#editor spotlight

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

I've been making fan edits since 2019 during my time in the Teen Wolf fandom! I've always been attracted to editing and I'm constantly inspired by the video editors in the fandoms I'm in. I was and still am so fascinated with their work; I'd be like, "that looks cool, I wanna be able to do it." After leaving the Teen Wolf fandom, I left fan spaces altogether and that included editing so for a good couple of years I didn't edit. Then I joined the HBO War fandom and my interest was piqued again. The problem was I'd forgotten 97% of everything I'd learned so I had to start from scratch! I also had never done AMV-style videos before, mostly fancams and short edits, so that was a challenge as well. I am so inspired by other editors in the fandom; they're the reason why I make any videos at all!

💻 What program do you use?

This is gonna sound ridiculous but I use InShot! For reasons out of my control, I can only edit on my phone, and there's not a lot of editing software my phone can handle, so I've always used basic and easy to navigate programs due to necessity, though I'm working on upgrading that at the moment!

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

I'm constantly inspired by video editors in this fandom and in others as well. I really enjoy Supernatural and Hannibal AMVs. Besides that, I'm mostly guided by the music I listen to. Sometimes I'm listening to a song I really like and will be like, "Okay, how would this work in a video?" 90% of the time it doesn't work and I'm heartbroken but there's a few times it does (my "Back to the Old House" Sidsledge video was a result of this). I'm also inspired by poetry and movies all the time!

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

First I pick the song and then I listen to it again and again until I'm able to visualize most of the video in my head already. Then I download the song and go to InShot to lay down the groundwork. I never edit as soon as I get an idea, mostly because it always happens when I'm on the bus or working, but I do draft the video as much as I can. I write down the lyrics in a notes app adn put each scene I was planning next to every line, then it's as easy as loading the scenes into the program. After I finish the blueprint I work on the intro, leave it alone for a few days, then come back and edit everything in 2-4 hours. I bring up the brightness of certain clips but I don't color grade. After I rewatch the end product I add subtitles and captions (which are the biggest pain in the ass), rewatch it again, export and upload it as a draft on Tumblr. I always have drafts with the text format I have on every video since I wrote those as soon as I get an idea. Then I wait for Tumblr to load and I post! [Answer edited for length/clarity.]

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

Definitely when I get to match lyrics to exact scenes; there's something so satisfying about that. And also when I finish and rewatch a video and I'm like, "well now I can't listen to this song again for 3-4 months."

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

My all-time favorite is my "Ghost on the Shore" video; there's something so personal about it. I love that song. It's my first video with the entire show downloaded instead of just selected scenes and I think you can tell. It has my favorite intro I've ever made, too! Just a really special video for me. I also love to rewatch "Dead Girl Walking" Speirton, the aforementioned "Back to the Old House" Sidsledge, "Two Slow Dancers" Sidsledge, and "Right Round" Melbourne (which I love and still laugh at).

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

I have a bazillion ideas I never finished but my most egregious one is the Robert Leckie "If U Seek Amy" video, which I've thought about for a long time. I keep postponing that edit so much but I'm confident one day I'll do it. I also have a bunch of Mitski edit ideas but I feel like they're too depressing for me right now.

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

Definitely color grading and a new editing software! I'm constantly trying to rise above the one I have but since it's so basic there's just some things I can't do (like have both the sound of a scene and the background music be on at the same time and not cause a migraine without lowering the volume).

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

Please go for it! I know it can be scary since it's a lot of things to learn at once but think about the best idea you've had for a video...there's no one better to pull it off than you! I also always advise to have a plan or draft of how you want your video to be. I find it much easier to work off a blueprint than just randomly deciding what goes where (as someone who has done both.)

