The MKBHD Method™ For Editing High Quality Videos

Quick Overview

The MKBHD editing method relies on four core principles: good input equals good output, knowing what to cut is as important as what to keep, avoiding boredom without insulting the audience, and critically knowing your target audience, all demonstrated through the workflow of the lead editor, colorist, motion designer, and sound team.

Key Points: Editing is defined as "a bunch of tiny decisions all stacked up on top of each other to create a cohesive project," not just software and plugins. The four principles for high-quality videos are: 1) Good in, good out; 2) Focus (what you cut is as important as what you keep); 3) Don't be boring, but don't be insulting; 4) Know your audience. Lead Editor Mariah emphasizes that deciding whether to keep footage comes down to the value proposed to the audience, citing the example of cutting a dramatic lost phone story because it led astray from the informational goal. Colorist Vinn states that "80% of your image should be done on camera," and color grading is the final 20%, stressing the importance of shooting in log format for post-production flexibility. Motion Designer Michael highlights that the most important part of motion design is getting the flat static graphics right first, often spending more time in Illustrator than animating in After Effects. Michael stresses the animation principles of easing, timing, and staging, noting that easing makes movement feel lifelike, starting and ending slow with fluid movement in between. Sound Designer Ellis explains that silence makes a sound in the brain because real silence is never heard, and sound designers use reverb tails and ambience (background noise) to maintain believability in quiet moments.

Context: The video details the MKBHD editing process by following a single piece of advice content through the entire post-production pipeline, involving the lead editor, colorist, motion designer, and sound team. The goal is to illustrate how creative choices made by different specialists stack up to form the final high-quality video, using specific examples like a 'robo taxi video' and a video about how Marquez picks his topics.