VIDEO EDITING
Aspects of Editing
Creative Planning shots Scripting Shooting video
Technical Shooting video Recording sound Editing using software
Video Editing Now
Non-Linear Able to add special effects Able to edit portions of a picture Able to edit sound and video separately
Products
Many products out there Looking at 3 major products
Final Cut Pro (Mac) Adobe Premiere (PC)
Other product comparison Wikipedia Article
Products
Cost from FREE Windows Movie Maker, iMovie (on new Macs)
To Over $1,000 Final Cut Studio
Sophistication from basic for the at home user to high end for the broadcast professional.
Final Cut Pro
Factors to Consider Before Purchase What are you taping?
Class review sessions Guest speakers Instructional video
Who will be the audience? Internal External
What format do you want to produce to? DVD Streaming Download
Considerations
Version of the Software We have Vegas 4, 5, 6 Also a Vegas +DVD Final Cut Pro no longer sold individually, must buy
Final Cut Studio. Cost of add-ons?
Adobe Premiere $299.00 for educational discount Adobe After Effects, $799.00
Considerations
Ability to Import HD formats Output Options:
Streaming Web, Quicktime, Windows Media, DVD, .mpg, HD formats, etc
Hardware Compatibility
Check each Website Lists of compatibility include:
Cameras DVD Burners Analog Converters
Both Adobe and Sony list items that are “Full Support” and “Partial Support”
What to look for in a video editor
Ease of use? Try downloading a trial version of the software, or
use the software somewhere first. Software should be self-explanatory.
Features Be aware of included features such as sound
effects, transitions, etc. Some software packages require additional
purchases to get the extras.
Example
Adobe Premiere uses a program called After Effects for special effects. This software costs EXTRA
Final Cut Pro Studio uses the program Motion to create special effects. Motion is now packaged with Final Cut Pro. Along with Soundtrack Pro and other add-ons. BUT, Final Cut Studio costs much more
What to look for?
Help & Tutorials Adobe Premiere
Tutorial DVDs included Extra manuals to purchase e-seminars
Final Cut Studio Tutorial DVDs included Self paced learning Apple Pro Training Certification
-Garbage in, garbage out.
-You can't make bricks without straw.
-You can’ make a fine silk purse out of a pigs ear.
-But-
-Bad workers always blame their tools.
PXL 2000 (Fisher Price)
Portions of the film Slackers were filmed with a PXL 2000
Stages of Filmmaking
The filmmaking production cycle consists of five main stages:
1. Development
2. Preproduction
3. Production
4. Post-production
5. Distribution
1. Development
IdeaScriptAuthorization (Green Light)
2. Preproduction Classically, acquiring the people and things required for
making a film Directors Actors Equipment- Cameras, Sound Equipment, Lighting,
Green screens, etc Storyboarding- before you shoot a scene, you need to
think about exactly how it needs to come together, including how it will be edited.
3. Production
Actual acting and filming Video Editing affected by, and affects
Camera location and movement Audio characteristics Order of shooting Effects desired
Once the video is shot, editing begins.
Typical Editing Workflow Review each shot, plan captures or imports. Capture desired sections. Assemble and refine sequence. Add transitions and effects. Add titles. Mix audio. Export.
Capture: Moving the video footage off the tape and
onto the computer. Not all editing software is compatible with all
cameras. You may want to capture with one program but edit with another.
Capture:
Quality data transfer typically requires a Firewire (iLink) connection.
The type of files created are dependent upon the software. Different file types serve different purposes.
Batch logging and capture can save drive space.
File types
For quality production, always use a lossless video encoding method. A MUST for intermediate editing stages
File Size
An hour of output may require many hours of video for input.
A non-compressed High Definition .avi can easily take up 20 GB or more per hour.
To save drive space, if quality is not much of an issue, use a lossy, high compression video format. A .wmv, seemingly perfect to the naked eye can take up 1/30th the space of an .avi. But always remember GIGO.
