How to Make Short Form Videos for the Internet

Let’s get this thing started! We’re in Japan about to shoot all around Tokyo, and after we get our shots, we’re going to dive into how Jesse goes about editing. This segment welcomes you to the lesson, and covers how he gets started making videos for the internet.

With internet videos, one minute can feel like an eternity. This section walks you through how Jesse works with his surroundings to conceive an idea on the fly, execute it, all the while keeping his audience engaged. Jesse will cover reading your environment to find a story, executing a story arch, shot variation, and building tension to keep your audience’s attention.

Short form stories are essentially advertisements, and as you improve, the chance to work with brands and do this professionally increases. Jesse offers insight into how he approaches his brand work; including real life examples of how he integrates brands into his work, going over the common mistakes most new filmmakers make, and tips on pricing your video work.

How would you tell a story if you only had 15 seconds? Jesse takes to the streets of Golden Gai to make a story for Instagram. Here, he’ll cover how to shoot with purpose, toward the edit.

Editing is all about your preparation, and before Jesse even sits down to edit, he has 40%-60% of the edit already mentally mapped out. This section is everything that happens before he starts cutting footage together, like identifying what music to use — and important points on why editing is essential to being a better shooter.

Jesse takes a 45 second Instagram story and breaks it down, frame by frame. Here, he’ll cover importing and organizing footage, choosing music that fits your story, pacing an edit, effective transitions and how to use them, and refining the story.

Jesse runs through how he balances wanting everything to be perfect with the realization that he only has hours to edit and deliver a video. This segment covers color correction, fine tuning stabilization, and other last minute essential items.

Jesse takes us on an editing journey, from importing footage to final touches and exporting for social. You’ll learn how to find the best shot for the edit, how to action match when cutting footage, plus speed ramping and matching cuts to the music.

Wow. What a ride. We summarize the techniques taught and how you can apply them to your filmmaking. Thanks for watching, now go download the extras!