When a first cut is far from what you imagined, the usual reason is that the style was never made clear. "Premium", "youthful", "bold" produce a different picture in everyone's head. Here are three methods; ten minutes of preparation saves a whole round of revisions.
Method one: reference videos, and say which part
Find one to three video links. They don't need to be from your industry, just the right feeling. The key is to say which part you like:
- "The pacing from 0:00 to 0:15: fast cuts, music with a beat."
- "The subtitle style: white text with a thin black outline, in the lower third."
- "The colour: warm, slightly vintage."
One point per video is fine. Three videos with one point each let the editor assemble what you want.
Method two: describe the purpose and the audience
Instead of describing a style, say who will watch and what they should do:
- "Business owners aged 40 to 60, on our website; it should feel steady and trustworthy."
- "Students around 20, on Instagram; it has to grab attention in three seconds."
- "A training video for staff; clarity matters, nothing flashy."
From this an editor can work out the right pace, subtitle size and type of music.
Method three: list what you don't want
"Don't" is often easier to state than "do":
- No variety-show captions or sound effects.
- No heavy transitions.
- No electronic music; piano or guitar.
- Never show the old logo.
A simple template
Purpose and audience: website homepage, for people meeting us for the first time.
Reference 1: (link) we like the aerial shots and slow motion in the first 10 seconds.
Reference 2: (link) we like the subtitle style and position.
Music: light piano, no vocals.
Don't: transitions, variety-show captions, flashing text.
Must have: logo and website address at the end, held for 3 seconds.
Send this with the footage. See what to have ready before contacting a video editor.
Frequently asked questions
I can't find any reference videos.
Pick one from our portfolio and say "like this one", or use methods two and three only; we'll propose a direction for you to confirm.
Can you copy the reference exactly?
We can follow its pacing, colour and subtitle style, but we don't copy its footage or music. Different footage means a different result.
What if the first cut is still the wrong style?
See how many revisions video editing includes, which explains the difference between minor revisions and a re-edit.
