Community Editing Cheat Sheet
๐ฌ Video Editing Cheat Sheet โ Top Tips from the Community ๐ Sound Design Layer Ambient Audio โ Add room tone, subtle wind, traffic, or forest sounds under your video to make it feel alive. Use Whooshes & Risers โ Transition sounds help guide attention and create energy. Mute Your Video โ Watch it with no sound to see if the pacing holds. Then rebuild audio intentionally. โฑ๏ธ Pacing & Flow Cut on Movement โ Helps hide cuts and makes edits feel smoother. Donโt Always Cut to the Beat โ Instead, build momentum using pacing that fits the emotion of the story. Use J-Cuts & L-Cuts โ Start audio before the video (or vice versa) for more natural scene transitions. ๐จ Color Grading Use LUTs as a Base, Not a Crutch โ Always adjust for your footage. Match Skin Tones First โ Get those right before stylizing. Use RGB Parade Scopes โ Helps keep exposure and color balance clean. ๐ป Workflow & Speed Custom Keyboard Shortcuts โ Set shortcuts for ripple delete, cut, and zoom. Use Adjustment Layers โ For effects or color grades across clips. Label & Organize Sequences โ Especially on big projects; saves time and sanity. ๐ Storytelling Start with Emotion, Not B-Roll โ Hook your viewer with human moments or tension. Use Silence โ Pauses are powerful when timed well. Every Cut Should Serve a Purpose โ Ask yourself: โWhy am I cutting here?โ ๐ง Mindset & Creativity Donโt Be Afraid to Break the Rules โ Especially when it feels right. Limit Yourself Sometimes โ Edit with only 3 sound effects, or 1 song. Constraints breed creativity. Watch Movies with an Editorโs Eye โ Pause scenes and reverse-engineer transitions, pacing, and cuts.