Editing Interview Footage - Tips and Techniques

Hey Dave, How did you tackle filming the interview with a 2 camera setup and monitoring the recording limit of both cameras?
Did you stop and start recording every certain minutes to be safe? or let them reach their limits?

Great video once again dave!!!!! always love watching your video's :)

Dave,
I'm really disappointed this turned into a FCP vs PP thread. If you think this video is about the software, you missed the point. I use PP and was amazed watching Chris Fenwick work. It doesn't matter what you use if it works for you. It's about storytelling. Thanks Dave and Chris.

Thank you for posting and sharing Dave.

Awesome video Dave, thanks for sharing !

Hey Dave, 

This is a very helpful video! Normally you would only hear about the technical side of editing and how to use the tools available. While the most important thing about editing (especially in documentary style production), is reconstructing your subjects input to a coherent and powerful story. Content is key!
This is the same I try to convey to the highschool students I am teaching at the moment. Again, it is really helpful to hear the thought proces behind editing an interview.   

Dave, I don't use Final Cut Pro, but this is such a great reference for editing workflows, thank you for posting it. I am much less organized, but now see the error of my ways. 

I cannot agree more with Ray Ortega, to be honest in the past hour since I finished watching this video and read the comments the Apple vs Adobe feud has bugged me and this is why. 

First, this is a video about construction of the story, what to keep in mind, what to pay attention to, it is about things you can do to enhance that story with B-Roll, when to use a dissolve, or leave a note, etc. These are basic tasks in all NLEs I have ever used, the only FCPX specific item is the Timeline Index - where it is a great tool it isn't the end of the world if you don't have FCPX. 

What makes us a professional isn't the software or platform we use, first it is having respect for what you do and your peers - it is treating and communicating with others in a manner that shows you are worthy of respect, this is something that many have not demonstrated in these comments. 

Secondly being a professional editor about the ability to construct the story and deliver a message for our client to a standard that our clients are not only willing to pay for but are happy to pay for, still it has nothing to do with platform or software. 

What we are doing when creating videos is storytelling, one way or another, personally I create corporate and product videos for a living and it is not easy to take a bunch of raw facts about a product or company and construct some form of narrative from them, sometimes the story is weak because all I have is raw facts about a niche product that is as lifeless as a dead worm but there is still a beginning, middle and end. 

The tools we use to construct our stories have nothing to do with the actual story we are telling, my stories are the same in FCPX as they are in Premiere Pro, and yes I do use both, my desktop is a Mac and my laptops are both on Windows. 

None of my clients care if I use FCPX or Premiere Pro, even the 1 who is a working editor himself doesn't care - he uses Avid, Resolve and FCP 7, FCP 7 makes me shiver at the thought but he does edit some great videos with it.

When I am hired for a job I use the tool that is best for that project. I enjoy each piece of software for different reasons and chose the one to use based on the strength of that application versus what is needed for the project, not what it runs on - unless I'm traveling, then it is one of my laptops that runs Windows and I have no choice but that doesn't matter. 

Now lets get real here, we are in business so with an editorial comment like this it wouldn't be right to not be completely open. What makes me more money at the end of the day is FCPX, I can complete an average corporate job around 40% faster than a job in the Adobe suite and to the same standard. What this means is I take on more work and offer better value for money to my clients, this means I get repeat customers who regularly refer new clients to me so my name gets spread around more resulting in more jobs for clients who get better value for money. 

This does not mean I prefer it over Premiere Pro, I like both and for different reasons but commercially FCPX is responsible for me earning more money plain and simple. 

Finally, I have heard this before, I don't use Premiere Pro enough right? Well not really, I have around the same experience with both FCPX and Premiere Pro. I just find the FCPX workflow is just more efficient overall. 

That is my 2 cents, remember that you cannot just say you're a professional, you need to be professional in not only what you do but how you treat others. 

What a great video.... Would love to see more stuff like this... Learnt loads from this tutorial.

Enjoyed the video Dave, not something you see often, a real eye opener.

Dave this is absolutely perfect. If there is one thing I felt like you cut a little too much from it but I'd definitely love to see more like this.

Great video. Very nice to watch some experienced editing workflow.

Awesome! Learned new stuff and got new ideas. Thanks for sharing it! Really appreciate it!

Post can be a bitch. Very interesting to see how others do it. Very nice video. Thanks

Thanks very much Dave. This video was excellent, providing me with many insights into how to edit/assemble an interview; which just happens to be one my next video projects. I initially delayed watching the video because I thought if was going to be using an Adobe editor, but after watching I realized it would have been worth while no matter which editing tool was used.

In the video you mentioned that you gave the person you where interviewing some instructions. Was it more than just feel free to start over if you make a mistake?

