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SETUP · EDITING

Cut your first video without losing your evenings

Editing is where a lot of people stop. Learn the five jobs every edit needs on a free editor first, then decide if a paid one is worth it for you.

This page may include affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I recommend things I use or things I researched and would consider, and I tell you which.

The five jobs every edit needs

  1. Import your clip. One folder per video, named so you can find it next week.
  2. Cut the mistakes and long pauses. Leave the pauses that are on purpose.
  3. Add captions, then proofread them. Names come out wrong almost every time.
  4. Put something new on screen when you've been talking a while: a clip, a photo or a short text card.
  5. Export at 1080p. That's enough for YouTube.

Every editor below does all five. The difference is how long each one takes you, and what it costs.

Three questions before you pay

  1. Do you edit more than one video a week?
  2. Is editing time the thing that keeps stopping you?
  3. Would editing the words, like a document, save you time?

If all three answers are no, start with the free editor. That's a good answer.

Three lanes

Best value is my label, not a lab ranking. In Episode 3 I talk through all three, and who each one is for.

I'VE USED IT

CapCut

Free
Good for
Learning the five jobs without paying anything
I'VE USED IT

Movavi

Best value
Good for
A straightforward desktop editor without learning a big pro tool

Movavi's page

Affiliate link

I USE THIS

Descript

Premium
Good for
Editing your video by editing the transcript, captions included

It's what I edit every episode in.

Descript's page

Ad. Descript Affiliate link.

My Descript settings

These are the defaults I start every edit with. Copy what helps and change the rest. Underlord and Studio Sound use Descript's AI credits.

  1. Studio Sound on when I'm just talking. Off on anything I'm comparing, like two mics. It cleans up audio on its own, so check it track by track at the start of the edit, not the end.
  2. Cut silences longer than 0.8 seconds. Keep any pause longer than 1.5 seconds. Those are on purpose.
  3. Look at the filler-word list before removing anything. Don't let it cut words you meant to say.
  4. Captions: Noto Sans Bold, about 36 pt at 1080p, off-white on a dark see-through box, the word being spoken in amber, about 82% of the way down the frame. Then proofread every name.
  5. Two zoom levels only, about 125% and 150%, with hard cuts between them. Check your framing first so the bigger one doesn't crop your head.
  6. Something new on screen at least every 8 seconds when I'm just talking: a clip, a photo or a short text card.
  7. Two sittings. If the edit isn't done after two real sittings, I post the best version I've got.

Want my Descript steps written down?

The Prompt Pack for Editing Video in Descript is the step-by-step version of how I edit each episode in Descript.

See the Prompt Pack

Sound comes first

No editor fixes bad audio. If your recording sounds off, start with the free fixes on the audio page.

Fix your audio

Want help setting this up?

If you'd rather not figure it out alone, start here.

Start here