Hey! Before we get started, I need you to do something. Take a second and think about the last time you watched a video that you truly enjoyed. Something that captured and held your attention from start to finish and left you feeling satisfied after watching it. If the video, you think of was an edited work. It is likely your feeling of satisfaction was achieved through editing decisions. In this video we will be delving into the psychology of video editing. And how it is used to evoke a series of emotions that lead to viewing satisfaction.

During a previous post in the YouTube Money series we talked about how to film yourself alone and capture your best video content possible. Here we will be referencing key filming techniques from that post to show how the filming and editing processes are intrinsically linked.

Both video capture and editing benefit greatly from informed decision-making. Such as; when you know the ending of a story you are trying to tell, that information becomes a road-map for the scenes that will lead up to that ending. All roads in a story should lead to and support the ending or climax. And the more connected those roads are, the more satisfying the story will appear on an emotional level. The opposite is also true. Whenever a path in a story does not seamlessly connect to the ending or resolve, it leaves unanswered questions in the mind that lead to emotional unrest or indifference.

Emotional Connection

So how do we approach the editing process to ensure we are establishing and maintaining the right emotional connection in our videos? To answer this question lets separate our edit into 3 main sections; The beginning, the middle, and the ending:

The beginning of an edit or story is typically edited in a way that captures immediate attention while introducing main characters and conflict. This is often achieved using emotion evoking action. For example; a mysterious birth of a character during the first scene can pull viewers in while establishing an emotional connection. Editing techniques such as fast paced cut shots or heart pounding sound design are often used in this instance.

The middle of an edit or story is commonly edited in a way that introduces the problem and possible solutions to the main conflict. For example; The mysterious birth of an abandoned child character evolves into a search for his missing birth mother. During the search we learn that the child has an untapped ability to find missing people. From a story editing perspective, the middle is typically when the full story is explained literally and figuratively. And as a result, tends to be more dialogue heavy. Narrative dialogue scene editing techniques such as; split-edits are commonly used in this instance to hold interest and move the viewer through the story more naturally.

The ending of an edit or story is used as an opportunity to resolve the major conflict and present options for the characters future. For example; The abandoned child finds his birth mother and discovers the reason he was abandoned was to protect him from people that wished him harm because of his special abilities. If the previous sections of the edit where executed correctly, by this time in the story the viewer should be emotionally invested in the outcome of this final section.

Movement

By now most of us have encountered the quote, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.” And there is no doubt in my mind that the potential and power of video has been proven many times over. However, when it comes to short-form content such as YouTube videos, we often underutilized it’s potential.  

One of the most engagingly powerful attributes of motion pictures or video is motion itself. Allow me to explain…

Our eyes and ears are the sensory entry points used for engaging with video content. And it is the movement encountered during this engagement that sustains our interest long enough for us to become emotionally invested in the stories presented.  

This movement can take on many forms. For instance; a video that visually leads your eyes around the screen through a variety of imagery is more likely to hold your attention longer than a fixed image of the same subject matter. Especially if there is the prospect of discovering something new around every corner. And not at all to discount the power of subtlety. Because there are times when it is appropriate and effective for videos to be minimal in camera movements. The key is to know when. And a good practice is to always keep in mind the 3 sections of a story/edit and think about where your viewer is in the story timeline. If they are not yet emotionally invested in the outcome, it may not be the right time for a long, static, dialogue heavy shot.

This is equally true with audio. However, audio can be an even more powerful or damaging storytelling element due to the role music plays in establishing mood and emotional tone.

Let me just say, I am aware that we are discussing this from a narrative story type video perspective. But this logic can undoubtedly be applied to other video formats as well. For example; you may be editing an interview of highly valuable information where one person is onscreen talking to the camera. And although the information may be valuable, it’s delivery format may be blocking viewer engagement. Keeping our 3 section, approach in mind, we can decide to edit in fast-paced supporting b-roll in the beginning of the interview. Then, in the middle, as the interview progresses, we can decide to reduce the b-roll and possibly introduce music or other supportive sound design into the mix. The objective being to stimulate sensory entry points thus holding the viewers’ attention while the information is delivered.

Although there are a myriad of editing techniques and trendy transitions used to improve the engagement of a video. The best assets in video editing are solid storytelling along with great image and audio capture. The decisions you make before and wile capturing your footage and audio will greatly determine the effectiveness of your edit. So please, plan your stories and the execution of you stories as well as possible.

Remember at the beginning of this post when I asked you to think about the last time you watched a video that you truly enjoyed? In that moment you probably unconsciously began to question what makes a video enjoyable for you. Then with that reasoning your mind begin to search for the most recent video you viewed that met that criteria. Well, believe it or not, this process of determining value is likely happening every time your content is searched, found, and viewed. That being said… What the viewer experiences next… Is totally up to you.