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

Oh boy, where do I begin! First off, truly an all-time favorite is @ksbd's "Dancing on My Own" Sidsledge video! I've rewatched that one countless times, it's such a perfect video to watch on PGST [Pathetic Gay Sledge Thursday, a very silly weekly fandom holiday]. And her Sledgekie "Station to Station." AND Webgott "We Should Go to Counseling." Also @ww2yaoi's "Wild Thing" Sidleckie video; it's so fun and an incredible exploration of both characters and their dynamic. @airborneinfantry's "American Teenager" Nixon video is excellent and a video I think about all the time. Sledgedane "Cola" by @roberttingle: enough said. It's SO good. @sixtymortars "I'm on Fire" Burgene! It made me rethink their entire relationship, it's so good. Springsteen goes so well with The Pacific, it's crazy. A recent favorite is @stevieroqers's "The View Between Villages." There's so much emotion poured into it; the Deacon bit is heartbreaking! "Don't Stop Believing" by @runnerleckie is one for the history books. @lesbians4kurt's Leckie "Youngest Daughter" video is one that I think about a lot; it's a great exploration of Leckie's relationship with his mom, which I don't see often. @luckyreds's "Treat Me Like a Slut" Talbert video. Incredible. @tinglingfuckingsensation's Roe "White Winter Hymnal;" the lyric matches in this one are amazing. Sidsledge "Holding On" by @handheldrope is another video I rewatch a lot, which feels so nostalgic to me! Finally, @rockpaperscissuhs's "I'll Be There for You" K company edit, to end on a nice note. There's a lot more amazing videos out there; it is so nice being part of such a talented fandom and community!

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

i think I was just a very online, indoor kid who loved TV shows...so it was just a natural thing to end up doing. I started in 2013 with fan edits for this fandom in fact! If you want to cringe together with me, I still have a link to the first fanvid I made, haha.

💻 What program do you use?

Adobe After Effects

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

Music videos!! A$AP Rocky, Doja Cat, and NewJeans have some of my favorites. Oh and also Pinterest and Eyecannndy.com are great resources for inspo!

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

1. Listen to music and imagine my favorite characters playing like a music video in my head. 2. Try to label the vibe I'm picturing: is it like a nostalgic feeling or spooky or romantic? 3. Open After Effects, drop in any shots that would fit that vibe. 4. Adjust colors and effects. 5. Then cut and edit the shots to the music (I think some people like doing this part before coloring/effects, but it inspires me more when the look and feel is already established while editing. Idk if that makes sense haha.) 6. Export -> play video back to test colors & sharpness -> troubleshoot -> export until happy.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

My absolute favorite part is honestly just selecting a clip and pressing sharpen/brighten a bunch of times. My vision's kind of wonky so it's nice to be able to SEE my favorite TV shows this way lol.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

For HbBO War, I'm really happy with the colors of my "Endlessly" Buck/Bucky video!

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

Ahh so many unfulfilled ideas and requests (so sorry anon..). One that haunts me is a video with all 4 HBO War shows together to "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers. Maybe one day if the inspo hits! :'D

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

I want to learn DaVinci Resolve Studio! Apparently all the industry-grade color people use that!

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

Instead of learning an editing program by taking step-by-step classes, learn via specific tutorials! For example: let's say you want to emulate a film style look. Search on YouTube, "film style After Effects tutorial (or Premiere/Final Cut/whatever program you use)" and follow that! i feel like that helped me more than taking a masterclass.

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

It's been a while since ive seen any HBO War fanvids (I've been in The Terror land for so long) so I'm definitely going to spend some time on this lovely hbowarvids archvie to catch up! Thank you admins for running this blog. <3 But I remember @evidenceof and @sunnygreys are especially such talented, unique, and fun editors!

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

I just really love them and have been so energised and inspired by so many edits in this fandom and others; they really keep things feeling so alive. I would spend evenings going through my favourite edits like it was my job. I had used iMovie a fair amount but really it was the archive's fabulous editing resource that really pushed me to do it. It is such an incredibly generous thing to share and it made me really feel welcomed to do so AND provided all the series files, so thank you so much!

💻 What program do you use?

iMovie, but I am feeling a little limited by it lately so I'm thinking about making a move.

