Do it yourself
How to edit your own videos, and the tools that make it survivable
This is the stack we point founders to when they want to produce video themselves. Nothing here is exotic and two of the pieces are already installed on your computer.
More than five years in personal branding. Runs atharvsankpal.com and works with founders and businesses in the US on their digital presence. Previously produced AI video for brands.
Published 2026-08-14
Researched against primary sources, drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and approved by the named author. How we write · About the author
Founder video breaks into two halves. A-roll is you talking; b-roll is everything cut over the top of you. For a-roll without filming every piece, HeyGen lets you create and verify an avatar from your own likeness, and their own documentation plus the YouTube guides around it will teach you the workflow faster than any summary. For b-roll, generate stills in ChatGPT's image tool and turn them into short moving clips in Google Flow, which is enough for the illustrative shots that fill gaps. Stitch the two together in Clipchamp, which ships with Windows, or the video editor already on your Mac, and generate subtitles there. That is the whole stack, and most of the difficulty is not the tools.
- A-roll is you. B-roll is everything over the top. Different tools for each.
- HeyGen for the avatar, and learn it from their own docs rather than a summary.
- ChatGPT images into Google Flow for b-roll clips.
- Stitch in Clipchamp or your Mac's editor. Both already installed, both free.
A-roll and b-roll, and why the distinction matters
A-roll is the footage of you speaking. It carries the argument and it is the reason anyone watches, because the point of founder video is that a specific person is saying a specific thing.
B-roll is everything laid over the top: illustrative shots, screens, objects, anything that gives the eye somewhere to go while you keep talking. It is not decoration, it is what stops a talking head feeling static, and it is also what lets you cut between takes without a visible jump.
For a-roll without filming every single piece, an avatar built from your own likeness is the practical route. HeyGen is where we point people: you create an avatar and go through their verification, which exists precisely so people cannot build an avatar of someone else. Their own documentation and the YouTube walkthroughs around it will get you further than any written summary, including this one, because the interface changes and the videos keep up.
One rule worth keeping: it should be your likeness and your words, and worth disclosing. We go into why here.
Generating b-roll without a camera
Most founders have no b-roll and no realistic way to shoot any. The workaround that works well enough:
Generate the still first
Use ChatGPT's image generation to produce the frame you want. Describe it specifically: the subject, the setting, the mood, the framing. A vague prompt produces a generic image, which is exactly the b-roll people scroll past.
Turn the still into motion
Take that image into Google Flow to generate a short moving clip from it. A few seconds of gentle motion is all b-roll needs; it exists to fill a gap, not to hold attention on its own.
Build a small library
Generate more than you need for the current video. B-roll is reusable across pieces in a way a-roll never is, and having a folder of clips ready is the difference between a twenty-minute edit and a two-hour one.
Stitching it together, with what you already have
You almost certainly do not need to buy editing software.
| If you use | Use this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Clipchamp | Ships with Windows, handles cuts, overlays and captions |
| Mac | The video editor already installed | Same job, already there, no download |
The job is simple: lay your a-roll on the timeline, cut b-roll over the moments where you are between points or where a visual helps, then generate subtitles. Both editors will produce captions automatically, and captions are not optional. A large share of people watch without sound, and an uncaptioned video is invisible to them.
Do not go looking for a professional editing suite at this stage. The learning curve costs you weeks and the output difference on a sixty-second piece is negligible.
What actually takes the time
Here is the part worth knowing before you start. The editing is rarely the bottleneck. The script is.
If a video takes hours to cut, it is usually because the recording rambles for thirty seconds before reaching the point, and all of that has to be found and removed afterwards. Fix that upstream and the edit becomes trimming rather than rescuing. The scripting note covers how.
Realistically, once you have the stack set up and a small b-roll library, a short video is twenty to forty minutes end to end. The first few will take considerably longer, which is normal and not a sign that you have chosen the wrong tools.
What is happening to video reach
Worth knowing before you invest a lot of time in production quality.
Published research
| Finding | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Change in average video views year on year | down 36% | Socialinsider 2026 LinkedIn Benchmarks |
| Brand video posting frequency over the same period | roughly doubled | Socialinsider 2026 LinkedIn Benchmarks |
| Video engagement rate, still above the platform average | 6.00% | Socialinsider 2026 LinkedIn Benchmarks |
| Native document engagement rate, for comparison | 7.00% | Socialinsider 2026 LinkedIn Benchmarks |
Figures as reported from the published benchmark studies. Engagement rates in this area vary substantially between studies depending on sample and how engagement is calculated, so treat the ordering as more reliable than the absolute numbers.
Video still performs above average and the returns are diminishing as the format gets crowded. The practical read: keep video in the mix, do not make it the whole strategy, and spend your marginal effort on the script rather than on production polish.
Questions people actually ask
What tools do I need to edit my own founder videos?
Less than you think. HeyGen for an AI avatar built from your own likeness, ChatGPT image generation plus Google Flow for b-roll clips, and either Clipchamp on Windows or the editor already installed on a Mac for stitching and subtitles.
How do I make b-roll without filming anything?
Generate a still image in ChatGPT's image tool, then turn that image into a short moving clip in Google Flow. A few seconds of gentle motion is enough, and it is worth building a small reusable library rather than generating per video.
Do I need paid editing software?
Usually not. Clipchamp comes with Windows and Macs ship with a video editor. Both handle cuts, overlays and automatic captions, which is everything a short founder video needs.
Should I add subtitles?
Yes, always. A large share of viewers watch without sound, so an uncaptioned video is effectively invisible to them. Both free editors generate captions automatically.
Why do my edits take so long?
Almost always the script rather than the software. A recording that takes thirty seconds to reach the point leaves you cutting the run-up afterwards. Tighten the script and the edit becomes trimming.
References
- Tool workflow from our own client production. HeyGen's official documentation is the reference for avatar creation and verification.
How this was made: written from the workflow we run for clients, drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and approved by the named author before publication. Our editorial standards.
The tools are the easy part. What you say into them is the whole game.
How to script a short video →Related reading
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