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You ever watch a video and something just feels off? Like the footage is good, the audio is clean, but something about it keeps pulling you out of the moment. Nine times out of ten? It's the editing.
And here's the thing nobody tells you. The best edits you've ever seen? You didn't notice them. That's what made them the best.
If you can see the edit, something went wrong. Period. The whole point of a great cut is to keep the viewer inside the story. Not to show off. Not to prove you know your way around a timeline. The moment someone notices the cut is the moment you lose them.
Today I'm breaking down the one technique that changed my editing forever. And I'm giving you the exact way to practice it. 🫡
Here's where most creators get stuck. They think good editing is just cutting to the beat. Syncing your cuts to the music. Making it feel rhythmic. And look, that works. It has its place. But if that's the only tool in your toolbox? Your edits are going to feel mechanical. Predictable. Like a slideshow with a soundtrack.
The technique that changed everything for me is cutting to motion. Not music. Not pacing. Motion. When you cut on a movement, the viewer's eye is already traveling. Their brain is already tracking something. 🧠 So when the angle changes mid motion, it feels natural. It feels like one continuous moment instead of two separate shots stitched together. That's where fluidity lives. That's where continuity lives. And that's where your edits start to disappear.
Here are the 3 ways I use this every single time I film and edit.
✋ 1. Hand Movements and Head Turns
This is the simplest version and honestly the one I use the most. Let's say you're filming yourself talking at a table. You have two angles. A head on shot and a profile. Most people would just hard cut between those two angles whenever they feel like it. But here's the move. At the end of your first clip, do a head turn. Look to your left. Stop recording. Set up your next angle. 📐Then start that next clip by repeating that same head turn from the new angle. Now when you put those two clips together in the timeline, the head turn carries the viewer's eye across the cut. They don't even register that the angle changed. Same thing works with hand movements. If you gesture at the end of one shot, start the next shot mid gesture from a new angle. The movement bridges the gap. The cut vanishes.
🚶 2. Walking and Full Body Motion
This one levels things up. Let's say you're walking toward the camera, head on. You want to transition to a completely different angle. Maybe a profile. Maybe a wide. Here's what you do. Keep walking. Don't stop. Let the motion carry through the end of that first shot. Then on your next angle, start the clip with that same walking motion already in progress. When you cut between them, the forward momentum connects the two shots. The viewer's brain reads it as one continuous movement even though the camera is in a totally different place.📍This is how you make location changes and angle shifts feel effortless. Any motion action works here. Walking, sitting down, standing up, picking something up. If the body is in motion, the cut has something to ride on.
📝 3. How to Actually Do This: Write It Into Your Shot List
This is the part most people skip and it's the part that matters the most. You can't rely on catching these moments in the edit. You have to plan for them. When I'm writing my shot list in pre production, I'm already thinking about where my invisible edits are going to live. I'll write things like "head on walk, stop, look left" and then on the next line "profile angle, repeat walk, stop, look left, then deliver line." The motion is built into the plan before I ever press record. That way by the time I sit down to edit, I already know I have what I need. 💻 The cuts are already there waiting for me. I'm not hunting for happy accidents. I'm assembling something I designed on purpose. Pre production is where invisible edits are born. The edit just brings them to life.
If you enjoyed this and want to go even more in depth, Content College is where I teach the full system. How to write your story, editing, color, structure, and so much more — built for creators who want to level up.
The Secret to a Great Edit 🤫 What makes some edits feel more seamless than others? I break down the secret of invisible cuts HERE
The Most Seamless Hands Free Way to Remember Your Lines 😎 This is the cheat code and the game changer for how I'm able to film outside, hands free, and still deliver my script perfectly. Check it out HERE
Have a question about cameras/editing/technical skills? Ask me anonymously HERE!
Question of the Week:
Beginner intro to making unique and good audio swells
Submitted by: D
From Adrian 💬
This is a great question because audio swells can make your video feel like a movie or make it feel like a mess. And it all comes down to intention.
An audio swell is sound design. And the key to a good one is contrast. You have to let things get quiet before they get loud. If your audio is already at a 10, the swell has nowhere to go. But if you bring things down to a 2 or a 3, let the viewer sit in that space, and then let it build? That's the climax. That's when it hits. The quiet is what gives the loud its power.
Now the most important part. Don't use them just to use them. A swell has to serve something. A reveal. A shift in emotion. A turning point. If you're throwing swells on every other cut because it sounds cool, it's going to feel forced. And forced is the opposite of cinematic. Every swell should have a reason. If you can't explain why it's there, it probably shouldn't be.
That's it for this week y'all! And if you've been editing by just cutting to the beat and calling it a day, I hope this helps you in your future projects. Because this is the thing most editors won't tell you. It's the subtle difference between a good edit and a great one. And once you start seeing it you will never unsee it. 👀 Every film. Every creator you admire. Every cinematic reel.
Hope this helps and as always y'all, happy creating. Catch you next week ✌️