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

Really from the music I am editing to but also from the [MotA universe] as a whole, Buckies on the dash (posts, beautiful stunning generous gif sets). I am so deeply entrenched in it all and when I go back to the source material and something new catches my eye, I know its an amalgamation of all these things.

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

It's not very organised at all. It starts with a lyric or a melody of a song that makes me think of them, probably some text from the show playing in my mind as well, sometimes a line from a fic, and the concept builds itself from there. Sometimes it happens really quickly and I know exactly where to go for the clips and I just keep cutting and swapping things out until I have the rough shape of it, and feel like I've captured what I'm trying to say about them from beginning to end. I refine as I go along; you're listening to the song so much and looking at the clips that things sort of develop further from that and you sort of start hearing more in the song and your memory is jogged by the clips. It's quite haphazard and happens in a (very long) burst and if something feels like it's missing, I'll leave it and come back to it over and over. And sometimes it's like, "Oh...that's actually fine, don't complicate it," or something will come to me.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

I really love the jigsaw puzzle of it, and I feel like I'm telling myself something like," Just you wait, I've got something special for you girl," lmao because I LOVE LOOKING AT THEM (the Buckies). It also helps when I start to spiral about posting them because If I get excited about watching it back, it cant be as abysmal a situation as I'm trying to make it.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

I really love my first MotA edit, which was to "Wife" by Mitski as well as "Son of Nyx," and I didn't understand because they really captured the essence of the thing some of my absolute favorites did, which is tell a good story about the Buckies. There are still little moments from each of those that make me gasp a little even though I put that stuff there myself, I'm like tehehehe! I also love my Hank, Yvonne, and his dead best friend edit [from Caught Stealing] because I really was getting so activated about that and being all detective (in my mind).

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

I've been playing around with an edit with "Manhattan" by Kings of Leon and I just...I've made so many versions of it now, and also made so many versions of my "Black is the Colour" edit, but the reality is (telling myself this, really) there can be as many versions as I like. I keep forgetting that's the whole point.

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

I would love to do some colouring and different transitions and just fuck with the clip visually a little bit more, like overlay a clip over the other. And learn how to do subtitles because they are like a highlighter for the videos thesis and they always look so pretty, but I have to figure out new programs for that.

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

Please just give it a go it's fun and no one will kill you for trying it and there is an incredible resource on the archive, which is giving you blanket permission and the tools to do it! It's funnnn, keep our fandom aliveeeeee.

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos! [apologies for the formatting discrepancy; this section was too long to indent]

"Beach Life-in-Death" by @justaskingtoask: I have watched this edit so many times. Something about the building intensity of the music with the cuts mimicking Bucky's internal turmoil and the speed with which everything is happening around him just hypes me up so much I screaaaaaam. The cuts on the beat at 1:05 I screech in delight every time.

"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "Free," and "Piece of My Heart" by @kbsd: It's hard to describe these because they are such a golden triptych for me; I’d never seen edits like this before. I was truly bowled over by the quality and precision of them on a technical level, but the storytelling in each of them is so evocative and thought-provoking. The development of Bucky as a war widow originated here and it's one of the things that I remain fixated on: Part 4 is one of my favourite episodes, I’ve watched the Bucky Paulina scene an uncountable amount of times! The build in "Piece of My Heart" into “take it” scratches my brain in such satisfying way. And "Free," thats myyyyyyy princess in a tower. The second refrain of “I feel the beat” on the high note where Bucky's singing to Lil at the pub never fails to make me tear up...that is my PRINCESS. It was the first time I’d ever heard the song so a soul bond was created through seeing this edit.

"Death" by @shipstorms: This one is very special: Storm's first edit on here and the cuts are immaculate, the timing impeccable, and the storytelling is so clever. I also love how they let shots linger, like the one of John looking out of the plane from the sky and the line "but this fear's got a hold on me” really punches me in the gut too.

