Refining your project brief

There are a few things you can do to further refine your brief and pre-edit your shots before submitting them through to us. Here’s a few tips!

Using the trimming tool

Trimming your shots can help improve the quality of the brief your editor receives, and also save you money on the cost of your project by reducing the amount of raw footage submitted.

Use the trimming tool to isolate which part of your shot you'd like used. 

To trim a shot in your project, follow these steps:

1. Click on the shot you wish to trim
2. In the shot screen, select ‘Trim’ from the top menu

   

3. Click and drag the start and end markers underneath the video to set new start and end times for your footage
4. Watch the playback to ensure you’re happy with the new timing selection
5. Hit ‘Save’ and your shot duration will be automatically updated in your project.

[Tip: Trimming your shots will not alter the original footage in your library, it will simply place timecode markers in your brief for your editor to let them know which parts of the shot you want used.]

Isolate two separate sections of the same shot

To do this, you'll need to:

1. Upload the shot into your project
2. Duplicate the shot within the project
3. Isolate Part A in the first shot
4. Isolate Part B in the second shot

Reorder your shots

You can be as specific as you like when it comes to giving us instructions for how you want your video edited. In fact, the more specific, the better. This includes putting your footage in order of how you want it to appear on screen.

While not essential, this is great for telling us which audio and visual components of your video need to go together and what the sequence of your video should be.

To reorder shots in your project:

1. Hover your mouse over the shot you wish to move
2. Click and hold the icon that appears in the top right corner of your shot
3. Drag and drop your shot to its new position in the sequence

[Pro Tip: If your shot order must be kept exactly as you’ve supplied it in the brief, let us know in your ‘Editor Notes’]

What's next?

Submitting your project for pro editing

Now that you're happy with your footage, you can follow the easy steps to submit for pro editing and have your video back to you in no time!