How to Write an Edit Brief for a Video You Didn't Shoot
Victor Nguyen explains how to write an edit brief that gives editors the context they need when you weren't on set. Covers story goals, format, audience, and clip-level specificity.
Transcript
Hey, folks. So if you are submitting an edit request for a video that you did not shoot, key thing to note that the edit brief in this case really isn't a formality. Right? It's the only context that your editor is going to have. So here's what you can do to make sure that your directions count. First, focus on the goal of the edit. What's the overall story that you're trying to tell? Who are you trying to reach? Where is the content being published? If you're too focused on what you think the edit should look like but you can't answer those broader questions, the editing process itself could uncover something kind of late in the game that might make your original vision unworkable. So remember, you didn't film this yourself, so there's a lot about the raw footage that you might not know. But if you can give us the context, upfront, we can consult with you earlier to keep your deliverable on track and prevent any unnecessary revisions. You know, if you have questions like, is this for LinkedIn? Is it for TikTok? The answers to those questions alone can radically change the direction of your video. So over here, I have the edit request. There's the title, Pick landscape or portrait. Right? So for instance, if you pick, portrait, but or if you pick landscape, but you tell us like, oh, this is actually for TikTok. Right? We might be able to analyze that and let you know, oh, we actually need to pivot directions on this. When you get to the craft your clip section, framing your feedback as sort of like a one sentence, the goal of this video is to do X for audience Y, gives us the right information that we need to craft the message and tone. You can also use examples like a shot list or creative inspiration. You can link to another video from your feed or anywhere else online, like a YouTube link that has the look or the pacing or the tone that you want, right? You can also put the example down here. One good example can essentially replace three or four paragraphs of description, right? Especially like, you know, the longer you get with your description, the more subjective things might get. But if you have like a concrete example, and you can even say something like, I like the feel and the tone at this one minute and thirty second mark in the video, or I want you to emulate this font choice or what the typography does or something like that. But don't do the stuff at the four minute mark. That stuff gives us something very workable to work with. Yeah. So you can tell your editor what to keep and what to cut here. Call out any other moments, phrases, specific personnel that you want to keep front and center or to mix or maybe don't focus as much on. Do you want ums and ahs removed, long pauses, off message tangents, anything past a certain timestamp because it's no longer relevant to certain business goals. If you need multiple clips, right, list them in the order that you want with a short description of what's needed. Let us know if it's, there's subsections of one deliverable or if you'd like us to break them apart to other ones. Essentially, if you need specificity out of the edit, then you'll want to provide proportionate specificity in your edit response. The more information you give us, the faster you'll get content back ready to publish. Awesome.
Overview
In this 3-minute training, Victor Nguyen walks through the specific challenge of writing an edit brief for footage you weren't present to capture. He explains why the brief is the editor's only source of context and demonstrates how decisions about aspect ratio, distribution platform, and target audience can fundamentally change the direction of an edit. The video also covers practical techniques like using a single reference link instead of lengthy descriptions, and how to give clip-level instructions that are specific enough to be actionable.
What Is This?
An edit brief for footage you didn't shoot is a structured written document that gives a video editor the story goal, audience context, format requirements, and clip-level guidance needed to produce a finished deliverable without any verbal handoff from the person submitting the request.
What You'll Learn
- Understand why the edit brief is the editor's only context when you weren't on set
- Identify the three things to lead with: story goal, target audience, and distribution platform
- Determine how aspect ratio and platform choice — such as LinkedIn versus TikTok — should shape your brief
- Use a single well-chosen reference link to communicate tone and style efficiently
- Call out specific elements to keep or cut, including filler words, off-message tangents, and key soundbites
- Structure multi-clip deliverable requests with the right level of specificity
Key Insights
- The edit brief is not a formality — it is the only briefing the editor receives, so vague instructions produce vague results
- Leading with distribution platform and aspect ratio first changes every downstream editing decision, from pacing to framing to caption style
- One relevant reference link communicates more about desired tone and style than several paragraphs of written description
- Specificity in your instructions should be proportional to what you need back — the more precise the deliverable, the more precise the brief needs to be
Deep Dive
When you submit footage you didn't shoot, you're asking an editor to reconstruct intent from raw material alone. There's no on-set conversation, no shared memory of what the subject said before the camera rolled, and no informal sense of what the client wanted. The edit brief fills that gap — and if it's written carelessly, the editor has no reliable path to the right cut.
Victor Nguyen's approach starts at the top of the brief with three anchoring pieces of information: the story goal, the target audience, and the distribution platform. These aren't background details. They are the lens through which every editing decision gets made. A 90-second LinkedIn video for a B2B buyer and a 30-second TikTok clip for a consumer audience will be edited differently even if the raw footage is identical. Stating the platform and format early means the editor doesn't have to guess.
Once the context is set, the brief should address what to keep and what to remove. That means flagging specific soundbites, calling out filler words or off-message tangents, and noting any sections of footage that are off-limits or essential. Vague direction like 'make it engaging' gives the editor nothing to work with. Specific direction like 'open with the answer at 1:42, cut the section about pricing, keep the closing call to action' gives the editor a clear path forward.
For teams requesting multiple deliverables from a single shoot — a long-form cut, a social teaser, and a vertical clip — the brief should address each format individually. The level of detail you provide should match the complexity of what you're requesting. A single 60-second cut needs less instruction than a five-asset package, but both need the same foundational context: story goal, audience, and platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I include at the top of an edit brief for footage I didn't shoot?
Lead with the story goal, target audience, and distribution platform. These three elements give the editor the context needed to make every downstream decision — from pacing and structure to aspect ratio and caption style — without needing to ask follow-up questions.
How do I communicate tone and style without writing a long description?
Victor Nguyen recommends using one well-chosen reference link to a video that matches the tone, pacing, or format you want. A single relevant example replaces paragraphs of written description and gives the editor something concrete to orient toward.
How specific do I need to be when flagging what to cut or keep?
Your level of specificity should match what you need back. At a minimum, flag any off-message sections, filler words, or essential soundbites. For multi-clip deliverables, address each format individually so the editor understands what is needed for each output, not just the project as a whole.
Related Topics
After completing this training, explore how to submit upload requests correctly within the MarketScale platform and how to structure multi-format publishing workflows for social and web distribution. Understanding how video assets move from request to publish will help you write briefs that account for the full production pipeline.
#EditBrief #VideoProduction #ContentStrategy #MarketScale #PlatformBasics #VideoEditing #B2BContent #ContentOperations #VideoWorkflow #DigitalPublishing
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