"Big Love" by @runnerleckie: The lyrics! Bucky Egan understander. "Sometimes when I take a deep breath it brings up all my sadness," “Who’s left and who’s gonna leave me next" with Buck saying “Maybe next time...” WHYYYY WOULD YOU DO THAT. “Thought I would die but my body persisted" after he survived the mob nearly beating him to death? May I ask why??

"Why Try to Change Me Now" by @dogmetaphors: This edit is just very special in particular because Bucky could have this on his record player, smoking a cigarette on the floor in a room in his house room until it's dark outside. The “I’ve got day dreams"...chef's kiss. It’s also so lovely because the melody is relatively upbeat/hopeful but the lyrics have such a deep sadness and longing to them which is very Bucky to me. I LOVE the shot of Paulina and Bucky at the bar; it's such a resonant look at the moment for them.

"Geyser" by @magneticghouls: Opening lyric of “You're my number one, you're the one I want" and it's them under bombers moon I just gasp every time, and I think it's just incredibly precise in chracterising Bucky and his neuroses. “I will be the one you need” is a plea and a promise from him, and the shot of him trying again to put his body to work in service of Gale in some way...yeah!

"At the Beach in Every Life" by @druckulablackthorne: The use of voiceover in this makes me feel absolutely crazyyyyy. The way you take the dialogue and turn it into something prophetic with the clip under it makes me feel deeply unwell! "We are one of life’s great mysteries," and its them making it through all this carnage and somehow fucking surviving together! And all the shots of John watching Gale/watching out for Gale are just "You would find me at the beach through every life through every door.”

"Ouroboros" by @ghostofadragon: Another one that gave me chills with the use of voiceover; it's a tapestry of voices. I’m not really sure how to be articulate about it because so much is thrown at you and its kaleidoscopic in what it's evoking, which feels so close to what the experience for the Buckys was like too.

"All Apologies" by @jortpendle: This edit is so beautiful and sad and then I'm also pissing myself in the first shot with "Everyone is gay." So unserious and yet as serious as a heart attack, which is exactly how Bucky operates. The humour with the heartbreaking honesty in this!

"Bubblegum Bitch" by @quessimherenowtoo: Truly one of the most delightful fan edits I’ve seen! You just want to keep watching it! It’s so fun and sweet and the humour is so loving as well where Gale is concerned, and it really makes you understand him and adore him even more. Also the coloring is so pretty and comforting; it’s like a vortex you get sucked into.

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

I think at the time I was seeing so many cool fanvids on YouTube, and I wanted to give it a try.

💻 What program do you use?

Usually it's just been iMovie, but in the last few months I've ventured into Adobe Premiere Pro. It's been a learning curve but definitely enjoying the little step up that has more tools to offer.

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

I think a lot of those old fandom AMVs on youtube were a big influence on the style of videos I like to make.

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

Usually it just starts with a song I can't get out of my head for a certain theme/pairing, and then I think about what I need to make it happen. Then I put the music track down first and go from there piecing together the scenes I want.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

I like that it lets me zone out for a while when I'm making an edit. I enjoy the process of creating it so much and seeing an edit come together fills me with so much joy. Probably no one rewatches my own edits as much as I do.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

Recently I just finished an edit based on the @swifty-fox fic Cicada Season, and I'm very proud of how that one came out. Also one of my personal favourites is the Clegan x Ethel Cain's Strangers edit that I made last April.

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

This is more a guilty pleasure kind of video, but I desperately want to make a Clegan edit with a One Direction song...someday.

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

I've been learning a lot of new things in my editing class this year, and would love to fine tune some compositing skills. Would also love to get more creative with text/captions!

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

Just do it! Start with the most basic editing program if you have to, and learn as you go. Also, don't be afraid to ask people where they get clips/scene packs; most people are super willing to share. It's so fun and I just love seeing the edits that people come up with.

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

John Egan/"Sound the Bugle" by @guessimherenowtoo, John Egan/"Free" by @kbsd, Clegan/"Pushing it Down and Praying" by @mybluebanisterss, and Eugene Sledge/"The View Between Villages" by @stevieroqers are a few that come to mind! Have rewatched all of these many many times.