Thanks again for sharing your journey with the rest of the Internet!  

Really liked how it was more about the general principle about editing than about certain software's workflow. Great info to keep in mind. Thank you!

Extremely informative. Chris knows how to create a story.

Great video Dave! I would love to see more editors at work. Any chance you can make this a regular feature?

Thanks Dave.  Been listening to Fenwick since Digital Convergence Podcast and you since day one of Learning DSLR.  Its good to see Fenwick in action and a real editing pro at that.  Thanks for Sharing the session.  

This video was very informative.  What was the clients expectation regarding the length of the final project? Thank you.  

Great video!

Guy says to the sculptor: "How do you carve that piece of wood to look like a bird?"
Sculptor says, "I just cut away the parts that don't look like a bird."

That's editing ...

Great Dave! We want more of professional editing workflow.  

awe guys thx so much for posting guys

Thanks Dave and Chris--it is super helpful to see how other editors think and work through an edit!

Super helpful 

This was super helpful. Some insecurities about the way I edit were layed to rest by seeing that others do it the same way, AND I picked up some new tips a long the way. Would love to see more videos like these.

This was really good to watch, I don't care that you guys used fcpx, it could have been any tool honestly. The tools are going to change but the thought process to a good story and how to put it together is a true craft. It was good you had thought enough of the editing process to get good b-roll shots to help tie up the gaps. I think a rookie would just go get the interview, maybe from a couple angles and call it good, then struggle in post process.

Wonderful presentation, and thank you both for the 'workout' ... I found my synapses were wanting to fire at full tilt. It sure is a long way from my early days when mag stripe and dailies were exactly that.

Savage! Many thanks lads.

I am a programmer, performer and musician next to VFX producer and editor,all of these things have one thing in common. We want it all to be short, sweet and powerful. So loads of things when I edit are based on acquired instinct, knowing when for example a verse is too long and not gripping enough or a point in the story is so important (even if the shot is shit) that at least the soundbite needs to make it in there. The whole story arc thing that performers write their shows for is something that you want in an interview/documentary as well. 
Writing scripts really helps you become a good storyteller and that experience immediately translates into condensing down a large amount of footage into it's tiny story. 

Was so informative to watch & just plain fun too!  Thanks!

When we cut interviews we usually transcript the whole thing along with TC on paper (with annotations about the accents) in 2 copies. Than we latterly start cutting down the sheets and underline where the conversation in fluent building up the proposal (we still have the original copy with the entire script). After rebuild the interview on paper and reading several times we jump to the editor and start putting together the video. 

Very educational all-round.
For me the organising and setting up of the project, as well as the use of 2 story lines (image and words) was insightful. I think having multiple interweaving story lines and story arcs can make two stories into 1 story that has the value of 3 stories.
A silence allows the listener to hear a mental echo of the last words spoken. spoken, spoken ;) A good way to create a deeper impression into the viewer memory.

I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks sir 

Alex disliked this video LOL

ty so helpful: I've just spent all weekend editing my first "infomercial" for a product I'm developing. I happened to use Premiere, but loved this video, and was amazed reading comments below where people get het up on FCP vs Adobe etc, that so isn't what this is about. Despite having a basic knowledge of Premiere, and no knowledge of FCP , that thought didn't even enter my head watching this, I loved this video so helpful for me, thank you -- well done that all the narration was about editing, not the minutae of which button to press with a particular product which would be dull and non illuminating. :) more please !!

Super cool. I needed to see this this morning.

Awesome tricks and tips both on editing and FCPX - thanks Dave.

This was just what I needed! Any chance Dave of another episode similar to this? Really enjoyed this vid!

Seems to me, Chris could use an English refreshment class. However the hell he came around to think "it" is a preposition is anyone's guess.

But prepositions aside, nice video.

Hi Dave, I recall watching the finished video somewhere but cannot find it now. Do you have a link please. I'm also contemplating producing a promo video for my Children's Gymnastics club (where I also coach) and was hoping to use some of the tips and techniques that you adopted. Any advices would be most welcomed.

What would you recommend for interview footage where the interviewer's question isn't picked up well on the mic, so displaying the question text is necessary in some cases? Should the text be displayed on a black/neutral background followed by the interview footage or displayed below the interviewee before they answer?

This was a good idea. It's way more interesting to see inside the brain of an editor and how he makes his decisions rather than a software lesson. Anyone know where I can find more of this?

I'm going to be editing together interviews like this at my new job and I've never done something like this before. This video really made me feel more confident in doing the edits.

Excellent instruction! The quality of this info would never have been offered for free, in the earlier days of the internet. Thank you for generously sharing your expertise. :)

Chris is my teacher to grow up my storytelling skill🤲