Re: Length of cuts when editing a conference

I couldn't agree with Shane more.

In the early part of my career, I spent a few years as the house videographers for the National Speakers Association - taping literally hundreds of professional speakers, including many of the finest in the land.

A true quality professional speaker typically needs minimal editing since their cadence, their command of their subjects and the constant practice and refinement they undergo leaves them understanding really well how to captivate and hold a crowds attention. So for one of those folks, I could simply keep the camera on them and let their polish and content do the work with hardly any edits.

If the presenter is less polished, the editor has to work harder to cut out digressions, lost trains of thought, and reiterations.

One trick I used way back when I was learning how to edit spoken content (back when I had the luxury of time!) was to turn off the picture and simply MARK your edits on the content as a sound track. That tends to reveal any structural problems without the distraction of judging video. Then watch those same edit points with the video - noting what you marked in the soundtrack. Often the visual content will remove the need for the audio edit. If not, you've revealed something with both weak audio and without redeeming video.

That's a kind of obsessive approach a well seasoned editor usually doesn't really need, but if you're learning how to do this kind of work, it can sometimes be a useful exercise in both watching and listening.

FWIW.

"Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions."-Justice O'Connor