Digital Editing Syllabus

Introduction to Digital Video Editing

Instructor: David Foulds

Office Hours: TBA

TEXTS:

1)    The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice (5^th Edition) by Ken Dancyger

2)    Optional: Adobe Premiere Pro CC Classroom in a Book (2017 release) by Maxim Jago

SOFTWARE USED:

1)    Adobe Premiere CC

FOOTAGE:

1)    Free stock footage from Videezy and Pexels

2)    Dailies from EditStock

3)    Your own footage (if you have something to cut)

INTRODUCTION

Editors live in a special place in the filmmaking community. The director may have a vision, but it is up to the editor to make a story out of what actually exists. Unless you are Alfred Hitchcock, film dailies rarely resemble the exact vision of the screenwriter or director. Film is a collaborative art. It is made up of many pieces. The actors interpret the lines, the cinematographer and set designer create the mise-en-scene, the producer secures the locations, and even the weather affects the end result. It is up to the editor to take all these pieces and suture together a film that is cohesive, coherent, and meaningful.

In this course, we will learn both the technical and aesthetic aspects of digital editing. We will take a “top down” approach, thinking about how editing works to tell a story or convey a feeling or theme, and then learn how to use our tools to achieve these aims.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is an introduction to the techniques, concepts and aesthetics of digital non-linear, computerized editing for film, television and digital media. The student will become familiar with various professional software programs and develop an understanding of organization, timelines and story as well as editing for visual and audio effect. 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will be able to:

1. Lecture
1. Analyze the aesthetics of audio and video edits.
2. Determine story objectives.
3. Describe various editing styles and theories.
2. Laboratory
1. Determine appropriate edit points.
2. Organize footage.
3. Utilize various professional software programs.
4. Compare the difference between online and offline editing.
5. Demonstrate competency in the various aspects of digitizing, importing and exporting images.

 

 ASSIGNMENTS

1)    Edit a short silent film using footage from Pexels.com and Videezy.

2)    Write a short paper on the history of editing.

3)    Choose a short narrative film (or scene from a feature) to edit from those supplied via EditStock. Edit it using continuity editing.

4)    Edit a short action sequence.

5)    Critique and analyze your own work and that of your classmates.

6)    Write a short paper on editing techniques.

7)    Edit your own footage or edit a second EditStock production for your final project.

8)    Write a reflective paper about your editing style. Who are your influences? What is your “artist’s statement?”

Course Schedule:

