Slow edits usually come down to the handoff: a file was missing, the brief was a single line, or the logo arrived as a screenshot. A good handoff takes ten minutes and saves days of back and forth. Here is everything your editor needs, in the order they need it.
1. The raw footage, at full quality
- Send the original files straight from the camera or phone. Files sent through WhatsApp, Messenger or iMessage are compressed and come out soft and blocky.
- Use a shared folder: Google Drive, Dropbox or Frame.io. One folder per video, with the date and topic in the name, like "2026-10-28 whitening myths".
- Send everything, including the bad takes. The best line is often in take three. Let your editor decide what to cut.
- Keep audio with it. If you used a separate microphone, include that file too, and clap once at the start so the editor can sync it.
2. A short brief
Five lines is enough. Answer these and your first cut will be close:
- Goal: what should viewers do or feel after watching? Book a call, buy, follow, trust you more.
- Audience: who is this for, in one sentence.
- Platform and length: YouTube at about 10 minutes, a 30 second reel, a 9:16 ad.
- The key line: the one thing you said that has to be in it.
- Call to action: what you want them to do at the end, and any link or offer to show.
3. Two or three reference videos
"Make it engaging" means something different to everyone. A link to a video you like, with one line on what you like about it (the captions, the pace, the music), says more than a paragraph of description. References from your own past videos that performed well are even better.
4. Your brand kit, once
Send these at the start and your editor keeps them for every video:
- Logo files (PNG with a transparent background, or SVG), not a screenshot.
- Brand colors as hex codes and the fonts you use.
- Intro or outro clips, lower thirds and end screens, if you have them.
- Words and topics to avoid, and how to spell your name, product and guest names.
5. Extras that make the edit better
- B-roll: shots of your product, office, team or clinic. Even 30 seconds of phone footage helps.
- Screenshots and links to anything you mention: a tool, a study, a website.
- Timestamps of moments you loved while recording, if you noted any.
- Music: only tracks you have a license for, or let your editor pick from a licensed library.
6. Feedback that gets fixed in one round
When the first cut arrives, watch it once all the way through before writing anything. Then send all your notes together, each with a timecode: "1:42, cut this sentence." "0:03, use the other take of the hook." One clear list is faster than five messages across the day, and it keeps you inside your revision rounds. On our plans you get 4 rounds per video, which is plenty when notes come in one batch.
The checklist
- Original files in a shared folder, named by date and topic
- Separate audio, if any, with a sync clap
- Five line brief: goal, audience, platform and length, key line, call to action
- Two or three reference videos with one note each
- Brand kit: logo, colors, fonts, intro and outro, spellings
- B-roll, screenshots and links
- Deadline and where it will be posted
How it works with us
When you start a plan, we set up one shared folder and a content calendar with you on our first call, and keep your brand kit on file. After that you upload, and shorts come back within 48 hours and long videos within 72 hours. See plans or let's talk.