today we'll discuss editing on the beat versus editing to the music
and it doesn't sound like there's a big difference but it can be huge to
how much story potential you're leaving on the table editing one way over the other
hey guys i'm rafael and welcome to the channel where our goal is to always fix it in camera
and then finesse it in post and i always appreciate the early thumbs up because
editing is your third chance to shape a great story and there are many different
editing styles and different approaches depending if you're editing for youtube
commercials or narrative films and to be clear we're not going to be discussing edgar
wright's cut sequences that are edited jump cuts with enhanced sound design
this is a whole other topic and editing style that we'll save for a future video
and besides he has honed his skills so well that he controls the audience attention at all times
directing them where to look for how long and why he is top shelf good but there are
shortcuts that many people take just to get the edit done thinking that it will achieve the same
effect there are two main ways to edit with music an easy way to the beat where every edit
is predictable and happens on every single beat or close to it and the music in this instance
drives the editing choices and the other way it takes time to craft and master but
if done right can invoke more emotion from the viewer now i'm not saying that either
is better than the other they both have their place in the editing toolkit i personally have
used both of these and it really depends on the project and the goal you're trying to achieve and
how much time you actually have to do the edit let's start with editing to the beat we've all
seen these cut scenes where there's a rhythmic song and the edit happens right on the beat
if you've been around my channel long enough you know that i use the edit to the beat
but i personally find it to be lazy that's because it's super easy to achieve and
really takes away most of the creative process to better demonstrate what i'm
talking about i created a mock sports ad to show the two different styles
first here's an example of editing on the beat all the edits are done right on the beat
editing on the beat is really easy to achieve it's easy to learn it's great when you need
to bang something out really quickly or if the footage isn't inherently that exciting but the
biggest drawback with this technique is that it's predictable because the music drives the
editing choices and locks you into durations that fit between one or two beats cutting to
beat leaves no moment for the shots to breathe and it forces you to either stay on a shot too long
or cut away too fast and again it's predictable the audience can get bored
fast but these kind of edits work well when the footage is static like in this example
so it really takes away from the feeling of the story this is how easy it's to set up
marking the beats in the music make your selects in your footage
drop them on the timeline finesse and you're done and in premiere pro there's even an automate clips
to sequences for faster edits beyond sorting your footage in points you don't really have
to do too much which can be great if that's what you need and are looking for editing to
the music is the approach to find the moments in the footage that can be used as the hits
to find action that can land on the beat and not on the edit it's visual excitement with
the footage here's an example of the same mock-up sports ad with editing to the music
uh
the difference between the first ad and the second ad are subtle but in this one all the major music
beats happen with action not on an edit it draws the viewer to want to know what action is coming
next it's hard to do for an entire edit but the best editors in the world make it seem flawless
where you don't even notice it just feels right think of it this way the music enhances the
visuals the music is supporting the story as it's unfolding the ideal is to make the edits serve the
story always moving it forward stay on a shot as long as it needs to be no longer no shorter if it
helps to tell a better story edit the music not the visuals add a break in the music or extend
it if you need a shot to be on longer or shorter it's really a balancing act lots of it runs on
feeling cutting to the beat dictates your edit you are no longer the storyteller the music is
editing to the music is more about crafting a story and takes work to make it really good i
strive to get those kind of moments in all my edits and practice every chance i get
the best of the best editors find a balance between the two styles and look for moments in
the edit to enhance the viewer's experience but at the same time really have the story drive the edit
next time you watch a commercial or narrative film take notice how music is used to enhance
the action notice how the music will crescendo on the explosion and in most of those cases the
music is written after the edit is locked and the goal is always to edit something that almost any
piece of music will work with and if you guys like the stock footage i used in the examples
i got them from my art grid subscription i really like how they have full story collections in their
library and the music that i used in the examples i got from our list make sure you check out this
video on how to select the best music for your project what are your thoughts on the two ways to
edit with music do you prefer to edit on the beat or edit to the music there is no right answer it's
really a preference and what connects with you and your audience the best as always thanks for
watching give this video a big thumbs up subscribe i'm rafael i'll talk to you soon bye for now you