Week One Lecture: History of Editing 1 -       Silent Cinema o   Porter o   Griffith Lab: Starting a project -       Find footage on Pexels.com and Videezy and download -       Create your project and sort footage into bins. -       Make selects	Viewing: - The Life of an American Fireman (Edwin S. Porter, 1903) - Selects from Broken Blossoms (DW Griffith, 1919) Homework: - Read Ch. 1 “The Silent Period” in Dancyger - View video tutorial on Premiere on YouTube
Week Two   Lecture: History of Editing 2 -       Pudovkin -       Eisenstein o   Metric o   Rhythmic o   Tonal o   Overtonal o   Intellectual Lab: -       Working with clips -       Making selects -       Working on the timeline -       Cuts and fades -       Rough cut of silent film	Viewing: - Odessa Steps Sequence from Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) - Sequence from Earth (Alexander Dovzhenko, 1930) - Sequence from Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) - Un Chien Andalou (Luis Bunuel, 1929) Homework: - Read Ch. 2, “The Early Sound Film,” Chapter 3, “Influence of Documentary” and Ch. 24 “Documentary” in Dancyger - Finish rough cut of silent film - Write a voice-over narration
Week Three Lecture: Documentary editing -       Documentary editing -       The documentary short film Lab: -   Sharing rough cuts in groups -   Feedback for edit -   Adding voice over -   Audio mixing	Viewing: - Selects from Night Mail (John Grierson, 1936) - Selects from The City (Morris Carnovsky, 1939) - A Place Like This (David May, 2012) short personal documentary film Homework: - Submit final cut of silent film w/ voice over - Read Ch. 17 “Editing for Narrative Clarity” and Ch. “The Picture Edit and Continuity” in Dancyger
Week Four Lecture: Continuity Editing 1 -       Continuity and Discontinuity -       Cutting on movement -       L cuts -       J cuts -       Rhythm Lab: -       SHOW FINAL CUTS IN CLASS -       Import and make selects for narrative project	Viewing: - The Lunch Date (Adam Davidson, 1990) - Curfew (Sean Christensen, 2013) - Cuts and Transitions 101 (Joey Scoma, 2016) Homework: - Read Ch. 17, “Editing for Narrative Clarity” and Ch. 29, “The Picture Edit and Pace” in Dancyger - Write Essay 1: The history of editing (500-750 words)
Week Five Lecture: Continuity Editing 2 -       Match cuts -       Eyeline matching -       Cutaways -       Smash cuts Lab: -       Work on rough cut of short narrative project ESSAY ONE DUE	Viewing: - Selections from The Hours (Stephen Daldry, 2002) - Selections from Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007) Homework: - Read Ch. 18 “Editing for Dramatic Emphasis,” Ch. 22 “Dialogue,” and Ch. 9 “The influence of TV and Theatre” in Dancyger - Finish Rough Cut
Week Six Lecture: Cutting Dialogue -       Overlapping dialogue -       Reaction shots -       Pacing -       Anticipation Lab: -       Share and critique rough cut with group -       Edit final cut of narrative	Viewing: - Selects from Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974) - Selects from Friends (TV show) - Selects from MASH (Robert Altman, 1970) Homework: - Read Ch. 21 “Action,” Ch. 13 “Changes of Pace” in Dancyger - Finish short narrative edit
Week Seven Lecture: Cutting Action Sequences -       Pacing -       Tension -       Parallel action -       Jump cuts Lab: -       SHOW FINAL CUTS IN CLASS -       Start Action Sequence project	Viewing: - Ice Floe sequence from Way Down East (DW Griffith, 1920) - Selects from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981) - Selects from United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006) Homework: - Read “Walter Murch interviewed by Gustavo Constantini” - Work on Action Sequence
Week Eight Lecture: Sound Editing -       Sound effects and foley -       Music beds -       Sweetening -       Mixing Lab: -       Work on action sequence -       Work on sound design for action sequence	Viewing: - Selects from Delicatessen (Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, 1991) - Selects from The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) Homework: - Read Ch. 6 “Experiments in Editing: Alfred Hitchcock” in Dancyger - Work on action sequence project
Week Nine Lecture: Hitchcock -       Parallel action -       Sound cut -       Cutting on motion -       Extreme Long Shot -       Cutaway -       Closup Lab: -       Show rough cuts of action sequence to group for feedback -       Work on final cuts	Viewing: Selects from: -       Notorious (1946) -       Rear Window (1954) -       Vertigo (1958) -       The Birds (1963) Homework: - Read Ch. 10 “New Challenges to Filmic Narrative Conventions” - Finish action sequence project
Week Ten Lecture: Going beyond convention -       Genres -       Mixing Genres Lab: -       SHOW FINAL CUTS OF ACTION SEQUENCE IN CLASS	Viewing: - The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1971) - Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975) - A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971) - Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982) Homework: - Analyze the editing style of a scene from your favorite film. - Read Ch. 14-16 “Appropriation of Style” in Dancyger
Week Eleven Lecture: Imitation and Innovation -       When to use a close up -       When to use a long shot -       When to break expectations Lab: -       Start final project EDITING ANALYSIS PAPER DUE	Viewing: - selects from Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) - selects from Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) - selects from Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) Homework: - Read Ch. 11 and Ch. 12 “MTV Influence on Style”
Week Twelve Lecture: Quick Cuts -       Influence of MTV on editing o   Dream states o   Disjunction o   Self reflection Lab: -       Work on final project rough cut	Viewing: - selects from Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994) - selects from Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998) Homework: - Read Ch. 30 and 31 “Digital Technology” in Dancyger
Week Thirteen Lecture: Effects and Titles -       Transitions and effects -       Titles Lab: -       Work on final project rough cut -       Work on title sequence	Viewing: - 10 Best Title sequences of all time on YouTube Homework:  Work on Final project
Week Fourteen Lecture: Color -       Color Correction -       Creative use of color in post Lab: -       Show rough cuts to group -       Get feedback and begin final cut	Viewing: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Edgar Wright, 2010) O Brother Where Art Thou? (Ethan and Joel Coen, 2000) Homework: Work on Final project
Week Fifteen Lecture: -       Course Review Lab: -       Work on final project	Viewing: - No films this week. Course review. Homework: - Finish final project
Week Sixteen -       SHOW FINAL PROJECTS IN CLASS