When I started making videos, I followed the practice of “retention editing”. For those who don’t know, it’s an editing technique to engage viewers so they don’t click away from your video, thus maximizing the watch time.
In layman’s terms, you’ll see something new every few seconds of a video. It could be:
- B-roll
- Text
- Transition
- Sound effect
And many more…
MrBeast is a prime example of a retention editing where the video feels fast and jam-packed with information.
The opposite is Marques Brownlee. His video is much calmer and most of the time you are just seeing him explaining gadget stuff.
And I think there is a merit to that.
What I learned from the video above is people are growing tired of overstimulation. They want to watch something more enjoyable, not being hooked up.
The benefit of not using retention editing is the video is going to be easier to make, and it builds connection with viewers.
It’s an interesting take that I would like to apply to my videos.