Video editing is yet another skill required by the indie developer.

I chose Blender for my video editing, since it is free, open source software (FOSS) and has a strong support community along with all the professional features we will need. That was an easy choice; understanding video editing and learning the software is a whole different ballgame.

Luckily I have a basic understanding of film technqiues thanks to studying a module of cinematography at university. This enabled me to understand the importance of rhythm & pacing, cuts, camera positioning and that oh so common technique of juxtaposition.

However I still faced a steep learning curve with Blender controls, thankfully the excellent Mikeycal Meyers has a fantastic YouTube playlist covering the entire process.

Having completed the videos, I now know not to underestimate the time it takes to properly plan and complete the process of video editing. Blender is an excellent tool, the only drawback I have found is with the ability to add text to frames—it is possible but very limited, so I preferred to render out the text as images in a separate graphics program instead.

The value of planning in a “buffer” prior to a deadline has proven to be worth it’s weight in gold. We allocated a whole week spare—and it turned out that learning the video editing process and communicating the correct footage I needed from Carl actually took an extra week.

My life needs editing. — Mort Sahl