​Prefer to listen? I recorded a podcast version for you here. (5:26 min)​

I was watching an art video from an artist I follow the other morning (coffee in hand, before the day really started), and she did something I almost never see on Instagram anymore.

She held on one shot for maybe twenty seconds. Just her brush, loaded with a cooler red, hovering over the canvas before she made the mark.

No trending audio, no jump cuts, and no "hook" pointing to itself.

And I leaned in a little. I paused to watch her decide.

I kept thinking about that moment all this week because it's the opposite of what we're told to do when editing for "the algorithm." Because everyone's attention spans are so short...or are they?

I believe many artists are unknowingly editing their art videos against themselves right now, trying to impress a crowd that was never going to buy a piece of art anyway.

two different people, two different edits

Here's the thing I keep coming back to: the person scrolling and the person buying are most likely not the same person.

The scroller needs a hook in three seconds. They want to be surprised, entertained, then bounced to the next thing. If you edit for them, you cut faster from shot to shot, you stack b-roll, you add text on screen, you chase retention.

The buyer wants to look over your shoulder while you're working. They want the calmer moments. The decision you make before the brush touches the surface. The texture up close so they can almost feel it. Your voice telling them why this mark, and what you're thinking about doing next.

You can't really edit for both of them. One of them is going to land, and if you're not deciding on purpose, then someone else will pick for you.

what to stop doing when you edit your art videos for the buyer

I know some of this sounds and feels counterintuitive because it's the opposite of what all the "grow on Instagram" advice says.

But if your goal is to connect with people online that you can also sell your art to (not to go viral), then here's what to let go of:

• The staccato jump cuts that chop up your art process into something hyper
• The trending audio that has nothing to do with the feeling of your art practice and work
• The "hook" at the front that was engineered for strangers and mass appeal, not for someone already curious about your art practice

And then you keep the parts you might feel silly about leaving in. The pause. The breath. The thinking. The close-up of the art process that lasts longer than you might think it should.

a small test before you trim your edit more

Here's the one I've been using myself, and sharing with members inside Ready to Record:

After your first pass editing your art footage, and before you trim it more, ask: would someone who's already curious about my work want to watch this twice?

If the answer is no, you might be editing to impress strangers. If the answer is yes, you're editing for the right person who could actually click the "buy now" button one day, or reply to your email newsletter, or walk into your next show.

That question takes the pressure off, I think. It lets this stop being about views and goes back to being about the people in your audience who are already paying attention to you and your art -- and that's who we want to attract more of.

Which, for your art business, is the whole marketing point.

try this with your next one

Next time you sit down to edit an art video, pick one person. A specific collector you already have, a student, the supportive artist friend who texted you about your last piece. Make your editing decisions for them.

See what you keep, see what you cut, and notice if it feels more like you. That's my intention for you at least!

And if you want to, reply and tell me if you try this. I'd love to hear what you end up leaving in that you normally would have cut. ☀️

Keep creating, ​
–Zach

P.S. This certainly isn't a rule against short, snappy art videos. Those have their place too! It's more that we've largely seen one editing style as if it's the only way to make an art video work, and it just isn't. Remember: Your art leads the way, and recording it (and editing!) follows.