A fast-paced vertical surf edit designed to turn high-impact action footage into an engaging, social-first video with strong pacing, clean typography, and momentum-driven editing.

Biggest Airs 2025 is a short-form action sports edit focused on some of the most visually exciting moments in surfing: speed, aerials, landings, and powerful wave sections.

The goal was to create a video that immediately feels energetic and keeps the viewer moving from one highlight to the next.

I edited the piece specifically for vertical viewing, using a strong opening title, carefully selected action moments, concise cuts, and pacing designed for short-form platforms such as Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.

Rather than overloading the footage with effects, I kept the edit focused on the athletes and the movement of the waves.

Action sports footage already contains a lot of natural movement, so the biggest challenge is knowing when not to over-edit.

Too many transitions or effects can distract from the actual performance, while slow pacing can make even impressive footage lose its impact.

The edit therefore needed to:

Hook viewers within the first few seconds

Prioritize the strongest surfing moments

Maintain momentum throughout the entire video

Make different clips feel like one cohesive sequence

Work naturally in a 9:16 mobile format

Keep graphics bold without competing with the footage

I built the video around a simple principle:

The opening establishes the theme immediately with the “BIGGEST AIRS 2025” title before moving directly into the surfing highlights.

From there, the clips are arranged around movement and visual intensity rather than simply being placed chronologically.

Large aerial moments, wave movement, takeoffs, rotations, and landings create natural points for cuts and transitions between shots.

The result is an edit that feels continuous while still allowing each surfing moment enough room to register.

My work on the piece focused on:

Footage Selection Choosing visually strong moments that communicate speed, scale, and athleticism immediately.

Pacing & Timing Structuring the sequence so the video continues building energy without feeling rushed.

Vertical Reframing Making the action readable within a 9:16 composition optimized for mobile viewing.

Typography Creating a bold opening title that establishes the theme without taking attention away from the footage.

Visual Continuity Balancing different clips so they feel like parts of the same edit rather than disconnected highlights.

Clean Transitions Using the natural motion of the surfers, boards, waves, and camera movement to connect shots instead of relying heavily on artificial transitions.

Final Polish Refining timing and overall visual flow to create a compact, replayable short-form piece.

I handled the creative structure and post-production of the video, including:

Clip selection

Sequence building

Pacing

Timing

Vertical composition

Typography

Transitions

Visual refinement

Final social-media-ready edit

The final result is a 35-second vertical action-sports video that communicates the theme almost immediately and maintains visual momentum throughout the edit.

The project demonstrates my approach to short-form editing: keeping the story simple, identifying the strongest visual moments, and using pacing and motion to make the footage feel more engaging rather than covering it with unnecessary effects.

It also shows how longer or mixed action footage can be transformed into a concise piece of content suitable for modern social platforms.

Format: 9:16

Resolution: 1080 × 1920

Duration: ~35 seconds

Style: Action sports / surfing / highlight reel

Intended platforms: Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts