What to Agree on Before Your Editor Starts

Sending your editor the right footage, audio, and references gets a project started. But files alone don’t tell an editor what the video is for, who’s going to watch it, or when you actually need it back. That’s a separate conversation, and it’s one worth having deliberately instead of letting it happen by accident somewhere in a text thread.

If you haven’t already sorted out what to actually hand over, I’ve written about that side of it here: What to Send Your Video Editor: The Files Checklist. This post covers everything else.

1. A Clear Project Brief

A short brief saves a surprising amount of back-and-forth. At minimum, tell your editor what the video is about, what you want the viewer to walk away understanding, where it’s going to be published, roughly how long it should run, anything that absolutely must be included, and anything that should definitely be left out.

You don’t need a formal creative document for this. A few honest paragraphs are usually enough to point the whole project in the right direction.

2. The Purpose of the Video

Your editor needs to know what the video is actually supposed to do. “This is a YouTube video explaining our new product” and “this is a 30-second Instagram Reel promoting our service” call for very different edits — even from the exact same footage. A video meant to educate needs a different structure than one meant to sell.

3. Your Target Audience

If you can, say who’s actually going to watch this: business owners, content creators, existing customers, students, whoever it is. Knowing the audience shapes pacing, graphics, music, captions — nearly every creative decision an editor makes gets better once they know who they’re actually talking to.

4. Important Timestamps and Moments

If there’s a specific moment you know you want in the final cut — “use the reaction at 12:35,” “the demo starts around 08:20” — flag it. You don’t need to catalog every good shot; that’s your editor’s job. But pointing out the moments that matter most keeps them from getting buried in hours of footage.

5. What Should Be Removed

If anything absolutely can’t appear in the final video — private information, mistakes, sensitive conversations, copyrighted material, outdated info, specific people — say so before editing starts, not after. This matters most with interviews, internal footage, or anything touching confidential information.

6. Required Video Format and Versions

Different platforms need different shapes: 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Reels, TikTok, and Shorts, 1:1 or 4:5 for an Instagram feed post, and whatever fits your site for a website video. If you need multiple versions — a YouTube cut, a few short-form clips, a vertical version, one without captions — say so up front. Knowing this before editing starts lets your editor structure the whole project more efficiently instead of reworking it after the fact.

7. The Deadline

Give an actual date, not “soon.” “I need the first draft by Friday, August 21” is something an editor can plan around; “soon” isn’t. If the project has multiple stages, spell out deadlines for the first edit, feedback, revisions, and final delivery — it keeps everyone moving at the same pace.

8. Revision Expectations

Agree on how feedback will work before the first draft lands: where it’ll be given, who has final approval, how many rounds are expected. One of the fastest ways to stall a project is scattered feedback arriving from three different people at three different times. A clear process up front saves everyone from that.

9. How and Where You’ll Communicate

This one’s easy to skip and it shouldn’t be. Decide up front whether updates happen over email, Slack, WhatsApp, or a project board — and roughly how often you expect to hear from each other. An editor chasing you for a decision on the wrong channel, or a client wondering why three days went by in silence, is almost always a communication-agreement problem, not a skill problem.

The Agreement Checklist

Files Plus Agreement Equals a Real Start

You don’t need to know how to edit or understand every stage of post-production. Your job is to give your editor enough information to understand the project, and enough material to make good creative decisions with it.

Boiled down, it’s simple: footage, a clear brief, references, a deadline, and a feedback process. Get the files right, get this conversation right, and your editor starts the project with everything they actually need — not halfway there, guessing at the rest.

If you haven’t gone through the materials side of this yet, that’s here: What to Send Your Video Editor: The Files Checklist.