video, creating a rough version you can review.

The advantage of creating an Assembly Cut before fine-tuning your edit is that you get a quick overview of your video. For example, you can tell how long the video will be and any shots you might need to find or refilm.

Editing

The editing stage is what most people imagine when they think of the post-production process. Editing is the stage where the story of your video comes together; whether you’re creating a vlog or a narrative film, your video will have a beginning, middle, and end.

The editing process can be frustrating and time-consuming, as you repeat the process over and over until you have a final cut. However, the more time you spend refining your videos, the better the experience for the viewer.

VFX

If you’re creating a video with Visual Effects, you have likely been planning the VFX shots since the pre-production stage. Some visual effects can be added as an editing decision, while others will require purpose-shot footage.

The creation of the Visual Effect doesn’t start until you have a final cut of the video. VFX can cost a lot of money and/or time, so you must only add VFX treatments to the shots you know will be used. 

Sound editing

Sound editing covers many different processes, each vital to creating your video soundscape. Most Sound Editing will start with any dialogue, adding noise-reduction effects, smoothing the volume, and mixing your tracks. 

Once your dialogue is finished, you can begin to add your foley effects; these are the sounds in your video (called diegetic sound), such as footsteps or doors closing. The final level of sound editing is your atmospheric audio; background noise, wind, cars passing, etc. Building a sound design for your videos should be dedicated to the content you create; for example, vlogs will need far less sound editing than a short film.

Color correction and grading

Color correction and grading are when the look of your video comes together. Color Correction is the stage where you make small adjustments to your clips to create consistency across your video and usually involves white balance, exposure, and saturation.

Color grading adds a stylistic look to your videos, such as a cinematic Teal and Orange effect or a dark, gritty horror film style. To create consistency in your videos, your VFX shots must be finished before adding color grading effects.

Music

Music is separate from the Sound Edit stages as it is outside of the world of your film (called non-diegetic audio). Therefore, you should always add your music last, unless it’s part of the scene, such as playing on a radio or being sung by a performer.

With platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, it is easy to add music to your videos as you publish them online, but you can also add music using stock assets or producing tracks of your own.

Titles

Lower thirds, intros, and credits are all types of titles that you might want to add to your video. While titles can be worked on at any stage of the Online Edit, the designs you use can often be led by your color grade choices.

Titles are another way to create consistency across your videos in style and tone. The right opening sequence can set your audience’s expectations for your video, so it is essential to consider how they fit your overall project.

Accessibility editing

Accessibility editing is the last edit stage and is often forgotten about by editors. As you might have guessed, accessibility editing is the process of making your video accessible to the broadest possible audience.

One of the most common accessibility edits you’ll perform is creating video subtitles, and many platforms are now doing this for you as a part of the upload. However, you might also consider foreign language subtitles, dubbing, Voice Over translation, Audio Description, and Sign Language Interpretation.

4 top tips for optimizing your edit workflow

The editing process can be long and laborious but is it worth spending the time to get it right. A well-organized editing workflow can prevent many problems and create a more pleasant editing experience. Here are our top 4 tips for an optimal editing workflow.

Accept it takes time

While only some projects will require all 10 stages of the editing process, it can still take a long time to produce a quality edit. Acknowledging that your video will take time to edit and setting realistic timelines is the first step in a seamless workflow. By understanding the time involved in the process, you can pace yourself and prevent burnout.

Plan Before you Start

Creating an editing plan with a timeline and milestone goals before you start is a fantastic way of organizing your edit. Having an editing plan will allow you to see where there is overlap in production processes, which can save you time, especially when working as a team. For example, after the cut has been finalized, you can send the project off for VFX while the sound is worked on.

Learn to look past problems

One of the most helpful skills an editor can learn is the ability to look past mistakes and issues that will be fixed later in the edit. Watch your edits for things that need fixing in your current stage; for example, if you are in the Assembly Cut stage, look past sound issues when you review your cut, as they will be fixed later.

Get a second opinion

Every editor gets frustrated and will come to a point where they are too close to the project to see if it is good or not. It can be easy to give up at this stage, but the fix is simple; get someone else to watch it. Having a second opinion on your edit is incredibly useful for noticing problems and mistakes but can also help you feel confident in your work.

The editing workflow will differ from editor to editor and from project to project. The steps will always remain the same, but how you approach each stage is up to you. Now that you understand more about organizing an editing workflow, you can better prepare for your productions.

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Chris Suffield is a London-based writer, editor, and voice-over artist at Jellyfielder Studios; he also writes entertainment news for Box Office Buz and enjoys making things from stock footage.

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