lazycut lazycut for coaches

Guide

How to brief a video editor: what to send before the edit starts

An editor who gets a script and a folder of raw footage has to guess the rest: which shot goes with which line, how it should feel, what can't be shown. A one-page brief answers that before the edit starts.

The problem

A folder and a script leave a lot to guess

A sunlit road with a yellow center line, running through tall evergreen trees Evergreen trees on a steep slope beside a rocky stream An empty walkway with green railings in a forest A paved path past tall shrubs toward rocky peaks, with a few walkers far ahead
Four stills from my own trip footage. Nothing here tells an editor which line each clip is for.

I'm not a coach or an editor. I built a tool for one part of this handoff, and the brief below works with or without it.

The brief

Seven things to send your video editor

  1. The script, one idea per line

    Break it where the idea changes, not where the sentence ends. Each line is one place a shot can go. Mark the line that matters most.

  2. The footage, in folders named by shoot

    A date and an event or place is enough: 2026-05 spring retreat, 2026-08 workshop day, desk and office. Keep the talking-head take in its own folder.

  3. Shots that must appear

    Name the file and the line it belongs to, and say why. Keep the list short so the musts stand out. If it comes up empty, my guide to B-roll ideas for coaches has a worked example and a checklist of shots to film.

  4. What must never appear

    Clients or attendees who haven't agreed in writing to be shown. Names, charts and screens with someone's details. Anything from a private session.

  5. References

    Two or three videos with the pace and feel you want, and one sentence on what you like in each. Add one you don't want yours to look like.

  6. Format and length

    Where it will be posted, the shape (wide 16:9 or tall 9:16), a target length, and whether you want captions and music.

  7. Review rounds

    How many rounds are included, what each one is for, and who gives the notes. Send notes as one list with timestamps, not a string of messages.

The template

The brief, ready to copy

Paste it into an email or a doc and fill in the blanks.

VIDEO BRIEF

Working title:
Where it will be posted:
Shape and length: 16:9 or 9:16, about __ minutes
What a viewer should do after watching:

SCRIPT (one idea per line)
1.
2.
3.
The line that matters most: line __

FOOTAGE
Link to the folder:
- talking head:
- [date, event or place]:

MUST APPEAR
- Line __: [file name], because
- Line __: [file name], because

NEVER USE
- Anyone who hasn't agreed in writing to be shown
- Names, charts or screens with someone's details
- [clips or folders that are off limits]

LOOK AND FEEL
Like this: [link]. What I like in it:
Not like this: [link]
Captions: yes / no
Music: yes / no

REVIEW
Rounds included: __
First round is for: shot choices and structure
Last round is for: small fixes
Notes come from: [one person]
Notes sent as: one list with timestamps
First cut due:
Final due:

Optional

Send a rough cut with the brief

The slow part of that brief is number 3: matching clips to lines. lazycut, the tool I built, does a first pass. Paste your script and point it at a folder of footage you filmed. It places one of your shots on each line it can, with a reason for each pick. Where nothing fits, it leaves the line on you.

On a shot it placed

“A hiker pausing at a trail sign suggests stopping to choose what matters most.”

On a line where nothing fit

“No footage shows crossing things off, silencing a phone or turning something down, so this beat is left as a gap.”

Two of lazycut's notes on my own 50-second talk. That one was cut from my recording with the Mac version of lazycut. The web app takes a pasted script instead.

What your editor gets

  • A timeline file (FCPXML) that opens in DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut. Not Premiere. Resolve has a free version (Blackmagic's product page, read 2026-10-03).
  • In that file, a marker on each placed shot with the reason it was picked, and a marker on each line where nothing fit.
  • The B-roll only. The web app reads the script you paste, not your recording, and estimates the timing from the words, so your editor lays the timeline over your take and nudges each shot into place.
  • No footage. The file points at each clip by the folder path on your computer, so send the folder too. Your editor's copy will usually sit at a different path, so they relink the media to it. On Windows, the media always has to be relinked in Resolve. The help page covers opening the file.

It doesn't replace the brief. Your editor still needs the never-use list, the references and the format. For you, the nothing-fit notes double as a list of what to film next.

Run it only on footage that's cleared to show. Your video files stay on your computer, but small stills from each shot pass through lazycut's server to Anthropic's API to be described. See privacy.

Give your editor a first pass to start from

lazycut is a tool you or your editor run yourselves, not an editing service. It does the logging, finding and placing. The story, the taste and the final cut stay with you and your editor.

No stock, nothing generated. Free, invite-only beta, no card.

See lazycut for coaches

Questions

What should I send my video editor?

Seven things: the script with one idea per line, the footage in folders named by shoot, the must-use shots, what must never appear, two or three references, the format and length, and how review will work. The template above has a slot for each.

How long should a video editing brief be?

One page for one video. If a section keeps growing, move the detail into the script or a reference link.

How do I keep a clip out of the final video?

Leave it out of the folder you send, or name it under “never use” in the brief. Footage that shows clients or attendees goes in only when everyone shown has agreed in writing.

What if my editor uses Premiere?

The brief works with any editing app. lazycut doesn't export a timeline for Premiere, so leave the rough cut out and send the brief on its own.

More guides

All guides