The Chaos Before the Edit

One of the greatest joys in this industry is when a client trusts you with not one video, but an entire series.

Right now, I’m in the early stages of producing FIVE videos for a longtime client, and we just rolled footage for the first segment. To be honest, I’m struggling a little to stay focused, but in the best possible way.

Why? Because projects like this are massive.

Whenever I create content for a client, I feel a real sense of responsibility to get it right. Every project matters, but this series is especially important to them, which means it’s important to me too.

The good news is that this client has been with me since the very beginning. Over the years, I’ve captured an enormous amount of footage for them, which gives me a deep library of b-roll and storytelling moments to work from.

The bad news? That footage is spread across multiple backup drives, archives, and folders collected over years of production.

Now, I’m admittedly a little obsessive when it comes to organization and folder structure, but even with a system in place, digging through years of footage to find the perfect moments takes time. That’s what today has been all about; gathering everything together before the editing process begins.

Some editors prefer to pull footage as they go. I work a little differently. I like to build my entire toolbox before I ever start the edit. For me, having all the visual pieces ready helps the creative process flow much more naturally.

Of course, that creates its own challenge, because I’m already excited to start editing. I’m thinking about transitions, pacing, music, graphics, animation ideas, all the fun creative pieces before I’ve even finished organizing the footage.

But honestly, that’s part of what I love about this work.

A polished video is never just about filming. It’s planning, organizing, storytelling, editing, sound design, graphics, problem-solving, and sometimes digging through old hard drives hoping you labeled something correctly three years ago.

Some parts of the process are exciting. Some are daunting. But every piece matters.

And somehow, bringing all of those elements together into a finished story never stops being rewarding.

Troy

Let's Start a Film Argument

Let’s talk movies and television shows.

“None of us went to college to make car commercials.” – Mark F.

When my friend Mark said that, I nearly broke a rib laughing. And honestly? He’s right.

For those of us who studied broadcasting, filmmaking, or media production, we got into this because we love storytelling. Don’t get me wrong, commercial work pays the bills, and I genuinely love doing it.

But storytelling has always been the goal.

That’s a huge reason why I founded Vaupel Video (soon to evolve into something broader than just “video”). At the end of the day, I love great stories and the people who know how to tell them well.

And I consume a lot of content:

  • for entertainment

  • to escape reality for a little while

  • for inspiration

  • to sharpen my own skills

That last one is probably the biggest reason. I’m constantly watching how other creators solve problems visually, structure scenes, build tension, or frame emotion. Half the time I see something brilliant, I immediately want to go try recreating it myself.

So… let’s start a completely subjective argument:
What are the greatest films and television shows of all time?

Here are a few of mine.

FILMS (in absolutely no order):

  1. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

  2. The Princess Bride

  3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  4. The 13th Warrior

  5. John Carpenter’s The Thing

  6. The Incredibles

  7. The Quiet Man

  8. The Martian

  9. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

  10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

“Oh, that’s the popcorn movie list.”

Fair enough. Here’s the “film school” list:

  1. Django Unchained

  2. Inception

  3. Schindler’s List

  4. The Shawshank Redemption

  5. The Dark Knight

  6. Fight Club

  7. Léon: The Professional

  8. Memento

  9. Heat

  10. The Searchers

Now television/limited series (this one IS in order):

  1. Breaking Bad

  2. Dopesick

  3. Band of Brothers

  4. Batman: The Animated Series

  5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

  6. Succession

  7. The West Wing

  8. Lost

  9. The Wire

  10. Chappelle’s Show

I know some of you are already typing:
“Where’s The Godfather Part II?”
“How is The Wire not #1?”
“You forgot [insert favorite here].”

That’s the fun of this industry — art is subjective.

So now I want your picks. Seriously. Drop your favorite films or television shows in the comments. I’m always looking for something great I haven’t seen… or a reason to rewatch something I forgot how much I loved. And definitely tell me why you picked them. This is a public post, so let’s keep it clean and fun.

I can’t wait to see everyone’s favorites.