DM 202: Video Editing

Overview

Memorable stories in news reporting, documentaries, and narrative filmmaking transcend changes in technology and social opinion. Professionals are bombarded with constant changes in technology that create an ever more demanding professional environment. This class will help you develop the skills that allow you to excel as an editing professional. Your goal by the end of the course is to acquire and maintain viable skills in today's media market through mastery of editing techniques and visual storytelling.

The assignments and final project in this class are designed to develop your ability to enhance the art of visual storytelling. You will use raw video and audio to assemble a final project. Through the control of pace, mood, and content, you will create a coherent, compelling narrative story with images and sound.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the Avid Media Composer editing software.
• Use Avid Media Composer to create a montage of sequential, overlapping video to tell a visual story.
• Develop and demonstrate how pacing advances the story experience.
• Demonstrate mastery of basic techniques used in editing visual and audio content, disguising the edits with use of b-roll, and editing audio for content.
• Create matched action sequences — demonstrate an understanding of how shot types are linked together in the master scene
• Demonstrate a sophisticated sense of proper use of the edit, eye line and cutting on action — learn how to avoid the pop cut and the jump cut
• Sync Foley sounds and narrative tracks with video
• Link master scenes with story content to develop a strong three act structure and move the storyline forward
• Demonstrate the proper use of transitions and visual effects to enhance the finished story
• Synthesize course material into a professionally edited video

Course Requirements

In this course, you will be editing digital video and photographic work. Therefore, Avid Media Composer is required to complete the course.

Avid Media Composer is an advanced video editing software suite. The program requires specific computer processor speeds, video cards, audio cards, and drivers.  System requirements are detailed on Avid's website — students should check this site to see if their system is compatible with Avid Media Composer and make any necessary upgrades before registering for the course.

• Students may use other advanced editing software, such as Pinnacle, but the instructor will not support any software other than Avid Media Composer.
• Avid Media Composer software is available from JourneyEd at a significant discount.
  
• Students with Macintosh computers should note that the new Avid Media Composer software is only functional on Intel Macs.
  

Required Texts
DM 202 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore