Editing
checklist.

Why it matters: If the subject's eye level jumps between cuts, the viewer subconsciously notices. It feels jarring even if they can't explain why. Keep the eye line at the same height across every angle and crop.

Use the overlay. The pink zones show where platform UI (icons, usernames, captions) covers the frame. Keep all important content, faces, text, and visuals out of these areas. Download the overlay and drop it over your edit to check.

We use Australian English. Watch for -our (colour, behaviour), -ise (organise, specialise), and -re (centre, metre). Spellcheck defaults to American — don't trust it blindly.

Read every caption out loud. Auto-generated captions are full of errors. Read each one word-by-word — check for homophones (their/there/they're), missing words, and incorrect punctuation.

Pause on every text frame. Scrub through and stop on every frame that has text. Read it carefully — typos on screen are far more visible than in captions and much harder to fix after delivery.

Most viewers decide in 3 seconds. Open with something that creates curiosity, poses a question, or shows an unexpected visual. No logos, no "hey guys", no dead air.

Cut straight to the point. If the first thing the viewer sees is a logo animation or a generic greeting, they'll scroll past. The hook should be the very first frame. Branding comes later (or never).

Frame 1 should have energy. Even half a second of silence or a black frame at the start can lose viewers. Trim the head of the video tight — audio and visuals should hit immediately.

Cut on the beat. The best cuts happen on natural speech rhythms — at the end of a sentence, on a pause, or when the speaker shifts topic. Cutting mid-thought feels jarring.

Ease everything. Text, graphics, lower thirds, image overlays — they should all animate in smoothly and animate out smoothly. If anything pops on or off abruptly, add easing. Linear keyframes feel robotic.

If you notice the effect, it's too much. Good effects are invisible — they enhance without being noticed. If a zoom, flash, or transition makes you think "that was cool", it probably pulled attention away from the message.

SFX should be felt, not heard. A subtle whoosh on a text pop or a soft click on a cut is fine. If the sound effect competes with the speaker's voice or makes you flinch, turn it down or remove it.

Trim, don't eliminate. Remove long pauses and audible breaths between sentences. But don't cut so tight that it sounds like a robot — leave a tiny beat between thoughts so it still sounds human.

Watch it as a viewer. Play the video back and notice where your own attention drifts. If you zone out, your audience will too. Those sections need tightening — cut, add visuals, or speed up the delivery.

Every visual should earn its place. If someone mentions "revenue", show a graph. If they say "team", show the team. Don't add random stock images or effects just to fill space — every visual should reinforce the message.

Something should change every 2–5 seconds. This doesn't mean frantic cuts — it means a cut, zoom, b-roll, image overlay, or text pop. If the viewer sees the exact same static frame for 5+ seconds, their attention is already gone.