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

I started making edits to find others who liked what I liked. I was making edits for Instagram fan pages that I ran like the Navy. I’ve edited for Stranger Things, Marvel, Harry Potter, along with a whole lot more because I just ended up running a multi-fandom edits account by 2021. I started making videos because I think I needed a creative outlet at the time, I was so into these movies and shows and had nobody to talk about them with!!

💻 What program do you use?

Slightly embarrassing confession but I’ve been using the same program (if you can even call it that) since I started editing way back when. It’s an app called Videostar. I fear I do all my editing on my phone because that’s what i’ve always done!! 13-year-old me had no computer for professional software so I made do with what I had and got good enough at it to still be using it now.

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

Honestly just by listening to music and being a freak about my guys...I’m usually just listening to songs and make the connection on one lyric and suddenly the whole song relates to WW2.

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

I’ll make the connection with a song and then listen to it one hundred times until I have the perfect scene for each lyric in my mind and then I finally take it to Videostar and make it. I make all my scenepacks on my computer now and store them in a Google Drive for access on my phone, so I’ve essentially got everything I need to edit on two apps. However, if I’m adding lyrics, I do have to download Capcut for like half an hour because it’s a paid feature on Videostar.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

I think my favourite part is getting to connect my favourite shows and my favourite blorbos to my favourite songs and artists. And of course, then never being able to hear the song again in the same way because it’s forever associated with the soldiers I decided were in love. <3 I do also love hearing the response from my beloved mutuals and followers; it’s nice to know people appreciate the stuff I make.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

Of course the one that started it all, "Good Luck Babe (Heffron)!" She changed lives (mine mostly). And I love my Winnix "True Blue" edit, and my Liebgott & Baberoe Bleachers edits. My Sidsledge "Soldier Boy" edit for the rarepair tournament is also a favourite of mine (and I like to pretend it’s the reason the song is trending on Tiktok; after I posted it I saw a couple other HBO War edits to it on Tiktok and then it started trending properly. It’s my silly little thing I think about). And every Ruckie I’ve ever made. I think the tournament was a good time for my edits...it brought me "Don’t Stop Bill’eau-ving" after all!

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

My The Pacific x "Born in the USA" edit that lives on my computer that I started I think when I started university, so September last year. Maybe one day I’ll finish her. I find it harder to edit the show as a whole instead of just characters or ships because there is significantly more material to work with and it gets a little overwhelming.

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

This is technically something I already know how to do but am so severely out of practice with that I basically don’t know how to anymore, but I’d like to relearn transition edits. They were so much fun to make but I had to stop making them when my Videostar Pro ran out like 4 years ago and all the features got hidden behind a paywall.

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

You don’t need expensive software to edit! And also even though it’s hard sometimes, you have to remember that you’re doing this for fun and not for engagement (lesson learnt after a few too many flops in a row).

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

Obviously I can’t not mention the one and only "Joespresso" from Meg @ww2yaoi (not to say I coined the nickname Joespresso, but I’d never seen it said before I commented it on one of Meg’s posts last year...another silly thing of mine). @kbsd's Sidsledge "Silver Springs" edit changed my brain chemistry. @stanshika’s Baberoe "Somebody Else" edit lives with me always too. Amanda @lesbiandarvey’s Clegan "Cowboy Like Me" edit was very very good. There are simply too many to mention; we are all small fandom but we are so mighty! Also shoutout to every Ruckie edit and every Ruckie editor ever.

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

I’ve wanted to make AMV’s since early fandom days. I think it probably started with my last Doctor Who spiral back in like 2017/2018 and it started the way that my interest in ANY creative medium starts: I saw someone really really talented do it first.

💻 What program do you use?

I use Premiere Pro! Adobe programs are just all around easier for me to wrap my head around, probably because that’s all we used in art school and anything else scares me.

