Digital Video Editing I

Learn the fundamentals of shooting and editing your own digital videos

Editing film and video is about movement, choreography, the play of light, color, and graphics. And beyond all that, it's all about psychology. In this 6-lesson course, you'll learn the art and craft of editing videos from two award-winning filmmakers. The course explores techniques that can be applied in a range of non-linear editing programs, including Adobe Premiere Pro. But the main focus is not just on developing software skills; it's on exploring the magic behind video modification.

Challenging projects including editing a commercial, an interview, a narrative scene, a music video, a video diary, and a text title sequence. Hands-on learning helps you explore how to apply time-honored principles of film editing using today's digital technology.

Important: Students will need access to a digital video camera with a FireWire connection. Students will also need a non-linear editing program. The course includes full directions for Adobe Premiere Pro and some notes for Final Cut Express, but students can use a non-linear editing program of their choice (Avid, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Elements, iMovie, and so on). Students who do not use Premiere Pro will need to adjust for differences in interface and features.

Tuition: $900 US

Course Instructor(s):

Sessions design and media instructor Bruce Bicknell
Bruce Bicknell  is a writer, instructor, illustrator, animator, Web designer, video editor, and marketing pro.
Course content developed by  Mostra.
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Requirements:

To take this course you'll need:
  • Computer with Internet connection (broadband recommended).
  • Non-linear editing program. Full directions for Premiere Pro with additional notes for Final Cut Express users are provided. Students with other non-linear editors (Avid, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Elements, iMovie, and so on) are invited to join the class but will need to adjust for differences in interface and features.
  • Access to a digital video camera, preferably a MiniDV with a FireWire I/O connection.
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Course Objectives:

Students learn how to:
  • Apply foundation concepts in non-linear video modification, film direction, and digital sound editing.
  • Develop a basic proficiency with the tools and techniques available in standard digital video editing programs.
  • Shoot, capture, edit, and output short video projects, organizing footage and modifying it into a coherent sequence.
  • Set up short video projects and shoot them using a variety of appropriate camera angles, shots, and framing.
  • Apply techniques for establishing or breaking continuity in a video sequence.
  • Edit a video sequence to synchronize it to a musical soundtrack or dialog.
  • Apply a variety of techniques for expanding or compressing the perception of time in a video sequence.
  • Add title sequences to a digital video and animate the sequences using keyframes.
  • Perform basic production checks and output video in common formats including DVD and the Web.
  • Apply basic techniques for mixing a soundtrack incorporating the human voice, ambient noise, sound effects, and music.
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Course Outline

LESSON 1 Understanding the Basics

Lecture One examines both the hows and the whys of digital video editing. You'll explore the main features in your NLE (non-linear editing) program and learn important foundation concepts every editor should know. The transition between analog and digital media is analyzed to give you a context for today's editing environment. Finally, you'll learn about the different stages in a digital editor's workflow. In a two-part project, you'll assemble multiple clips into a video sequence, and also edit a commercial into a 30-second segment.

LESSON 2 Shooting and Editing Video

This lecture gives you a broader context for understanding how videos are produced (shot, captured, edited, and output). You'll learn the basics of how directors set up and frame shots, exploring the impact of framing and camera angle, height, and distance on the viewers' perception of the sequence. You'll learn key terms that video editors use as well as creative concepts for your projects. In the exercise, you will set up and shoot a short interview sequence, with you as both the interviewer and the interviewee, and edit your clips into a coherent interview.

LESSON 3 Editing Techniques

Lecture Three examines the finer points of video editing, exploring techniques that can make or break the continuity between one shot and the next. You'll explore classic techniques for connecting shots such as graphic match, rhythm, movement, and spatial relations. A secondary focus will be on different ways in which editors compress time. Finally, you'll examine experimental techniques that break the rules of continuity editing. In the exercise, you'll take part in a collaborative editing project, then shoot and edit a short narrative piece working from a storyboard.

LESSON 4 Rhythm, Motion, and Effects

Lecture Four focuses on different techniques for manipulating time through rhythm, motion, and effects. You'll explore how overrunning and underrunning time—slowing or speeding motion—can influence the viewers' perception of time. You'll learn how editing programs alter the frame rate through interpolation and how transition effects and other visual effects can be used to communicate the passage of time and other changes from shot to shot. In the exercise, you'll explore these concepts by editing a short music video, syncing visual images to a soundtrack of your choice.

LESSON 5 Titles and Output

Lecture Five provides pointers on polishing and publishing your work. You'll explore adding introductory titles and text graphics to your videos and animate them using keyframes. You'll also take a look at file compression and formats for output so you can start showing off your projects. In this exercise, you will create a short animated film sequence using titling and text tools.

LESSON 6 Editing Sound

This lecture discusses an all-important aspect of the moving image: the soundtrack that accompanies it. You'll explore the four elements that comprise any video soundtrack: the human voice, ambient sound, sound effects, and music, defining their impact on the viewer. The quantitative aspects of sound are discussed—volume, loudness, pitch, and timbre—and you'll examine how the syncing and fidelity of sound affects the viewing experience. In the final class project, you will explore all four aspects of a soundtrack by shooting and editing a video diary sequence.

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student video project
Park scene video project by student Mila Miles