Most editing programs use timeline-based editing, which is the standard way people think about editing videos. You place clips in order on a timeline, cut them up, add music or effects, and build the left-to-right. It’s easier to learn and works well for most YouTube content.

Node-based editing is more advanced. Instead of stacking effects directly onto a timeline, you connect different “nodes” together to control how more advanced effects and all sorts of other adjustments interact. It works and looks more like a flowchart. This gives you a lot more control, especially for visual effects, but it also has a much bigger learning curve.

Davinci Resolve uses both systems together, which is part of why it’s so great for more advanced editing.

I record all of my videos using OBS Studio, which is one of the most popular recording programs used by creators. OBS lets me record gameplay, audio, and other sources at the same time. It’s free, reliable, and gives a lot of control over recording quality and settings.

Most of my content is based around Minecraft, so besides normal first-person recording through OBS, I also use mods (modifications to the game) to create cinematic shots.

The two main mods I use are Replay Mod and Flashback. These mods let me replay recorded gameplay afterward with a free-moving camera, which makes it possible to get cinematic angles and shots that wouldn’t normally be possible during gameplay.

Replay Mod is powerful, but it’s also outdated and frustrating to work with. It can slow down my editing process a lot because it feels clunky and doesn’t always fit smoothly into my workflow. Flashback is newer, gives more creative freedom, and is much easier to work with, so it’s been fitting my editing style a lot better lately.

Most of the content I make is based around Minecraft these days. I really enjoy turning gameplay into something more cinematic and entertaining. A lot of my editing focuses on making videos and gameplay feel more immersive.

Gaming content has become such a huge part of online entertainment because creators can turn games into almost anything. Especially with Minecraft, people can create thrillers, giant social experiments, challenges, and anything else you can think of, all within one game. That creative freedom is a big reason why I enjoy making content around it so much.

The biggest project I worked on during FLEX Elect was a video I am calling the Tyrant project. The video follows my perspective during a Minecraft civilization event, which is a large multiplayer event where hundreds of players form teams, build alliances, go to war, and craft their own stories over several days.

In the event, I played the role of a major “tyrant” figure, which is where the project got its name. My goal was to turn the entire experience into a cinematic-style video.

Very quickly, this became one of the hardest and most time-consuming editing projects I’ve ever worked on. I had close to 100 hours of footage to sort through between gameplay recordings and replay footage. Since I was doing everything by myself, every part of the process had to be handled by me, from recording and organizing footage to editing, sound design, pacing, and effects, and finally to getting voicelines or re-recordings from people.

A lot of the process was also slowed down by older tools like Replay Mod, which can be really frustrating to work with. Creating cinematic shots often took much longer than was reasonable, and trying to balance all of that alongside school, work, and everything else became overwhelming pretty fast.

At the start of the semester, my goal was to fully finish the video by the end of April. Eventually, though, I realized there was no realistic way I could finish it before graduation while still making something I was actually proud of. So I decided to put it on hold until summer. Instead of rushing it out, I felt it was better to recognize how much work I had already put into it. By the end of the semester, I had fully edited around 3 out of the 5 event days, which still took dozens and dozens of hours of work.

Even though I didn’t fully complete the project this semester, I still think it was one of the most important editing experiences I’ve had so far. I’m planning to come back to it over the summer and finish it the way I originally imagined it.

While working on the Tyrant video, I took a break to record a smaller video with some of my friends. My goal here was to at least publish something on my channel during this class. And also use it as a benchmark to review my editing skills! This video was way easier to manage, and I was able to fully edit it in around a week.

This project really helped me notice how much my editing had improved over the semester. Looking back at the final video, especially the intro, I can tell I’ve gotten better with pacing, transitions, effects, and making videos feel more polished overall. There were, of course, some things I would like to do better, but that's part of the process!

• Video editing in DaVinci Resolve

• Node-based editing and effects

• Graphic animation and motion design

• Sound design and audio balancing

• Music selection and timing

• Pacing and viewer retention

• Cinematic storytelling

• Recording and replay using Flashback

• Time management during long-term projects

• Learning through experimentation and trial-and-error