Do you have a massive video editing project that you need to complete? You already have the raw video footage but are feeling confused and overwhelmed about what to do next.

If so, you’re in luck. In this article, we give you a step-by-step plan for editing and assembling your videos.

1- Identify the Purpose and Key Messages

Before you do anything else it is really important to identify the goal or purpose of your video. Is it a promotional video, an educational video, or a video for entertainment? Knowing the context of what the video is supposed to accomplish helps you craft your message and story.

In addition to the message, you want to think about how you want people to feel when they watch your video. Are you trying to raise awareness, educate, or inspire? Do you want people to feel shocked, joyful, hopeful, or frustrated?

What action do you want the viewer to take after they watch your video? It is really important to identify the video’s call to action.

Do you want your viewers to buy your product or service, visit your website, like your video or subscribe? The call-to-action gives the audience a sense of direction of what you want them to do after viewing your video.

2- Create a Script or Storyboard

After you determine the purpose and key messages of the video, you’ll want to create an outline for the video. This could be in the form of a script, storyboard or a combination of both.

Your video script is the story that you want to tell in the video. In your final video, this could be done as a narration or as written text on the screen. For now, you want to write this out as it will drive the direction for the rest of your video creation. For help with this, check out our tutorial on script writing.

To expand your script in more detail, create a storyboard to help outline the visual aspect of what the audience will see in the video.

Script = Words

Storyboard = Visual Elements

3- Review and Edit Media Assets

After your video script or storyboard is created, the next step is to review all of your footage and media assets. You can see what media you currently have for your video and what you still need to collect before you begin to pull together the final video.

If you have a lot of raw video footage, you might need to trim and grab the specific bits that you want to use in the final video.

If you’re adding narration, now is also the time that would record your narration or have someone else do it for you.

You can also find free stock images, videos, and royalty-free music online to help fill in any missing media elements your video might need.

4- Assemble Your Video

You’ve found the purpose of the video, created a script, and have all your media, and now you’re ready to begin assembling the video.

This means pulling together all of the elements in the order that you want – video clips, images, narration, and background music. Depending on the software that you are using you might also want to add some motion graphics to grab your audience’s attention.

5- Publish and Share

Making a video is like creating a piece of art. After all your hard work it is time to share your masterpiece with the world! Publish your video and share it on your social media, YouTube, Vimeo, your website, or by email.

Now you have a video plan you can use to help with your next massive video editing project.

Co-authored by: Mitchell Vanlerberg – Digital Storytelling Ninja, Learn to Flourish and Lorena Klingel – Founder, Learn to Flourish