How Professional Video Editors Think About Emotion First
What's the most important criteria for successful video editing?
The most important criteria for successful video editing is emotion. Professional editors prioritize making audiences feel specific emotions at the right moments over technical concerns like continuity.
I learned this from working on Pigeon: Impossible, a 3D animated short that racked up over 14 million views and inspired the feature film Spies in Disguise. What made that project successful wasn't perfect continuity — it was that audiences felt curious, surprised, excited, nervous, and amused exactly when we intended them to.
Walter Murch's six criteria changed how editors work
Master film editor Walter Murch laid out six criteria for editing in his book "In the Blink of an Eye." These principles changed the trajectory of my career and apply to every type of project — from corporate videos to trailers to films.
Murch's six criteria in order of importance:
- Emotion — Does the cut make the audience feel what you want them to feel?
- Story — Does it advance the narrative?
- Rhythm — Does it happen at the right moment?
- Eye trace — Does it respect where the audience is looking?
- Two-dimensional plane of screen — Does it work compositionally?
- Three-dimensional space of action (continuity) — Does it maintain spatial relationships?
Notice what's at the bottom of that list? Continuity.
Why most editors get this backwards
When editors start out, they think their job is mainly to preserve continuity. An actor lifts their arm in one shot — your job is to make sure the arm is in the same position in the next shot so you don't distract the audience with things jumping around.
While continuity is certainly an aspect of editing, according to Murch, it's actually the least important thing. Emotion sits at the top of the list.
This completely flips how most people think about editing. You're not just a technical craftsperson making sure shots match — you're an emotional architect guiding how audiences feel moment by moment.
How to apply this on your next project
Ever since I read Murch's list, I've been trying to keep the audience's emotions at the forefront of every editing decision I make. Here's how you can do the same:
While you're editing, answer these two questions:
- What do I want my audience to feel here?
- Does my editing effectively contribute to that?
If you ask that question often and answer it honestly, it will really help you improve your edits.
But beyond asking yourself these questions, I recommend having an audience. Find a few trusted friends and collaborators that you can show your edits to throughout the rough cut stage. Ask them how each scene is making them feel and see if it aligns with your intention.
If it doesn't, adjust from there and try again. I guarantee this will be a game-changer for your edits.
The work never stops
Twenty years in, and the thing I work on most in my edits is emotion. It sounds like a simple concept, but it's not easy.
Get my free editing guide here to dive deeper into the techniques that make emotional editing work.
