Harry's Editor SOP

Internal editing standards for StudioHawk shortform content. Optimised for volume and performance — 25–50 videos per week, 30–60 seconds each. This is not a slow, cinematic workflow. Four editing styles cover everything we ship — pick the one that matches the format and follow the rules inside.

Universal rules — apply to every style

The non-negotiables

These rules apply across Standard, OBS Audit, and OBS React. If something contradicts the per-style guidance below, the per-style rule wins.

Font

Helvena across all videos. CapCut outline preset (Aa).

Stroke

Black stroke, thickness 60. Always on every caption — never let captions sit without a stroke.

Caption colours

Black, White, Yellow #ffcc69

Caption casing

Lowercase throughout. No full stops. Exceptions: brand names, "AI", cities, and people names (Melbourne, Harry, ChatGPT).

Captions per line

One line only. Break for readability. Don't overcrowd the screen.

Overlay vs caption clash

If overlay text matches what Harry is saying, delay the caption until the overlay disappears. Never duplicate.

Swear words

"Shit" → keep. "Fucking" → remove the word in the caption but keep the cut.

Pacing

Cut dead air. Sometimes overlap audio so it flows quicker. Remove filler words. Keep energy tight. Avoid slow intros.

Brand spelling

StudioHawk · Kadi Luggage · Hawk Academy · Semrush · Ahrefs · Ecommerce · Ecomm · Ad · SEO · AI · LLMs · ChatGPT

Tone

Direct · authority-driven · confident · clear · not cringe · not overly TikTok-flashy. Educational + punchy + founder energy.

Setup screenshots

Aa preset

Stroke = 60

Caption breaks

Editing styles

1

Standard Default

Daily talking-head shortform — Harry to camera

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Use for

Daily Hawk content, talking-head hooks, opinion takes, AI/SEO commentary. The default — if it's not OBS Audit or OBS React, it's Standard.

Hook

Strong hook in first 1–3 seconds. Clean fast pacing. Visually engaging but not cluttered. Professional but native-to-platform feel.

Overlay text

Bold readable, curved corners, colours: black / white / yellow. Stay within safe zone.

• Stays on screen for the hook or first sentence
• Uppercase — treat it like a book title
• Position at top, not too high — readable, not blocking Harry's face (talk to Talia if it's covering him)

Caption position

Either in the standard lower position (per reference) or middle of frame if it doesn't cover Harry's face.

Movement

Subtle zooms, punch-ins, basic keyframe movement. Avoid over-editing.

B-roll

Any provided screen recordings, photos, AI b-roll, or team-supplied b-roll already attached to the Notion page.

Reference

→ @harryandersseo on Instagram for pacing + style benchmarks.

Overlay + caption

2

OBS Audit Screen-share

Site walkthroughs — Harry reacting to a real audit / tool on screen

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Use for

SEO audits, GTmetrix / PageSpeed reviews, ecom site audits — anything where the screen-share is the focus and Harry's reacting live.

Layout

Audit / tool / website on top, Harry's webcam inset on bottom. Inset stays consistent through the whole video.

Overlay text

None. No intro overlay — keep it clean and simple.

Captions

Place captions when Harry is speaking, in the middle of the page. Harry's captions = white with black border.

Audio

Equalise sound where possible. If audio is unclear, use the original video link in Notion for reference.

Editor notes

If Harry says "editor note" out loud, that's guidance for you — cut it. Don't leave it in the final video.

Reference

Layout

3

OBS React Reaction

Reacting to other people's videos — top/bottom split with caption rules

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Use for

Reaction content — Harry responding to other creators' videos, hot takes, viral clips.

Layout

Source video on top, Harry's webcam on bottom. Same proportions kept consistent across the video.

Caption rules

• If the top video has clear captions or strong audio: only caption Harry, in white. Don't duplicate.
• If the top video is hard to hear or has no captions: add yellow #ffcc69 captions to the top video using the original script from the Notion link. Harry's captions stay white.
• If Harry speaks over the original speaker: top video captions yellow, Harry captions white. Both can appear at the same time if needed but must be clearly distinguishable.

Structure

• If Harry isn't speaking at the start, let the reaction video play from the beginning
• If there's a strong hook in the source video, move it to the front (and keep it in its natural position too)
• If a hook is specified in Notion, use that. Otherwise start from the beginning.

Pacing

Cut dead air. Equalise sound. Standard energy rules apply.

References

Top + bottom

Top clear → Harry only

Harry solo (white)

Top unclear → yellow added

4

Elevated Brand-heavy

VSLs, paid ads, brand assets — visually intricate, full brand identity

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Use for

Video Sales Letters, paid ad creative, course / Hawk Academy launch assets, anything where the brand has to look its best. Not daily content — Elevated is reserved for hero pieces.

Creative liberty

Editor has more creative freedom here than the other styles — but everything must sit inside the brand guide. Use it as the boundary, not a checklist.

Overlay text

Branded title cards as needed — not a single fixed top-of-frame block like Standard. Cards sit on cuts, transitions, or dramatic beats. Stay on-brand (colours, fonts per brand guide).

Captions

Highlighted keyword captions — single keyword in brand cyan, rest in white with stroke. One word per beat highlighted, never more. Custom-styled, not native uploader blocks.

Colour grade

Enhance natural colours only. Not overly saturated. No filters — keep it clean and true-to-source.

Transitions & effects

Lean on the Editing Mini-Series recipes — whip transitions, masks, match cuts, lens covers. Use sparingly — one signature effect per ~30 seconds, never stacked.

B-roll

Premium b-roll only. Match motion at frame boundary. Avoid generic stock — lean on team-supplied footage and brand assets.

Audio

Music-led mix. Sound design moments (whoosh on transitions, ding on graphic reveals).

Brand identity

→ Full brand guide (colours, fonts, logo lockups)

Reference

→ REV 2 VSL on Vimeo — use as the benchmark for Elevated-tier edits.