Once you have your footage and you get down to editing, don’t expect to bang out a completed video on the first run – even if you consider yourself to be a pro. Editing, like almost any other creative process, evolves over stages and can’t be rushed. For the best results, create a rough cut first (like a first draft) and show it to someone not directly involved in the production. This person should know something about video or video editing, but should be removed enough from your work so that he can remain objective. If it’s a longer film, you may want to create another draft, but shorter videos will probably only need the one rough cut. The constructive criticism you receive should help you create something more appealing to your audience.

It can sometimes be difficult to tell what should be left in and what shouldn’t be when you're editing. Whenever you’re in doubt, think about whether the scene or shot in question adds to your story development or supports your central message. If you find that the shot detracts from your message, cut it out and don’t look back. Web video is all about being concise – most people won’t bother to take the time to watch if you include irrelevant information and don't just get to the point.

A jump cut is an editing term referring to an abrupt break in a continuous shot, most noticeably when a moving object appears to jump within the frame. Take the example of an interview. After shooting what you need, you may notice that your subject’s answer is long-winded and you only want certain parts. However, the subject maintains the same basic position within the frame the entire time. If you cut from one part of his answer to another, his head or hands will appear to jump in the frame as he moves them while speaking. To fix this, one solution is to use a cutaway shot. Literally, you cut away from the primary shot of your subject to a secondary shot like a close-up of his hands. This way, you can cut back to the rest of the subject’s answer without seeing him jump.

One of the cardinal rules of editing is that you should, whenever possible, cut on action. The reason behind this rule is that cutting on action distracts the audience less. People focus on the action occurring, not the cut, and thus are less likely to notice any mistakes like jump cuts. For example, if a woman turns her head to look at something, the cut to the object of interest should be made midway through the action of turning.

The goal of editing is to convey a story smoothly without drawing too much attention to the cuts. Of course, fast-paced editing or cartoon-inspired wipes are designed to stand out, and that’s absolutely fine. But when you just want to tell a story, you generally want your cuts to be seamless. The best way to achieve this is by ensuring that the content (what happens in the video) motivates the cut. For instance, if you hear a door open and a character turns his head, you expect to see a cut to the door. That’s seamless editing.