My Adventures in the Kingdom of TikTok
Over the past few months, I’ve dived into a collaborative project that genuinely excites me. My mission: creating short-form videos for TikTok. Plot twist: I had never created content for this platform before. I quickly realized that my contemplative, slow-paced style clashed head-on with the fast, relentless rhythm TikTok demands. These platforms squeeze every millisecond to capture people’s increasingly fleeting attention.
After four videos, here are the key lessons I’ve taken away (some of them learned the hard way):
1. Pace is everything (seriously, EVERYTHING)
Pacing is essential. It’s not enough to tell an interesting story—you have to keep it interesting every single second. Constant visual stimulation is crucial to prevent viewers from scrolling to the next video. That’s why the more well-shot clips you have, the better. Even in a short video, if you’re aiming for a fast pace, you’ll need plenty of material. Sometimes you’ll even have to speed up slower clips to maintain the energy.
2. Efficiency is learned (painfully, but learned)
To become more efficient, I had to accept an uncomfortable truth: I need to work faster. At first, it actually takes longer—which sounds contradictory—because you’re constantly thinking and processing what the most efficient workflow is without overdoing things. But the time spent figuring that out is an investment that pays off.
3. Routines save lives (and editing time)
The foundation is building routines and minimizing unnecessary actions. For example, in my editing setup, I created a master folder with all the empty subfolders needed to organize a video project. The trick? I just copy and paste it into every new project. Organizational magic.
4. Workflow: from gathering to assembling
The process starts with collecting lots of clips related to the video’s theme and script. For this stage, Canva has been a great ally with surprisingly good results.
Next, we compile all the materials and create a project in Premiere Pro, where we build the base structure: music, audio, and video. Text animations are handled later in After Effects to keep the workflow clean and organized.
5. You don’t have unlimited time (and that’s okay)
One very important lesson: don’t work with the mindset that you have infinite time. Set limits, and don’t spend more time than necessary on something that may not be as high a priority as your personal projects. Does that mean the work will be bad? Not at all. It just means avoiding getting lost in details that can be skipped without compromising the final quality.
6. The art of musical rhythm and transitions
The goal is to lock into the song’s rhythm and edit the music to fit the allotted time. If needed, apply audio transitions so cuts don’t sound abrupt. It may sound basic, but I had completely forgotten this could be done manually. Sometimes the simplest solutions really are the best.
7. Voiceovers: plan or suffer
When it comes to voiceovers, it’s crucial to plan quality and pacing during pre-production. Everything should be organized in advance so it doesn’t turn into a nightmare for the editor (a.k.a. me). With little experience in Adobe Audition, this was one of the areas where I lost the most time. Some voice tracks had to be sped up, and to keep them from sounding unnatural, they needed to be edited in this specialized software.
8. The fun part: syncing everything
Once the music and voiceover are locked in, the fun begins. We place the clips while listening to the narration, aiming for changes that match the music’s rhythm or share natural movement transitions. It’s a process of testing and adjusting until the video feels right—professional, or at least clearly made with care.
9. After Effects and the text playground
In After Effects, we animate the text. This is where saved templates or animation presets really shine. To save time, you can also create custom presets with multiple effects applied. This is especially helpful to avoid spending hours obsessing over every single text detail—which absolutely can happen. Better to dodge that trap.
10. Patience (but with purpose)
Let’s remember something important: anything we try to replicate or design for the first time will take much longer while we figure out how to do it efficiently. Patience is necessary.
That said, patience doesn’t mean acting without intention or getting stuck in paralysis. It’s important to maintain momentum, especially when working with complex tools. Don’t stay trapped in a single problem forever. If needed: pause, breathe, research, and solve it calmly. That knowledge becomes fuel for the next video—and that’s where the real magic happens.
Conclusion: Creating content for TikTok comes with a steep learning curve, but with each video it starts to feel more natural. The key is finding balance between efficiency, quality, and keeping your sanity intact. And honestly, a bit of humor always helps when After Effects crashes right before you hit save.
p.s: Happy New Year :)