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

My playlists mostly! All lyrics Can be about the Character. (It winds up being a lot of Taylor Swift that way, but I’m making these for Me so. I’m not complaining.) Also seeing a really rhythmic AMV where everything lines up on beat gets me itching to open up the programs.

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

I feel like my process is pretty straightforward, to be honest. I’m working on a very long AMV right now where I’m just thinking about scenes that emphasize the lyrics of the song and trying to get those scenes to fit into a measure/half a measure. I try to be careful that no clip overstays its welcome. I just throw in the scene as it comes to me, and if it doesn’t end up making sense/having good flow, I’ll change it later.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

Honestly just seeing it all come together. I can get very lost in the sauce getting the clips to line up just where I want them, but playing the whole thing back as it gets more fleshed out? That’s the good stuff.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

My best work is my Dick Winters/”I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” AMV and I defy anybody to tell me otherwise. I have a friend who messages me every time she watches it and it’s FREQUENT. I get it though, lol. Honorable mention to Easy Company/“Mr. Bluesky."

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

One of these days I will do a Hugh Corrigan thirst trap TRUST. Robert Leckie/“The Archer” is also calling to me. Sidsledge/“Betty.” ALSO Maxiel of Formula One fame WILL happen as soon as I collect enough clips.

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

I have a very rudimentary understanding of Premiere Pro at the moment. But watching Formula One AMVs/edits, they do SO many cool transitions and I DO NOT get it. It’s like a lot of flashing images/slow motion/overlay type things. But I have to believe it’s possible for WW2 RPF. I have to. I’ll figure it out one day.

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

If you’re starting: Premiere Pro is very intuitive if you can afford it, but there are lots of programs that I’m sure are not terribly complicated. Basically it’s gonna be a learning curve, but that’ll last like maybe a day or two before you really get the hang of it. And then it’s all downhill and way easier than it looks.

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

Okay pretty much everything that Meg @ww2yaoi has made is ICONIC. Do want to highlight Joespresso, Sidsledge/“That’s So True” (me and my bestie cannot hear that song anymore without one of us screaming SIDSLEDGE), and Webgott/“Supercut." ALSO Tierney @kbsd is truly goated, and what I REALLY like about hers is that she has caused me to listen to many a song I may not have otherwise, and many have wound up on my playlist/will no doubt be on my Wrapped this year. Special highlight on Sidsledge/“Silver Springs” and Winnix/John Denver “Follow Me,” BOTH of which made me cry.

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

The HBOWar Rarepair Tournament! I’ve always wanted to make edits and videos and have gotten ideas for songs etc, but the tournament was the first time I actually decided to give it a shot!

💻 What program do you use?

I use Microsoft ClipChamp…very complex and high tech, lmao.

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

Normally it’s from mulling over ideas in the text (like certain relationships or dynamics) and already having thoughts on them, and then listening to a song that just makes it click even further.

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

I try to be organised and, once I have a song and idea set out, I go to a spreadsheet and write out the lyrics and match them up with the different scenes I want to use, so it involves a lot of listening to the song on repeat at the start. Usually by the time I start actually adding things to the timeline, I end up realising I’ve forgotten scenes or mistimed the music and need to make changes, but having a good frame to work from helps a lot. I normally work through the edit in order, unless there’s a specific scene/music match that I think is the core of the video, in which case I’ll probably do that part first and try to work around it to make it all make sense.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

I really like the satisfaction of seeing the music and scenes start to come together and tell whatever idea I’m trying to convey. It can get super repetitive hearing and seeing the same clips over and over, but nothing beats getting to a specific moment and just knowing that it works.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

Probably my "The River" video, since it’s the one that’s the longest (so far…) and I think it ended up working really well in terms of ship and song. Or my "Not Dead Yet" video; that one was lots of fun and came to me completely at random with no planning, but I think I hit on something I really keep trying to say about The Pacific generally with it!

