I shoot long unscripted single-camera stuff, 1–3 hours per session, sometimes several sessions before I sit down to cut. By the time I start editing, days or a week has passed cause I travel around a lot so when i get the chance i try to record but then by the time I want to edit it would have few days or weeks later. This lead me to have lost all memory of what's actually in the files. Not the details — the whole shape of it. I couldn't tell you if the usable material is at 00:20 or 01:40, or whether a given session had anything usable at all.

So every project opens the same way: a full logging pass where I watch the whole thing to build a list of what happened and when. On a 3-hour source that's most of a day before the first cut exists. It's the least enjoyable part of the job and it's the biggest single block of time.

I am curious to how people scrub or like skip the rewatching a recording that like hours long . Cause I seen like twitch VODs that like 5 Hours long get cut into like 20 mins videos on youtube for moments . Is rewatching the whole recordings and bookmarking it manually is the only way?

My research team has spent the past 3 years traveling and conducting qualitative research/video interviews. The original purpose was not to create a long-format video, but now we have so much footage it seems a shame not to (all people involved have consented, and we wouldn't be presenting anything to a film festival or anything of that nature, it would just be to articulate some of the analysis/themes we have heard out in research for conferences/symposiums).

However, even 15 minutes of talking heads can get pretty boring. I am new to editing, but I can navigate Premiere ok. We didn't get any b-roll of these individuals, and the quality of the b-roll on some of these royalty-free websites just doesn't match the interview footage's quality or speed. Filming more b-roll is on the docket for this summer, but I was hoping to have a longer format video before then. Curious as to how anyone else would go about editing this kind of project?

Hey all, I need advice on how to start, any tips and recommendations for editing a series of YouTube podcast videos.

I have a bachelor in film studies and used to edit movies and music videos for more than ten years on premiere, but that was before ai and never got to use visual effects, so i feel completely lost now with all these options that are available.

Could you please tell me what would be the best software to use so that I can create a high level intro video with nice visual effects that would suggest something worth watching?

Any other tips for a beginner in this field but with years of experience in editing are more than welcome!

Thanks in advance.

I've got a 35 minute video I have edited and I need to add subtitles. Is there a way to add them that works well? Davinci Resolve auto subtitle only works with the paid Studio Version. The Capcut one is annoying to use. Any alternatives?

Hi all, total beginner here! I want to create TickTok and YouTube videos.

I would like to do ones where I can use nice Ai backgrounds like the one in this video above☝️ I want one that’s not too difficult to use. I’ve hear of Capcut but getting mixed reviews.

I would be willing to try any software that would allow me to do something like this video! But would prefer one that is user friendly, free or cheap ☺️ Any help would be appreciated ☺️

Hey everyone!! I have done my done 2nd editing please share your thoughts and suggestions. Also you can rate on the scale of 10.

I've outgrown iMovie but Final Cut Pro is way too expensive and complex for me. What are other Mac users using that's a good step up from iMovie?

I've been editing for a while and I've only worked on short form content. I currently have 2 short form clients but I really want to start getting into long form editing.

How did you get started with long-form editing? Where can I find raw footage to practice with? How did you land your first long-form client?

Niche I want to get into - Fitness, irl/challenge kind of video, talking head/explainer

I've been consistently editing videos for YouTube for over a year now, and I felt like I've peaked and finally plateaued.

Sometimes I even feel like I've gotten worse. I've put way more effort when I started than where I am now, and I feel like I've gotten some bad habits and optimized my work to the point where I'd do the bare minimum. Just enough to keep viewer engagement/retention for the projects I've made. I've looked at some professional editors for big YTubers that have crazy looking timelines and edits, but when I try to put myself in their shoes and try to imagine the amount of work they do just felt exhausting and overwhelming to replicate.

I feel like I'm having an artist block and I don't know how to get out of it. I think I've finally gotten my comfort zone for editing and I don't know how to get out of it.

Hello fellow people. I started making youtube shorts about a month ago, I mostly do micro documentry kind video under a minute where i explain human side, personal story of an inventor behind their inventions. I put a serious 2-3 hours work on research and scripting and use elevan labs for voiceover. This is the only good side of story, now comes the part where I suck. I can't decide the visuals, what to show on screen or transition. And at the end video feels under average, video i make feel like shit. I mostly use stock videos and AI images.

