How to brief a video editor: a checklist that halves your revisions
What to send an editor when outsourcing a YouTube documentary or explainer: goal, script, voice-over, reference videos, visual language, no-gos and delivery format. A copy-paste brief checklist.
Most editing revisions don't come from a weak editor but from a thin brief. The editor guesses the style, guesses wrong, and two rounds go by. Fill in the list below and the first cut will very likely be close to what you had in mind.
The brief checklist (copy, fill in)
- Channel and video. The channel link and the topic of the video.
- One-sentence goal. "By the end, viewers understand why Ferrari earns more per car than Lamborghini."
- Script (final). Text that won't change.
- Voice-over. WAV, locked; or "you do the voice-over" plus language and tone.
- References. 1–2 links and which seconds you like, and why.
- Visual language. Colours, fonts, a character if you have one; otherwise "propose one".
- No-gos. What must not be used: specific footage, colours, music genres, real faces.
- Length and pace. Target runtime, calm or fast.
- Thumbnails. One, or three ideas for A/B (Thumbnail Trio).
- Delivery. Format, resolution, captions, Shorts, upload date.
How to give a reference
Instead of "make it like that channel": "like the graphic transitions between 1:20 and 1:45 in this video, but in our channel's colours". Naming the feature you want stops the editor copying the wrong thing.
A clear visual language is half the job
In episode one we write down the channel's visual system: palette, fonts, recurring graphic, camera moves. For the noir documentary it was "black ground, single gold line, morph transitions"; for Tooth pulling in the Middle Ages, "drawn village, speech bubbles, exaggerated faces". Those rules come out of the brief.
How to write revision notes
| Weak note | Strong note |
|---|---|
| "Make it more dynamic" | "Scenes between 01:10 and 01:40 down to 3 s each" |
| "The music isn't right" | "Music covers the voice; dip it after 04:00" |
| "This part feels weird" | "02:14 — the character's hair colour changed, swap the scene" |
Send notes in one message, with timecodes. Notes that trickle in reopen the same scene twice.
Choosing the editor
A great brief with the wrong editor still fails. For choosing: how to hire a YouTube video editor.
Send your brief on WhatsApp; quote and schedule within 24 hours: Video & YouTube editing.
Frequently asked
1.What is the most important thing in an editing brief?
The video's one-sentence goal and 1–2 reference videos — with the exact seconds you like. When the editor doesn't have to guess the style, revisions halve.
2.Can editing start before the script is final?
It shouldn't. The edit is built on the voice-over's word timings; changing text shifts every cut. Lock the script and voice-over first.
3.How should revision notes be written?
With timecodes, one by one: '02:14 — this scene is too long, halve it'. Specific seconds and requests instead of general notes like 'make it more dynamic'.
4.What delivery format should I ask for?
For YouTube, 1080p or 4K, H.264 MP4 at 30 fps; burned-in captions plus a separate .srt. If you want Shorts, separate 1080×1920 files.
