Video Editing

100 topics across 7 chapters

Chapter 1

Foundations & Working With Assets

Video Formats, Codecs & Compression

4 subtopics

Containers vs Codecs (MOV/MP4 vs H.264/ProRes)

Intra-frame vs Inter-frame Compression (Editing Performance)

Common Editing Codecs (H.264/H.265, ProRes, DNx)

Bitrate, Chroma Subsampling & Quality Tradeoffs

Frame Rate, Resolution & Aspect Ratios

File Management, Proxies & Backups

4 subtopics

Folder Conventions & Media Naming

Proxy vs Optimized Media Workflows

Backup Strategy (3-2-1) & Drive Hygiene

Relinking Media & Moving Projects Between Computers

Shooting for the Edit (Coverage & Notes)

4 subtopics

Continuity, Slates & Take Notes

On-Set Audio Capture Basics (What Editors Need)

Coverage Patterns (Wide/Medium/Close)

B-Roll Planning & Cutaways

Legal, Licensing & Permissions

3 subtopics

Music Licensing Basics (Royalty-Free vs Rights-Managed)

Stock Footage/Photos Licensing & Attribution

Releases, Privacy & Sensitive Content Checks

Chapter 2

Story, Pacing & The Cut

Narrative Structure for Editors (Setup/Payoff, Arcs)

Selecting Takes, Stringouts & Assembly Cuts

2 subtopics

Marking Selects (In/Out, Favorites, Notes)

Rough Cut → Fine Cut Checklist (What to tighten)

Continuity Editing Rules (Screen Direction, Eyelines)

Pacing & Rhythm (Energy, Breaths, Beats)

Transitions, Match Cuts & Motivated Cuts

Editing Dialogue & Interviews

2 subtopics

Radio Edit Technique (Story with audio first)

J-Cuts & L-Cuts (Audio Leads/Lags)

Chapter 3

NLE Skills (Any Editor)

Timeline Editing & Trimming Essentials

3 subtopics

Ripple/Roll/Slip/Slide Trims (When and why)

Insert/Overwrite & 3-Point Editing

Nested Sequences / Compound Clips

Keyboard Shortcuts & Editing Speed

Multicam Editing (Sync, Angle Switching)

Titles & Basic Graphics Inside the NLE

Collaboration, Review & Versioning

3 subtopics

Bins, Labels, Markers & Searchable Organization

Version Naming, Changelogs & Notes for Clients

Shared Storage, Locking & Team Proxy Workflows

Chapter 4

Audio Post for Video Editors

Dialogue Cleanup & Intelligibility

4 subtopics

Noise Reduction vs Gates (Avoiding artifacts)

EQ Basics for Dialogue (Mud, Presence, Air)

Compression Basics (Control dynamics naturally)

De-essing & Plosive Control

Music Editing & Mixing Under Dialogue

3 subtopics

Beat Matching, Downbeats & Edit Points

Ducking Music Under Dialogue (Automation)

Stems & Deliverables (DX/MX/SFX splits)

SFX, Foley & Ambience Building

Loudness, Peaks & Delivery Audio Specs

2 subtopics

LUFS Targets for Web vs Broadcast (Practical defaults)

Peak vs True Peak (Avoiding streaming distortion)

Basic Audio Repair Tools (Clicks, Hum, Clipping)

Chapter 5

Color & Finishing

Color Theory & Scopes

2 subtopics

Reading Scopes: Waveform, Vectorscope, Histogram

Legal Levels / Broadcast-Safe Basics

Primary Correction (Exposure/White Balance/Contrast)

3 subtopics

Lift/Gamma/Gain vs Exposure Controls

White Balance & Tint Corrections

Contrast Curves & Saturation Control

Secondary Correction (Skin tones, skies, isolation)

Matching Shots Across a Scene

Look Development (LUTs, Film Emulation, Style)

1 subtopics

LUT Management & Color Space Awareness (Rec.709/Log/HDR)

Finishing Checks (Flicker, Banding, Bad Frames)

Sharpening & Noise Reduction (When not to)

Chapter 6

Motion Graphics & VFX Basics

Principles of Motion Design (Timing, Spacing, Hierarchy)

Keyframing Essentials

3 subtopics

Easing & Graph Editor Concepts

Animating Transform, Opacity & Simple Effects

Using Presets Responsibly (Avoiding “template look”)

Text, Lower Thirds & Graphic Design Basics

Compositing Basics (Masks, Mattes, Blend Modes)

2 subtopics

Masks & Roto Basics (Isolating subjects)

Alpha Channels & Premultiplication (Common pitfalls)

Tracking, Stabilization & Cleanup

1 subtopics

Point vs Planar Tracking (When to use which)

Green Screen / Chroma Key Basics

Chapter 7

Export, Delivery & Distribution

Export Settings & Master Files

3 subtopics

Master vs Deliverable Files (ProRes master + H.264 deliverables)

Color Tags, Gamma Shifts & Platform Playback Issues

Audio Channel Layout (Mono/Stereo/5.1) & Tracks

Delivery for YouTube & Social Platforms

2 subtopics

Bitrate Ladders & Platform Compression Expectations

Thumbnails, Metadata & Watch-Time Basics

Subtitles, Captions & Accessibility

2 subtopics

SRT/VTT Workflow (Create, edit, sync, burn-in)

Captions for Accessibility (Speaker IDs, sound cues)

Archiving Projects for Revisions

Quality Control (QC) Checklist Before Publish