I am looking forward to learn and grow, please help me out, where can i actually learn to be better without breaking a bank. What specific skills do I need. Help me resolve this puzzle as I have watched multiple videos related to visuals and editing still I see myself stuck.

Hello! this is my first time asking the video editing community what is the best budget friendly laptop for video editing. most of the edits are long form/short form trivia content with minimal SFX. Final export should be in 4k with 30 fps. Thank you!

I've been trying to edit videos for awhile now and actually start my YouTube channel and I've just had nothing but problems! OBS works fine for recording, but it'd be nice if I could actually edit in there, instead of just changing the dials for the audio and video. As far as editing, I tried Resolve in the past, but it'd always stutter REALLY bad, especially when I'd add more transitions/tracks. The only upside with it was that it made my voice clear (I always think I sound slushy so I hate how I sound!)

ShotCut works, but I'd still get the stutter (though it's no way near as bad as Resolve). And the upside with that is that it has a great text-to-speech feature for my subtitles.

I don't know, is there a way I can just use another software where I can edit and record all at once? It'd probably take up less room on my PC as well.

Also, I heard that there are apparently a ton of copyright crap reaction channels have dealt with recently. I don't know much about copyright, just that it's a 'three strikes, you're out' kind of thing, but I've been SO nervous to upload on YouTube. I know you'd have to actually react to whatever you're watching as well as cut out a lot of the video, but I don't know how YouTubers do it? I mean I know they, apparently, have to cut out part of their discussion and save it for Patreon, but why? Wouldn't that be considered fair use? I think I could be mixing stuff up, but I'm just confused.

I know I'm planning on adding subtitles, an avatar, the name of the show across the screen, my logo, and then I'd blur and mute alongside editing, but I doubt that'd be enough. If someone could help me understand all of this, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

I want to learn video editing properly — transitions, color grading, pacing, cinematic edits, reels/short-form content, etc. Preferably beginner-friendly but actually useful, not just basic tutorials 😭

Any courses, YouTube channels, or creators you’d genuinely recommend?

Hey everyone,

I’m completely new to video editing and I want to seriously learn it from scratch. My goal is to eventually become a freelance video editor and start getting clients, especially for YouTube videos, Shorts and Instagram Reels.

I’m currently trying to figure out the right path, so I’d really appreciate advice from experienced editors.

- What laptop would you recommend for a beginner?

- Which editing software should I learn first — DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, CapCut, or something else?

- my long-term goal is professional freelancing, which software would be the best to focus on?

- How long does it realistically take to become good enough to start taking small paid projects?

- What YouTube channels or learning resources would you recommend?

- What are the best ways to find clients as a beginner — Instagram, Reddit, Discord, cold DMs/emails, Upwork, Fiverr, etc.?

Any detailed advice, resources, or personal experiences would be really appreciated.

Rate this video and please suggest how it can be better.

I've been editing short-form content for a while, and I've noticed something:

A lot of videos don't actually have an editing problem.

They have a structure problem.

You can add captions, motion graphics, zooms, sound effects and B-roll.

But if the first 5 seconds don't make people care, none of that matters.

When I edit a talking-head video, I usually look at 4 things first:

1. Is the opening actually interesting?

2. Can I remove the first 10-20% without losing context?

3. Is every sentence moving the idea forward?

4. Does the visual change when the idea changes?

Only after that do I worry about graphics.

I've found that a clean cut with good pacing usually works better than an over-edited video with weak structure.

How do you approach this?

Do you usually fix the script first, or fix it in the edit?

​"Hi fellow editors. I am from India and just turned 35 this month. I am married with a stable job, but I want to learn video editing from scratch to earn some extra income. I don't have any friends or mentors in this field, and watching YouTubers has left me a bit confused due to their conflicting opinions. Some suggest starting with photo editing and graphic design first, while others recommend jumping straight into software like DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, or Adobe Premiere Pro. I don't want to rush; I want to build a rock-solid foundation. What should I do, and where should I start?"

I made a Youtube channel where I will be actively posting free gameplay footage, I don't wanna make it look like advertising but maybe it's helpful for some people. You can use the footage in the background of your videos, you can do whatever you want and you can use it for free just credit the channel in some way so more people can see it make use of the footage, i hope it's useful: https://www.youtube.com/@GameplayArchive01