How I edit cycling videos | Part 3 of how to make adventure videos

[@chrisbaker544]

As a new subscriber to the channel, I have been searching around in the ‘back catalogue’ of videos and cant thank you enough for making these 3 articles: Ive been blundering about learning the hard way for 6 months & couldnt believe my luck when I found them. Exactly what Ive been looking for AND in the context in which I want it - cheers Simon -you have been very helpful indeed!👍👍👍

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Hi Chris - I’m pleased you found things you like. The three videos on how I work are still up to date - little has changed other than the technology.

[@JanArmor]

Just finished all three of your "How to make" videos. I must say, Simon, they are great. Most informative tutorials you have shared. Thanks for your secrets!!!

[@Bikepacking_sa]

This is where the magic happens. It is also at this point where I find myself procrastinating over what I keep and what I have to through away. To the public eye, it seems "easy peasy" but boy a lot of work goes into editing. Thank you for sharing your insights with us Simon. Much appreciated. Side note: As an Afrikaans-speaking person with an Italian name and British surname I'm sure people get confused by my pronunciation in my Afrikaans-English accent. ✌😅

[@chuto4826]

The quality of your videos is amazing and now I know why. Great job. 👌🏼

[@SJ-tk4ri]

Whilst I always enjoy your cycling videos, this short series where you have given a unique insight into the technical aspects of the production and shared your professional know-how and effort that all combine to create your uploads, has been excellent and informative (and worthy of a Ko-fi ☕️!)

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I'm glad you think so, and thanks very much for the Kofi!

[@NigelsVidPix]

So much skill, time and effort behind the scenes. I've always photographed stills, but this series has inspired me to think more seriously about attempting video too, I may never get to be good, but will enjoy the journey. Simon, I greatly appreciate you sharing your process.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thank you Nigel.

[@RidingTheLongWayHome]

A masterclass in creating and editing videos. Thank you for sharing Simon.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

My pleasure Paul. (The very good editors I've worked with with snigger at "masterclass"!)

[@RidingTheLongWayHome]

Always Another Adventure that may be Simon, but KZbin is full of content that could have benefited from your approach

[@edmccall390]

When I was studying documentary film making, and working on my final video project, these three videos of yours would have saved me hours of time and frustration whilst trying to figure out how to structure my story, and how Final Cut Pro worked. Thank you for a fantastic series on video storytelling.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Hi Ed. I'm sincerely grateful for you taking the time to write your series of comments. In fact, I just read them out to Liz while we had breakfast. It's immensely gratifying to know they're of use to someone, which after all, is the main reason for communicating this sort of thing. Thank you. S

[@JRLNeal]

Wow, Simon, I’ve been waiting for ages to see a video with this content. I’ve been exploring and using Final Cut Pro for a couple of years now and develop my own style of workflow. I think I have arrived at a quite satisfactory standard but it was fascinating, watching you go through what I sense is a more professional approach. I have got to the point where I think about the edit almost before I go out on a ride and certainly while I’m there I keep it in mind to spot useful scenes or images that would prove useful in the final edit. Stay safe and thank you very much.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

That sounds awfully familiar John. you have to be careful it doesn't wreck cycling in favour of video making! I feel there are three distinct phases to any media production. It's typified in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3uVlnuYj7eNZ6c 1. The preparation, where you gather what info you can. I often do that sort of historical research before a ride I'm going to shoot so I know there's a proper story to tell. On this ride I did the research into the haunted bothy and found the trainspotting clip. 2. The shoot itself, where I try to be alive to the possibility of stuff happening. Partly I'm looking for shots and scenes, but I'd also hopeful of windfall events just happening - for example I had no idea I'd find that poem in the second bothy. 3. The edit - arguably the most creative part, where you decide what weight to give relative sections. The cycling then becomes the bridge between scenes. At this stage I felt I needed a Scottish voice to read that poem and could think of no-one better than my old friend Cameron.

[@PaulGreenVlog]

Really interesting and useful Simon. Thank you for sharing your methods

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thanks Paul.

[@samuelkmaina]

Very informative, not out of place at all.

[@abritandhisbikeinpoland6802]

It seems to me an awful lot to think about, the subject, the filming, and now the editing oh my god I think I would end up with brain overload!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Ha! I think it’s like driving - remember before it all becomes instinctive and you’re trying to work out pedals, wheel, steering, safety agghhh! It’s fairly instinctive for me but then i’ve done similar stuff for (ahem) a few years. 😆. It does not have to be this complicated either - it’s just the way I do it. I’m certain there are other great creative approaches.

[@gcsScotland]

Have enjoyed this very informative mini-series - thanks for sharing your knowledge - it’s made me appreciate even more what goes into the production of your excellent adventure videos. 👍 Now just need to make an effort to put it all into practice.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

It's just my way of working Graham, coming from a background in news and factual TV. I'm sure there are more creative approaches too!

[@ALittleAdventureTime]

Really helpful series, thanks, I'm just getting into making short films about my adventures and this has been a useful insight into how to pull those together professionally. As you say though it's all about the story and the quality of the audio and I think I have definite work to do on both, particularly on pre-planning. If you get chance I'd love it if you could watch a couple of the little adventure films I've created so far on my channel.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I've subscribed and I'll take a look soon Ian

[@sylvainbernaers]

wow; now i understand why your videos are top

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Thanks - it’s just my way. There are other ways which work for other folk!

