Fix the next thing that stops your video.
Short, practical articles on recording, editing, captions and audio. Most come with a free tool to do the job.
Trim a video without cutting off the sentence
A cut can sound clean and still change what somebody meant.
In this article- Find the smallest complete idea
- Set the boundaries in the trimmer
- Review the download, not just the preview
- Know when this is the wrong job
Editing
5 articlesTrim, crop, compress and export without losing the good part.
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Trim a video without cutting off the sentence
Choose the cut by listening to the whole sentence, not by dragging until the waveform looks quiet. Then check the saved clip.
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Compress video without losing readable text
Pick a size or quality target, then judge the hardest frame: small labels, moving faces and captions, not the opening title.
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Crop a landscape recording for a vertical frame
Decide what must stay visible before choosing crop or padding. A centered crop is not a speaker-tracking edit.
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MP4 or WebM: choose the export for its destination
A filename extension does not tell you everything about playback. Check the codec, the target player and the saved sound.
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Extract a video’s audio as MP3 or WAV
Choose a listening copy or an editing copy. WAV cannot undo losses already present in the video’s sound.
Captions
3 articlesCaption files, timing, and lines people can read at a glance.
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SRT versus WebVTT: convert captions without losing timing
Convert the caption file, then inspect its cue times and text. A format conversion is not a spelling or synchronization repair.
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Fix subtitles that are early or late
Measure whether the error is a constant delay or growing drift. Shift the whole file only when one offset fits the whole recording.
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Check caption reading speed before publishing
Use characters per second to find dense cues, then listen and rewrite the timing or line breaks without changing what was said.
Rather not edit it yourself?
Upload the raw recording. Studio cuts the ums, retakes and long pauses, adds captions and makes the short clips.
Audio
2 articlesClean, even sound before anyone presses play.
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What audio noise reduction can and cannot fix
Use light cleanup for a steady background. Compare consonants and pauses; stop when the voice loses more than the noise.
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Loudness normalization versus turning up the volume
Use programme loudness for consistency and true peak for headroom. Check the measured export; a louder file is not automatically a better one.
Recording
3 articlesGet a usable take the first time you press record.
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Record a podcast test before the full session
Test the actual microphone, framing and saved playback before asking a guest to record the whole conversation.
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Record your screen and camera with clear audio
Choose the capture surface deliberately, verify the audio source, and play a saved test before recording a walkthrough.
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Read a teleprompter without rushing the point
Rewrite for speech, rehearse at your own pace, then adjust scrolling. The script should follow the speaker, not drive them faster.
Publishing
1 articleThe last checks before a video goes out.
Workflow
2 articlesBriefs and feedback an editor can act on.
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Give editing feedback that can be checked
Name the version, locate the passage, request one concrete change and state what a reviewer should see afterward.
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Write a video editing brief that saves rework
Give the editor the audience, purpose, usable source, constraints and approval path before describing the visual style.