Nacho Santana - Editor

About

I'm a video editor based in London, cutting social, branded, documentary and commercial work. I edit in Avid, Premiere, Resolve and Final Cut, and I'm comfortable taking a project from rushes through to final delivery.

My best work starts with the audience. I look for the opening image, the rhythm and the narrative turn that will hold attention, then shape structure, duration and framing for each platform. I can recut long material into focused social stories, or build a film from interviews and observational footage.

At the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office I cut content from international shoots, global events and fast-moving public communications, often shooting it myself. In commercial post, working with The Quarry, Tenthree, Final Cut, Doma, Avenues and Stitch, I've seen how premium branded work is built, from first assembly to final conform.

The technical side still matters to me. Clean, organised timelines keep the edit moving smoothly through conform, grade and delivery, and when a workflow slows the creative work down, I build my own tools and scripts to fix it.

Originally from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, I bring a sense of rhythm, space and patience to my work.

Above all, I aim to be curious, dependable and easy to work with in the edit suite.

Selected clients

Nike PlayStation Pandora Adidas Monzo Swatch Wagamama Cash App Quorn Dyson

Primary software

Editing

Avid Media Composer

Long-formCommercialBranded

Adobe Premiere

CommercialSocial-firstBranded

Final Cut Pro

Fast-turnaroundTrim-heavy

Color & Finishing

DaVinci Resolve

EditColourConform

Tools & ecosystem⌥Altclick to expand all

Ecosystem & utilities Transcoding & encoding

Shutter EncoderFree open-source transcoder. Converts any video or audio format via drag-and-drop. CompressorApple's encoding tool. Batch export and delivery presets integrated with FCPX. EditReadyLightweight transcoder for camera originals. Quick conversion to ProRes or other edit codecs.

Media analysis & monitoring

ScopeBoxReal-time video scopes for Mac. Waveform, vectorscope, and histogram outside the NLE. MediaInfoReads technical metadata from any media file - codec, bitrate, timecode, colour space. ExifToolCommand-line metadata reader and editor across hundreds of file types. QTChangeEdits QuickTime metadata - reel name, timecode, frame rate - without re-encoding. Blackmagic Disk Speed TestBenchmarks disk read/write speed for high-res playback verification.

FCP utilities

XtoCCConverts FCPX XML to Premiere-readable XML for cross-app project migration. SendToXConverts Premiere XML into FCPX, preserving timeline structure. X2Pro5Exports FCPX timelines as AAF for Pro Tools audio handoff. Worx4 XFCPX utility suite - roles, list export, and audio lane management. ArcticFCPX library manager. Handles archiving, migration, and cleanup of project libraries. CommandPost FCPX automation - MIDI control, custom shortcuts, and batch actions. Shot Notes XCombines a CSV of on-set script supervisor or shot log notes with a Final Cut Pro XML, building a new event with fully searchable metadata. Make It RELINKRelinks "impossible" clips in FCP and Resolve by bypassing metadata mismatches like duration or audio channels. Sync-N-Link XBatch-syncs dailies in FCPX by matching timecode, with auto-renamed audio roles and custom trim settings. Production's Best FriendTurns an FCPX project into a clean Excel report - clips, roles, markers, effects and transitions for producers and post teams. MetaburnerBurns timecode, clip name, and other metadata into the picture for FCPX viewing copies. EDL-XGenerates CMX 3600 EDLs from FCPX XML for handoff to systems like DaVinci Resolve or Smoke.

Avid media management

MDVXFree file-system media manager for Avid. Organise and archive media across any drive or NEXIS storage.

Ingest & asset management

OffShoot ProCard offload tool with checksum verification for secure camera media backup. FoolCat ProMedia cataloguing and ingest with metadata, proxies, and stills databases. KynoBrowse, log, transcode, and deliver camera media with full metadata tagging. Wave AgentReads and edits BWF metadata - scene, take, track names - in production .wav files.

Dialogue & script

Avid ScriptSyncLinks script text to timeline clips. Navigate footage by clicking script lines.

File & system

Keyboard MaestroMac automation via hotkeys. Speeds up repetitive editorial tasks across any app. ChronoSyncMac backup and file sync app. Incremental, bootable, and scheduled backups for safeguarding project media. Name WranglerBatch file renaming with rules, sequences, and metadata substitutions. BBEditPro text editor for Mac. Inspect and edit EDLs, XMLs, and CSVs. VisualDifferSide-by-side file comparison. Useful for checking EDL or XML revisions. EasyFindFast file search without indexing. Good for locating media on external drives. Post HasteCreates consistent project folder structures from templates on every job. Tuxera Disk ManagerFull read/write access to NTFS drives on Mac. Essential for Windows media. FileSyncSyncs folders between locations for project and media backups.

Post-production infrastructure Collaboration & versioning

PostLab ProCloud collaboration for Avid, Premiere, Resolve, and FCPX. Remote project check-in/out. MimiqMirrors Avid NEXIS over the internet for remote shared-storage access. EditShareNetworked shared storage and production management for post teams. Avid NEXISIndustry-standard shared storage for large Avid team workflows. Avid InterplayAsset management and workflow system for shared Avid environments. Tracks media, bins, and versions across a whole team in real time.

Delivery & transfer

AsperaIBM's high-speed transfer protocol for massive media files. Industry standard for broadcast and studio delivery. MASVHigh-speed large file transfers with no size limits. Media ShuttleSigniant's enterprise transfer platform for broadcasters and post houses. WireDriveSecure file sharing and review platform used by advertising agencies. Frame.ioVideo review platform. Clients leave timestamped comments directly on the cut. Media SiloCloud review and asset management with proxy playback and version control. ClearCastUK broadcast clearance system. Required before any ad airs on commercial TV.

Production organisation

CetaProduction management for film and TV. Farmer's WifeSchedule, manage, and collaborate. Resource tracking and project lifecycle management for media and post-production teams.

Plugins & extensions Workflow & organisation

Excalibur Batch operations, sequence tools, and workflow automation for Premiere. Grave Robber Extracts and rebuilds sequences from other Premiere projects. Dagger Sequence and project management - duplicate, lock, and organise at scale. Watchtower Monitors for offline media and broken links before delivery.

Metadata & naming

iXML Renamer Reads iXML from sound recorders and renames Premiere clips - scene, take, track. ALE Metadata Toolkit Imports Avid ALE metadata into Premiere clips. Bridges Avid and Premiere workflows. Batch Rename Bulk renaming for Premiere clips and sequences using custom patterns - Premiere's answer to Avid's Bulk Rename.

Effects & finishing

ReelSmart Motion Blur (RSMB) Adds realistic motion blur to footage in post. Standard in commercial VFX work - available as a bundle for Avid, Premiere, and Resolve. BLend-X Extends Avid's compositing and blending options for titles and layer mixing. FilmConvert Nitrate Film stock emulation plugin for Premiere - authentic film colour, halation, and grain. Nobe Display Resolve plugin for real-time video output to an external monitor during colour and finishing work. Captioneer Imports SRT files and auto-positions captions across Premiere sequences.

Personal builds

SubShift Native macOS caption converter — SRT · Avid DS · TXT · VTT