Welcome back to summer school, today’s topic is film editing! If you can manage sitting down at a screen for hours on end, you might find a passion in editing. Some may dread the idea of looking at a screen for longer than an hour or so, but if you can take it and your eyes don’t strain so easily then I’d like to welcome you to the world of editing! Let’s first break down editing, “the creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking”. Editing is taking all of the scenes, shots, and takes and gracefully string them together to finalize the piece. Editing and post production is what helps pull the final production together. There are great beginner jobs (that can be done remotely) to help you progress as an editor. You can intern as an editor for a small production company or ask your friends if they need small videos or reels edited. Other great ways to progress as an editor (especially when you become a little more skilled) is to do freelance editing work. Many people edit videos for youtubers who do not have the time or skills to do so, this allows you to know how to market your gift and work with a wide range of customers with different style preferences.

Editing software can be very expensive especially if you are looking to work at an industry standard. However if you are just starting out, don’t be ashamed of what’s readily available to you! If you only have access to iMovie, use it and perfect it. When you are ready and able to move on to a new platform, you will at least have an entry level skill set of what it is to edit. Effects that you might not have been able to create in a free editing software, will be there for you to experiment with when you invest in more professional software. For now, take your time! There are plenty of resources to help young editors learn editing tricks, websites such as LinkedIn Learning and Skillshare are great tools. In addition to those websites, here are some helpful books, Youtube channels, and podcasts all about film editing as well as popular editing software.

Books

• The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje
• In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch
• On Film Editing by Edward Dmytryk
• The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice by Ken Dancyger
• Art of the Cut: Conversations with Film and TV Editors by Steve Hullfish

Youtube

• Cinecom.net
• Justin Odisho
• RocketStock
• Peter McKinnon
• PremiumBeat

Podcasts

• Film Editing Podcast
• The Cutting Room
• The Rough Cut
• Colorist Podcast
• The Edit Bay

Software

• iMovie *free
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• DaVinci Resolve
• Final Cut
• Avid Pro Tools

Great ways to move into the editing field of the film industry is to research top industry editors and the type of editing they do. Even within editing and post production, there are many different roles. Some do color correction, audio editing, or special effects. Check out who the industry professionals are and which software they are using. As a new editor in the industry, you come at a really great advantage. You have access to more technology a lot sooner in your life, this means that you can hone in on editing skills at a younger age. A great thing to do is to research and understand the history of film editing, the simple forms of editing and what we can do now with technology that was not achievable at the start of the industry!

Next week’s topic is Film Analysis, let’s dive deeper into what your favorite film is saying!