Basic Video Editing- removing excess, adding titles, making it exportableAssemble and Refine Shots
Adding Effects
Generated Media, Titles Adjusting Colors Multilayered Effects Transitions
Film Editing
1920s: rise of editing as film technique Early cinema often consists of one shot films Hollywood films contain between 1,000-3,000
shots Editing as coordination of one shot with
another Elimination of unwanted footage
Film Editing
Strong influence of Soviet Montage School Attempt to build film based upon certain editing
devices Create narrative via shots Eisenstein—film as construction of editing
Initially opposed continuity editing Used temporal discontinuities Used temporal expansion Created new relationships between time and space
via editing
Film Editing
Organization of desired shots Joined via specific techniques
Fade-out—gradually darkens end of a shot to black
Fade-in—gradually lightens a shot from black Dissolve—brief superimposition of end of one
shot and beginning of next shot Wipe—next shot replaces shot via boundary line
moving across frameBoth images briefly on screen—don’t blend
Film Editing
Cut—most common technique of connecting shots Move directly from one shot to next Uninterrupted segment of screen time or space Instantaneous changes from one shot to another Create marked and abrupt shifts
Enormous task of film editor Use of storyboards Planning of editing during shooting
Film Editing
Four basic artistic choices and directions of editing Graphic relations between one shot and another Rhythmic relations between one shot and another Spatial relations between one shot and another Temporal relations between one shot and
another
Film Editing Interaction and integration of purely pictorial
qualities of two shots Elements of mise-en-scene and cinematography
Graphic similarities create graphic match Similarities of shape, composition, and movement Most typical of narrative cinema
Graphically discontinuous editing more noticeable
Film Editing Each shot as strip of film—certain
measurement Measured in film length Measured in frames Sound speed—24 frames/second Editing allows control over duration of each shot
Editing thus controls filmic rhythm—accent, beat, and tempo Patterning of shot length and style
Film Editing
Editing constitutes metrical pace of film Editing allows director to construct filmic
space Allows omniscience—can move from one spot to
notably different Allows relation of any two spots in space Can create continuity and breakdown Establishment of whole from component parts
Film Editing
Allows spatial manipulation Strong influence of Soviet Montage style
Kuleshov effect—series of shots (without establishing shot) that prompts spectator to infer spatial whole from parts Editing cues establish single locale
Crosscutting—parallel editing technique used to establish variety of spaces
Editing can establish ambiguous spatial relations
Film Editing
Temporal relations—allows manipulation of time Common technique of flashback
Presentation of one or more shots out of their presumed story order
Usually interrupt present time Flashforward—editing moves from present to future
and returns Tease audience with glimpses of future Establish possible narratives
Possible to control duration of story via editing
Temporal Ellipsis Presentation of action in manner that it consumes less time on
screen than in story Punctuation shot change—dissolve, wipe, or fade to demonstrate
progress accomplished Empty frames shots—characters or objects entering and/or
exiting frame Cutaway—shot of other event elsewhere that will not last as long
as the elided action 2 locales that we connect via editing
Expansion—opposite of ellipsis Eisentein’s use of overlapping editing to expand time Overlapping editing allows presentation of time and space more
than once
Continuity Editing
Dominant editing style throughout Western Film History
Rise of editing between 1900-1910 Used as method to establish coherent
narrative Narrative continuity “smooth flow” between shots to create story
180˚ System
Space of scene constructed along axis of action Center line 180˚ line
Scene’s action assumed to take place along discernible and predictable line
Axis of action determines half-circle (180˚ area) where camera can present action
180˚ System
Violation to shift to camera shot on opposite of axis
180˚ System ensures relative position of objects and characters remains consistent
180˚ System ensures consistent eyelines 180˚ System ensures consistent screen
direction Characters moving in logical and understandable
ways
180˚ System
180˚ System claims to organize space clearly Viewers can trust location (and relative location)
of characters Viewers can trust their own locations and relative
locations 180˚ System ensures and advances
continuity system
180˚ System
Shot/Reverse-shot pattern Shows one end point of axis and then the other Shot of opposite end of axis of action Usually shows ¾ view of subject
Eyeline match Initial shot of character looking Second shot of object of character’s gaze Neither shot shows both spectator and object
180˚ System Directional quality of eyeline establishes spatial
continuity Object of gaze must be within gaze of spectator Establishes continuity from shot to shot
Shot/Reverse-shot Pattern allows us to understand characters’ locations even when not in same frame
Reestablishing Shot—reestablishes overall space that was inferred in previous shots
Pattern of establishment/ breakdown/ reestablishment
180˚ System Continuity editing subordinates space to action
Emphasizes dialogue and character movement Match on action tactic—extra method for
ensuring spatial continuity Continuity of movement from one shot to next Creates match on action Carries a movement across the break of shots Must consider mise-en-scene and cinematography
180˚ System Filmmaker can create new axis of action by
rotating shots/reverse shot pattern Axis of action allows for elimination of
establishing shot Cheat cut—mismatching slightly the positions
of characters and/or objects in continuity editing
Significant role of POV shot in continuity editing Allows/creates variety of eyeline-match editing
180˚ System
Head-on Shot—action presented as moving directly toward camera
Crosscutting—parallel editing to create various spaces (presumably in same time) Allows unrestricted access to causal, temporal, and spatial
knowledge Yet creates spatial discontinuity while creating cause and
effect in temporal simultaneity Builds up suspense Allows temporal/spatial collision
Continuity Editing
Appears invisible and/or natural Usually presents plot consistently and
chronologically Chronological order—1-2-3 order Common violation of flashback One-for-one frequency—event shown once Duration usually not expanded Temporal continuity—narrative progression has no
gaps
Continuity Editing Use of diegetic sound—sound issuing from space of
story Creates spatial and temporal continuity
Temporal ellipsis—omission of time Viewer must recognize passing of time to ensure continuity Use of dissolves, fades, or wipes
Montage sequence—joining of various images, objects, characters, places, and times to compress series of actions into brief sequence Usually still suggests continuity and one-for-one events
Non-Continuity Editing
Common in abstract and/or associational films
Often based on graphic and rhythmic qualities of film Based on light, texture, shape, movement
Often subordinates space and time to rhythm Narrative becomes less important
Non-Continuity Editing
Technique of jump cut—creates violation of spatial, temporal, and graphic continuity Two shots of same subject cut together but not notably
different in camera distance and angle Creates notable jump on screen Avoided in continuity editing
Nondiegetic Insert—cut from diegetic scene to metaphorical or symbolic shot outside time and space of film
Disturbs normal expectations about art and narrative
Non-Continuity Editing
More frequent use of expansion of temporal qualities Jump cut Nondiegetic insert
Expansion can be presented as formal aesthetic quality of film