A no mercy list for beginner's editing mistakes
Beginners just aren't ruthless enough.
You will be attached to so many things in your film, but if that tracking shot that took half a day to shoot isn’t working for the story, get rid of it.
Sometimes you just have to leave the room and think about other things. Some of the best ideas surface when away from the edit, inspired by something completely different.
Silence can sometimes be just as powerful. It's all about variation.
Most effects look quite cool the first time you try them. After that, they just look like cheap effects. Nothing screams 'beginner' as loudly as unmotivated effects & wipes.
Out-takes can certainly be funny, but having a section of out-takes longer than the film itself will be funny only to you...
No good film is too long and no bad film is short enough - Roger Ebert