The Invention of Intention

(1 out of 100 from the current series, “100 Tips for Video Editing”)

1. The Invention of Intention

There’s a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin (also rephrased by Winston Churchill) that says, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” This saying applies in most situations, with editing being no exception.

Just as Franklin was an inventor, you too will be inventing something important, and that is “intent.” When you first open up your editing program, intention is one of the first things that should come to mind. A variety of questions  must be answered, such as:

“What genre of video am I creating?” 

“What message am I trying to send with this video, or if not a message, what feelings am I trying to evoke?”

And even, “Why in the world did I decide to make this?”

You can discover more questions using the 5 W’s that most of us have grown up hearing when we were all just illiterate lil’ toddlers: who, what, where, when, and why? The answer to these questions will achieve two things. 

The first is that it will give you a guide to follow as you figure out how to structure and style your video. The second, and maybe even more important, is that it will help you uncover the purpose behind your desire to edit the video, which in turn will fuel your desire to complete the video. The clearer you are with your guide and the more purpose you find in what you do, the more fulfilling each project will feel as you progress towards a completed piece of work. With that said, let’s turn to purpose. I hope y’all like glue sticks.