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

Yes lmao!! I really want to go and make more comedic videos etc, that are a bit more fun and creative with clips and music instead of just telling a straighter story…I have one idea that I finally need to get around to trying to make: Sidsledge and "Centrefold!"

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

Kind of linked to my previous answer, I want to get more adventurous and fun with the actual editing part, with cuts and sound etc. I think I’ve mostly covered the basics but I want to do more!

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

I think I’m so early on my #editingjourney that I probably don’t have more advice beyond give it a shot lmao! It’s fun and it’s a cool way to engage with a work and worth doing even just once!

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

Of course, my beloved @kbsd, who has helped me so much and is so good at editing: the Sidsledge "Silver Springs" edit….god tier. Meg @ww2yaoi’s popgirly edits are genuinely so inspired, i’m still always thinking about the Web "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" video. And @sidsledge, a fellow Lord Huron lover….the "The Ghost on the Shore" video Gets Me!

🎥 What made you want to start making fan videos?

I started watching AMVs on YouTube back when I was about 12 and thought they were the bee's knees, but I had no idea how to make them back then. Then I got on Tumblr and started picking up tips and tricks here and there, and eventually tried my hand at it.

💻 What program do you use?

I use an older version of Capcut (3.9.0, to be specific). I'd like to transition to another program for a variety of reasons, but for now I'm still hanging on to this one.

💭 Where do you find inspiration for videos?

I usually just hear a song and think, "Damn, that would be a banger for an edit," and then I try and make an edit with it. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not. I don't have anything super poetic to say about my inspiration, lol.

⌨️ Tell us a little bit about your process!

My process is probably not as efficient or sensible as what other creators do, but first I screen record whatever scenes I want from the shows. I have an external hard drive I save everything to, and try to have it organized by show, ship, or character, so I can just go in my little catalogue of scenes and grab what I want. After that I pull a chunk of audio out of whatever song I want to use (or sometimes the whole thing) and start playing with the clips and timing and what not. Last steps are filters, transitions, color grading, all the fancy stuff.

🗒️ What's your favorite part of editing?

My favorite part would be collecting the clips I need. It familiarizes me with the shows and characters more than just passively watching, and I start noticing all sorts of little scenes and interactions I never noticed before. Also, seeing the finished product is a great dopamine boost.

🎬 What video(s) are you proudest of (HBO War or otherwise)?

My Bradnate video set to "Virtual Reality" by Rey! Not the prettiest looking, but I just love the song and how it couples well with all the fond eye contact.

🪫 Do you have a video that got away? A great idea you never made? (Now's the time!)

Nothing specific, though I do have a whole playlist of unused songs I think would be great for edits; I just haven't found the right material for them.

🖱️ What's something new you'd like to learn/try?

I'd like to try making something a bit more flashy and fast-paced, but without looking tacky. Still haven't found that balance, though.

👨‍💻 Do you have any advice for other editors or someone who wants to try editing?

If you want to make edits, watch edits! Start noticing the little details, things you like, etc. And don't be afraid to ask other creators how they do things, how program features work, all of that. No question is dumb!

🎞️ Give a shout out to some of your favorite HBO War videos!

"Marine Bebop" by @june-saturday! Honestly, I wouldn't even know where to begin with making something like this; it's so impressive and also LONG. Such a fun and unique idea to begin with as well. "The Night We Met"/Johnmanny by @rockpaperscissuhs. I love ALL the Johnmanny edits; that ship is so special to me but this one made me cry the hardest. The song choice is amazing, and the lyric/scene matchups are perfect. Go watch this if you want a good sob session. "Teenage Dirtbag"/Bradray by @theweirdgoodbyes. Song choice once again! I love that OP used a cover of the original song, and combined the singing audio from the show. A very short, sweet, feel good edit that I could watch 100 times. And "Still Standing"/Curt Biddick by @buthappysoverrated. Curt is such an underrated character so I love to see him in edits! The one is fast-paced and intense, and wonderfully done overall. Those are just a few of my favorites; there are so many great ones and awesome creators out there.