High-Retention YouTube Video Editor for Outdoor / Hunting Channel

I am looking for an excellent YouTube video editor for an outdoor, hunting, survival, and precision shooting channel.

I will provide the footage, thumbnails, titles, and AI video clips when needed. Your job is to turn the raw footage into a highly engaging, fast-paced, professional YouTube video that keeps viewers watching.

This is not basic editing. I need someone who understands YouTube retention editing, fast pacing, storytelling, jump cuts, captions, sound design, and pattern interrupts.

Main Responsibilities:

You will edit long-form YouTube videos using footage such as:

Outdoor hunting footage
Scope-cam footage
Reenactment footage
Talking-head clips
B-roll
AI-generated clips that I provide
Voiceover
Natural audio
Music and sound effects
You must be able to create a clean story sequence, such as:

Strong hook in the first 3 seconds
Fast setup
Outdoor/scouting footage
Reenactment angle
Scope-cam footage
Reaction shot
Explanation
Lesson learned
Call to action
Introduction / Retention Hook Requirements (Very Important):

The first 30–60 seconds of every video are critical. I want intros inspired by high-retention outdoor creators such as Outdoor Boys, where viewers immediately feel that something exciting, surprising, or high-stakes is about to happen.

The intro should use the best ---------- nts from the video as teasers before the main story begins, including:

Quick flashes of the biggest payoff ---------- nts
Scope-cam highlights
Close calls, reactions, or unexpected ---------- nts
Cinematic outdoor shots
Strong sound design and music builds
Fast pacing with curiosity-driven editing
The goal is to make viewers think: “I need to see how this turns out.”

You should be able to build a compelling cold open that increases audience retention before transitioning smoothly into the main story.

Editing Style I Want:

I want a very high-retention YouTube editing style where something visually changes every 3–7 seconds to keep the viewer engaged.

This can include:

Jump cuts
Punch-ins / zoom cuts
B-roll
Captions
Sound effects
Music changes
Camera angle changes
Text overlays
Motion graphics
Quick visual resets
Pattern interrupts
Cutting dead space aggressively
The video should feel fast, clean, cinematic, and addictive — but not childish or sloppy.

Very Important: Best-Take Editing

Sometimes I record in one long take and repeat the same sentence multiple times until I say it correctly.

You must be able to:

Remove rambling
Remove awkward pauses
Remove bad takes
Remove repeated sentences
Remove filler words when needed
Choose the best version of each sentence
Make the final video sound natural and smooth
I need someone who can turn messy raw footage into a sharp final video.

Short-Form Editing:

You may also be asked to create short clips for:

YouTube Shorts
TikTok
Instagram Reels

Facebook Reels
Shorts should have:

Strong hook in the first 1 second
Fast cuts
Captions
Zooms
Sound effects
Clear payoff
Loopable ending when possible
Software Experience Preferred:

Please apply if you are skilled with one or more of these:

Adobe Premiere Pro
DaVinci Resolve
CapCut
Final Cut Pro
Descript
Gling
FireCut
After Effects is a plus
You do not need to create thumbnails.
You do not need to create AI videos.
You do not need to write the scripts.

Your main job is excellent video editing and retention.

Required Skills:

Excellent YouTube video editing ability
Strong pacing
Strong storytelling
Good English comprehension
Ability to choose the best takes
Ability to cut boring footage aggressively
Ability to make outdoor footage exciting
Ability to sync scope-cam footage, reenactment footage, and talking footage
Good sound design
Good captions
Fast turnaround time
Attention to detail
Willingness to revise edits
Bonus Skills:

Experience editing hunting, fishing, survival, outdoor, tactical, sports, or documentary-style content
Experience editing YouTube channels
Experience creating viral Shorts/Reels
Experience with retention editing
Experience with sound design
Experience with cinematic outdoor edits
Deliverables May Include:

8–15 minute YouTube video
15–30 minute YouTube video if needed
30–60 second Shorts/Reels
Captions
Sound effects
Music
Final exported video
Project file when requested
How to Apply:

Please send:

Your video editing portfolio
Your best YouTube-style edit
Any outdoor, hunting, survival, sports, documentary, or cinematic edits you have done
The software you use
Your expected monthly rate or per-video rate
Your internet speed
Your computer specs
How many long-form videos per week you can realistically edit
How many Shorts per week you can realistically edit
To prove you read this full post, put this at the top of your application:

“I understand retention editing.”

Test Task:

Shortlisted applicants may be given a short paid or unpaid test edit using sample footage.

The test will show whether you understand:

Fast pacing
Jump cuts
Best-take selection
Captions
Sound effects
Story flow
Viewer retention
Cutting boring footage
I am looking for someone long-term. If you are fast, skilled, reliable, and creative, this can become consistent monthly work.