Editing
A Professionally Shot Road Movie
EDITING A ROAD MOVIE
Allow 10-12 hrs for this module
Allow 10-12 hrs for this module
The focus of this module is video editing and post-production. It's often helpful for emerging filmmakers to learn how to edit early on, since in the process of editing we quickly learn which shots work well together, and we grasp the power of colour and sound. These things can really inform our script-writing, our planning and our cinematography once we start producing films from scratch.
Our Task is to complete post-production on a professionally shot film. Post-production entails editing, colour grading, music and sound effects and titles. We will use production software called DaVinci Resolve. We will also do a Written Task in the form of a quiz, which will assess your understanding of some editing techniques before you start your editing proper.
You will need to be familiar with several concepts which you can learn about below - Walter Murch's rule of six, crosscutting, shot-reverse-shot, 180 degree rule, 30 degree or 30 percent rule, how music affects audience, the Kuleshov Effect, jump cuts and establishing shots.
Some masters of editing share their insight into their craft.
Hilarious meaning-changes made just by replacing the music.
Hitchcock on how we create meaning through the juxtaposition of different shots.
Crosscutting between various story threads can create suspense, and prime us for cathartic twists.
A crosscut is a technique used to cut between two or more parallel actions that are occurring at the same time in different locations.
Shot and reverse shot - the most basic element of film grammar?
The 180 degree rule helps position your audience in 3D space on a 2D screen.
How cut-ins and cut-aways help our storytelling.
Increase emotion by juxtaposing contrasting music and images.
A smooth and comfortable viewing experience - the 30 degree or 30 percent rule.
Unsettling your viewer with jump-cuts.
Make sure you really set the scene.
Get creative with your opening (and closing) shots.
While you are editing your film, make sure you become familiar with the following:
Walter Murch's 6 rules
The Kuleshov Effect
Cross-cutting
Shot-reverse-shot
30 degree or 30% rule
The impact of music
Jump cuts
180 degree rule
Establishing shots
EDITING
This is a practical module, where you will edit a professionally shot and acted short film. You are required to use cross-cutting, cutting on action, shot-reverse-shots, cut-aways and cut-ins, as well as mix audio and create titles.
Your teacher will demonstrate skills and techniques, but if you find yourself getting ahead or behind, you can use the video tutorials below, which walk you through the process of editing your Road Movie.
The tutorials below walk you through the processes of editing your Road Movie, including; arranging your files and folders, importing media into DaVinci Resolve, editing techniques, colour grading, adding music and mixing audio, and making titles.
The videos below are a sequential set of tutorials that will walk you through how to edit your very own road movie. The footage is available above, so before you start, download that, and get your filing system organised so you know where everything is. It might be a good idea to create a folder called Road Movie, and inside that, create three folders called Video, Audio and Graphics. Put your downloaded video files in the Video folder before starting the tutorials.
GETTING CREATIVE
Here's a few more videos to help you get creative with your editing. Feel free to duplicate your timeline and experiment with some of these techniques before submitting your edit to the teacher.
PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT TASK
Once you have completed your edit, export the final piece and place it in your folder on the Media Drive.