So, you have got an idea, and you are looking to transform it into a web series. Now what? What do you do next? Making your very own web series and publishing it online is one good way of getting your voice out there.
The right kind of editing will help you present a show that will further get you more work. It’s no wonder why most filmmakers these days want to learn the right way of making and editing a web series.
What follows next will depend on your access to a professional and good-quality online video maker, which is worth investing in if you are serious about filmmaking. Nevertheless, you will need this tool only if you do not have any formal training as a filmmaker or an editor.
Let’s dive in to understand how to edit a web series without any formal training:
Page Contents
Know the J & L Cuts
The J & L cuts are a basic editing technique for individuals with filmmaking and editing experience. However, they might not be something familiar for beginners in editing a web series.
The J & L cuts are a revelation for someone who has previously just edited nothing more than jump cuts. It essentially involves starting the audio of one character in the coverage of another character, overlapping the entire conversation to make it feel more natural to watch and listen to.
One of the major signs of inexperienced editing is getting to see the beginning and the end of all the lines of the dialogues of almost all the characters. You need to plan for the J & L cuts while you are right on set.
Try getting clean air on both sides of the lines when covering individual footage. This goes special at times when the in-context characters are speaking over one another. This way, you will be getting a good amount of editing space that will further help you pace out a conversation the way you like in an edit.
Understand the Most Important Faces in Your Web Series
If you assume that the character speaking at a given time is the most significant person in the scene, you are wrong. It is the effect of a specific line in a scene that depicts the importance of a character.
For example, even a silent character can be the most significant person in a scene if the line being spoken has a major effect on that silent character. So, it’s the silent character that the viewers look at during the key moments and scenes, despite the fact that the speaking character is giving a good performance.
If the reaction of the speaking character to its own words is less significant than the reaction of the silent character, the viewers should not look at the speaking character while it talks. Well, you need to plan about covering the most important face in a scene right on set. How do you do this? Let’s see:
You need to ensure the first and foremost thing is getting silent reaction footage of the most significant character moments to use. Avoid capturing them while they say their lines.
It is also important for you to ensure that the actors stay and live in their characters while waiting for their lines to come up. Informing the same to all the actors will be less of a necessity if the actors you are working with have sufficient experience.
Keep the Transitions in Mind
Knowing everything that happens during the scenes is just half the battle won. This goes both for editing and storytelling. It is more important to understand how you will be getting from one shot to the other.
In the same way, you must also understand how to get from one scene to the other. This is important because in the majority of the cases, simply having a brand new shot is not sufficient.
If you really want your editing to look and feel seamless, you must pay close attention to the transitions. Going from one shot to the other in the same scene means you must have the transitions in the perfect place.
Try cutting on movement and matching the said movements in the other shots. Planning a clever match cut will be the right thing for you if you transfer from one scene to the other.
Planning for transitions while on set is quite easy. If you are looking for a more adventurous or stylistic transition, specifically when getting in and out of a certain scene, ensure that you shoot a simpler version as well.
The ones who are beginners into making and editing web series should never make this major blunder of leaving something as important as transitioning to just a single option. Have the right plan in any circumstances. Try asking people you consider more experienced than you, and then work on transitions.
Use Resources as Much as Possible
One of the best things about going about anything that you are new to is practicing it thoroughly and asking for assistance at the same time. Asking for assistance means you can look for advice from experienced film and web series makers along with video editors.
As for resources, you can even go through different articles and blogs along with videos available online. These can be particularly helpful in educating you a lot on editing a web series.
All these resources together can help you polish your skills in making and publishing your very own web series while editing it like a professional. The only thing you need to do is work on available advice properly.
Conclusion
Making a web series can be a fun and specialized endeavor, but editing the same can be a little intimidating. Therefore, it is important that you follow the right steps in editing your web series so it gains huge success that brings you recognition. The entire procedure will not be easy for you, but with practice, you will surely gain experience and perfection.
