Documentary Essentials

This introduction to editing long form documentary is taught by a veteran of the genre, and covers structure, storytelling techniques, and style. You will learn to employ such unique Avid Media Composer features as Script Sync and Phrase Find, designed for use in post production for unscripted filmmaking.

The 2-day class will use a combination of lecture, screenings, and hands-on exercises. This two-day workshop is designed for experienced Avid system editors who want to learn about specific workflow issues for documentary editing. Using material and examples from a current documentary, Day 1 of the class addresses the basic post process for documentary editing, as well as advanced bin organization, Script Integration, scene construction, and useful effects. Day 1 sessions include instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice. Day 2 consists of screening and analyzing three separate documentaries. This class is suitable for Avid® Media Composer® and Xpress Pro users.

Audience

This course is designed for:

• Producers
• Editors
• Assistant Editors
• Multimedia Producers

Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Follow a documentary post-production workflow
• Use advanced methods to organize footage in bins
• Use Script Integration and ScriptSync
• Build documentary scenes and construct a story
• Use visual effects to treat common problems of documentary footage. Effects include: Reformat effects
• Stabilizing effects
• Avid Pan and Scan. Intraframe Effects: Paint Tools
• Analyze stylistic approaches of documentary film and video
• Understand the practice of a professional documentary filmmaker

Prerequisites: This course requires completion of the MC101 and MC110, and/or the equivalent experience of at least six months editing on the system. This course assumes participants have extensive editing involvement as editors, assistant editors, directors, or producers.