From the Arsenal: When a project fails, the last person to touch it usually gets the blame.

Story Of The Day: In the film industry, there’s a phrase that masks a thousand sins: "Fix it in post."

It’s what happens when a production is lazy, rushed, or disorganized. They assume the "packaging department"—the editors, colorists, and VFX wizards—can magically clean up the mess made during the capture. I have immense respect for my editing wizards because they are usually the ones who take the blame when a project bottlenecks, even though they’re just dealing with the "debt" handed down to them from the last guys.

In your business, if you find yourself stuck in a loop of five, six, or seven revision rounds with your video team, you don't have an "editing" problem. You have noise upstream.

I always try to cap revisions at two rounds. I do this because constraints forces productivity. If a video isn't right after two edits, it’s an indicator that something went wrong in the strategy, the direction, or the execution. The edit is the packaging, but for most it's a rescue mission.

Takeaways: They say a butterfly flapping its wings in New Mexico can cause a tornado in Texas. In video, a "small" lack of clarity during your planning phase causes a catastrophic bottleneck once sh*t hits the fan. If plan signals chaos or your message is blurry, no amount of witch craft can save it. And if it does, pay that witch double.

How to Apply It Today:

1. The Two-Round Limit: This forces you to be an intentional note giver. You’ll find you give better, more comprehensive feedback when you know you can't just "ping-pong" ideas back and forth forever.
2. Investigate the Source: When an edit feels "off," stop looking at the cuts and start looking at how did we get here? Did you actually define the goal, or were you hoping the editor would find it for you.
3. Ship or Pivot: If it’s still not right after rounds of revision, accept that the project’s foundation was flawed. Either deploy it as "done is better than perfect" or take the L and fix the upstream process for the next one.

Pro tip: The more time you spend in the editing room, the less time you spend growing your business. Stop using your editors as a safety net.

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The more rounds of revision you need, the more noise you left in your original signal.
-David.

P.S. If you know someone who’s quietly crying with their video workflow, send them this newsletter link to sign up. It’ll save them a lots of tears.