I am an editor of videos through content creators on social media, I can create effects that clients want, and also a photo editor or enhancer

Before you start editing your video

There’s more to editing video content than meets the eye. First you should prepare your footage and understand what you want your video to achieve. As with many creative projects real success relies on, planning and preparation, so let’s take a look at some of the early steps you need to take before jumping into the editing suite.

Back-up media

The first and arguably most important step is to back up all your media and footage. If you don’t, then you risk losing everything you’ve already worked on, should an unexpected problem arise.

It’s always best to back up your media in two or three places, including cloud storage and physical hard drives. This might sound over-the-top, but should anything happen to your computer, hard drive, or internet connection, you’ll be glad you were extra careful.

Organize your footage

Once your media is backed up, you’ll need to organize it. This will save you time and effort when it comes to the actual editing.

There are many different ways to effectively organize your footage, and while you’ll likely find your own way, you should definitely consider taking the following two steps:

Note the name of the shots

There are different ways to log your shots and these may vary from one project to the next. For relatively simple videos with only a few different shots, you could create a note on your phone with the shot name and a description of the footage.

When it comes to larger and more complex projects, it may be more effective to create a spreadsheet for logging all your shots. Thanks to smartphone apps like Google Sheets, you can do this even when you’re not at your desk.

Name your footage and media

Naming your footage and media is another way to ensure it’s easy to find and access when you start editing. One of the easiest and most popular filing methods to use is the YRMODA (Year-Month-Day) system, which will keep your files arranged in chronological order.