# The MKBHD Method™ For Editing High Quality Videos Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNgD1kg3U14 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/eNgD1kg3U14 Generated: 2025-10-12T14:38:05.335+00:00 --- ## 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. ## Detailed Analysis The MKBHD editing method centers on four principles: good input, focus on cuts, avoiding boredom while remaining informative, and audience awareness. Lead Editor Mariah demonstrated handling too much footage by cutting the dramatic but irrelevant story of Marquez losing his phone to keep the edit focused on informational value. She also showed how forcing the script leads to an edit that 'just doesn't feel right' without fresh eyes for feedback. Colorist Vinn mandates that most image quality (80%) comes from production lighting and shooting in log format; he prefers camera-specific LUTs or custom LUTs over stock ones because different cameras (like Canon C-log 2 vs. Sony SLOG 3) render differently, and expensive plugins like Dehancer add stylized film effects like halation and bloom. Motion Designer Michael prioritizes vector design in Illustrator before animating, focusing on the principles of easing (fluid, lifelike movement) and timing (aligning motion beats exactly with dialogue) in After Effects, often using plugins like Motion Studio for precise easing control. Finally, Sound Designer Ellis covers music selection, emphasizing using sounds that resonate emotionally with the audience (like using Disney-like sounds for tracing effects), and Rufus, who handles recording, stresses that 90% of good audio is microphone placement—using shotgun mics pointed away from noise sources like air conditioners and lights—to achieve clean dialogue recorded around -20dB average. ### Editing Philosophy - Editing is decision-making stacked up - Four principles guide quality: good in/good out, focus on cuts, avoid boring/insulting, know audience ### Lead Editing Workflow - Mariah manages too much footage by subtracting irrelevant drama (lost phone story) to maintain focus - Editor must get feedback because they know all the footage but the audience knows none of it ### Color Grading Focus - Vinn insists 80% of image quality is on camera; color grading is the final 20% - He avoids stock LUTs due to camera-specific rendering differences and uses plugins like Dehancer for specific filmic effects like halation ### Motion Design Principles - Michael emphasizes developing static graphics in Illustrator first - Key animation principles are easing (lifelike movement) and timing (aligning beats with speech) - Good design is invisible, meaning complex keyframing should feel natural ### Music and Sound Selection - Ellis notes music must convey something not told by video; he used nostalgic Disney-like sounds (flare/bell tree) for tracing effects for emotional resonance - Rufus emphasizes microphone placement is 90% of good audio, requiring shotgun mics pointed away from environmental noise sources like fans or desk reflections ### Audio Recording Basics (Rufus) - Aim for dialogue averaging around -20dB, with peaks around -12dB, avoiding clipping at 0 - Use low-cut filters to mitigate wind/rumble noise - The Audio Technica AT875R is recommended as a great entry-level shotgun microphone.