Before "Media and Arts n00b," I just want to say that as soon as this gets a little publicity mods can do whatever they want with this thread, move it there, or keep it here.
Lately, I've been noticing a lot of edits that are poorly put together and don't really entice me to watch them. Here's a list I've compiled of things that you should do/look out for whilst making your edit.
1. Be original with your song. Go look around for one. To me, even if I don't really like the song, it's a lot better to watch an edit with something that I haven't heard or have heard very little. (i/e NOT Coastin' by Zion I)
2. Choose a song before you edit. To a lot of people, having flow in your edit is a great thing to keep them watching, and when you just throw in a song after, IT IS NOTICABLE.
3. You don't have to make an edit every time you go up to the mountain/hill. With "One hour with..." and "A day at..." edits, I've noticed that there are a lot of shit shots and not that many good ones. Keep the bangers as saved clips or start and edit with the stuff you got, you don't need to edit it that day.
4. Creativity is a must. ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS I LOOK FOR IN EDITS. Having a shot that comes out from behind a tree or some object for some reason pleases me. Basically anything that is pleasing to the eye, funny, etc., will make your edit a heck of a lot better. (If you're filming with a tripod, this doesn't really apply.)
5. Balance what's in your edit. The stuff that is the most fun for me to watch when there are multiple elements in an edit. Having pow (if available), jumps, and rails almost gets an A+ from me everytime.
6. Keep it under two - three minutes. I absolutely hate those edits that are 4-5 minutes long, and have nothing good in them. I end up thinking "Maybe there will be something better later on..." and 80% of the time there isn't, and it pisses me off.
Feel free to add to my list, change stuff, etc. This is just my opinion. Happy editing!
