Video Editing

Video Editing Courses

"Change your Level This requires multiple cameras to achieve but is often worth the effort. When you have multiple shots of the same subject, its easy to cut between them without creating a jarring experience for the audience. So, when shooting an interview, or a lengthy event such as a wedding, its a good idea to occasionally change focal lengths. A wide shot and a medium close up can be cut together, allowing you to edit parts out and change the order of shots without obvious jump cuts. Look for Similarity This principle is the key to the much sought after match cut. Theres a cut in Apocalypse Now from a rotating ceiling fan to the blades of a helicopter. There is a similar cut at the beginning of Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which a scene of a bone spinning in the air is cut to a scene of a space station in orbit around Earth. The scenes change dramatically, but the visually similar elements make for a smooth, creative cut. You can do the same thing in your videos. Cut from a flower on a wedding cake to the grooms boutonniere, or tilt up to the blue sky from one scene and then down from the sky to a different scene. Wipe, Wipe, Wipe There are three transitions you will see with regularity; the cut, the cross dissolve and the wipe. At weddings, I love it when people walk in front of the camera. They are apologetic, but unless it happened during the vows or the first dance, I am grateful for the wipe they gave me to use during editing. When the frame fills up with one element (such as the back of a black suit jacket), it makes it easy to cut to a completely different scene without jarring the audience. You can set wipes up yourself during shooting, or just take advantage when they happen naturally."