[@jollygoodvelo]

I also use FCPX and sometimes sync audio together but use the sync clip function. It would save you lots of time. I share the details if you are interested. As a side note, I get the feeling we have a similar background: I am also an industry pro running a similar channel.

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Hi Leonard - I subscribe to your channel, and I wrote to you ages ago when I started mine. You were kind enough to wish me luck. I would LOVE to know how the sync clip function works! I'll hunt it down today but would love to know more if you have time. If you ever want a collaboration I'm AlwaysAnotherAdventure AT Outlook DOT com

[@jollygoodvelo]

@@alwaysanotheradventure I’ve sent you an email. If I haven’t sent it to the correct address my email is [e-mail]

[@chrissr318]

Thanks for this I hoping to start my own biking channel

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

The best of luck to you Paul - I've subscribed

[@chrissr318]

@@alwaysanotheradventure it’s called Cold Turkey Cycling. I got my first gravel race next month

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Ah, OK. Switched to that one

[@coldturkeycycling8271]

This the channel I’m starting. My barrier to entry has been editing videos, that’s been the tough part for me

[@pavlovzdog]

Informative as ever, Thank you. 👍🏻👍🏻🚴🏻‍♂️

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Neohurricane]

I'll try and remember some of your tips and tricks next time i actually have some footage to make into a video, it's been 18 months since my last one...🙄

[@RohanTheBT]

Thanks Simon, you didn’t touch on when, or if you colour correct or balance. I get bogged down at that stage, hence I haven’t produced anything for months!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

You know what Mike - I rarely do it! As you say, people tie themselves in knots over LUTs, cinema looks etc and it's a shame. When I'm mixing video sources, such as drone with GoPro, then I usually try to get them looking similar, but that's more about darkening the blacks and adding a little to the mid and top - all in exposure. I very rarely start tweaking colour unless I've done a commercial job that cries out for a specific look to be applied, and then I apply it to the whole thing once the exposure looks the way I want it. Don't let it stop you creating Mike.

[@RohanTheBT]

@@alwaysanotheradventure thanks Simon, I’ve two to finish of our trip to the Outer Hebrides in 2017!

[@therealdelboy]

Excellent video, Simon. Where exactly do you source the music from?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I don't want to give away too much because I don't want everyone using the same music! Sorry to be secretive, but that's the reason.

[@MartijnNL]

Thanks for sharing. Can I ask what video edittor program you use?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

It's Final Cut Pro X which is only for Mac. I've used most pro systems over the years and the new FCP is different to most, yet I'm surprised how easy it was to learn. Da Vinci Resolve is excellent (and free) but the most used PC Pro edit seems to be Premier.

[@sepixsound]

Thanks for the insight! Are there any unwritten rules to such videos? Such as the amount of clips to be used? Or others like "no clips longer than 20 seconds"? Thanks for sharing :)

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

The history of film-making has been written by people who broke the rules, people like Orson Wells or Jean Luc Godard, so the creative answer is 'no'. Josh Ibbett's recent video of the Atlas Bike Race was utterly whacky, edited by Ryan Le Garrec who has done a few of Josh's vids kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJCnp6iOoJ5nrck KZbin is ruthlessly democratic when it comes to video, whether it's content or edit. If people like it, YT recommends it to more people, which gives huge freedom to experiment. I'm from a traditional TV background, which helps make my videos look more professional but arguably less creative. I think linearly and narratively. And in these terms, the answer would be 'yes' to some rules. Crossing the line is the big one - not easy to explain briefly, but it involves a character going from one shot to the next. If they leave on the right of frame they should appear on the left, otherwise it looks like they reversed direction. Traditionally jump cuts are a no-no, but they're common now (again pioneered by Jean Luc Godard). As for the seconds you can hold a shot - that depends SO much on what's happening in the shot and what the audio is doing. If you're editing to fast music then cuts will feel better fast; languid music then longer shots and perhaps mixes. If you're following someone doing something fascinating, moving through a shot in which the background constantly changes, then a shot can hold longer than a static shot with a character moving through frame. I tends to keep statics to 4" on average, whereas some of the follow-me drone shots can go on 20" because the view is developing. It's an interesting exercise to pick a series of videos and count the number of cuts in one random minute. This guy is also good for specific KZbin editing techniques. kzbin.info Sorry for a long answer - it's a big topic!

[@sepixsound]

@@alwaysanotheradventure No need to be sorry, on the contrary, thanks for answering this extensively! Cut my first video today and found it quite fun, i'll look into the tips/videos you provided ... why repeat all the errors that others have done before ;) Cheers!

[@JulianHutchings]

Thank you - that was very helpful and informative. I also use Final Cut Pro but my skill level is nowhere near yours!

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Glad it was helpful Julian. I’ve been lucky to sit beside some excellent editors over the years so a little has rubbed off.

[@JulianHutchings]

@@alwaysanotheradventure Thanks! What is your jersey? I can see it's by Gore, but which one?

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

Gosh I can’t remember sorry. One of their early gravel ones from 2019.

[@tansaypeng9772]

One item left.....what video editing tool name😂

[@alwaysanotheradventure]

I’m using FCP but Da Vinci resolve is free or there’s Adobe Premier

[@samuelkmaina]

Very informative, not out of place at all.