2020 – Fall

Video Editing

Course Number: JOUR-GA 1149.001

Day & Time: Thursday, 6:20-10pm (every other week) [In-Person]

Location: 750

Instructors: Nanfu Wang, Michael Shade

*Please note: This class meets every other week. This course is dedicated to the craft of editing long form video for news and documentary stories. Effective editing is much more than choosing the right scenes and sound. Understanding the capabilities of software… knowing the value of special effects – not just how to use them, but why to use them… the importance of creating natural transitions… the significance of weaving the individual elements of sound, picture and narration so that they are organic to the story telling to enhance and advance a story arc are all requirements for the successful editor.

This course introduces the students to various editing concepts and techniques. Class time will be spent screening long form videos and then deconstructing story telling approaches and styles used in these genres. These discussions are reinforced with focused exercises where students apply these techniques and concepts using their own documentary content.
Evaluations are based on how students interpret the assignment, the cleanness of the editing and the level of complexity achieved. All edit assignments need to be output as a QuickTime movie or posted on an easily accessible web site such as Vimeo or YouTube.