Five instructions worth keeping

The story worth telling

If a prompt is getting longer without becoming clearer, write those five lines separately. Delete words that ask for a feeling without identifying how the footage can create it. Then read the brief as if you had never seen the clips.

Three things to capture

1. The key evidence in the footage
2. The part that must stay
3. The intended closing moment

Let the camera run a little before and after each action. Those extra seconds give you room to find a better cut.

Give the edit a shape

Before you share it

Confirm that the brief does not ask the editor to create a factual scene you never filmed.