Movie Editing Course

Lesson 1 • Understanding Footage and Media

Introduces raw footage types, file formats, and metadata essential for organised editing. Proper media literacy prevents costly errors downstream.

Lesson 2 • Core Editing Vocabulary

Defines essential terms—cut, transition, sequence, timeline—used throughout the course. Shared vocabulary enables precise communication with directors and collaborators.

Lesson 3 • History and Evolution of Editing

Traces editing from silent-era cuts to digital workflows, establishing context for modern techniques. Understanding this history clarifies why current conventions exist.

Lesson 1 • Hardware and System Requirements

Covers processors, RAM, storage, and display specs needed for smooth editing performance. Matching hardware to project demands prevents bottlenecks.

Lesson 2 • Project Setup and Settings

Establishes sequence settings, frame rate, and colour space before importing media. Correct project settings prevent format mismatches throughout post-production.

Lesson 3 • Media Management and Bin Organization

Builds a logical folder and bin structure for efficient media retrieval during editing. Good organisation scales to feature-length projects without confusion.

Lesson 1 • Trimming and Refining Cuts

Introduces ripple, roll, slip, and slide trims to refine edit points without disrupting timing. Precise trimming transforms a rough assembly into a polished cut.

Lesson 2 • Selecting and Placing Clips

Covers insert, overwrite, and three-point editing methods for placing clips precisely. Each method serves different assembly scenarios and pacing needs.

Lesson 3 • Building the Rough Cut

Applies selection and trimming skills to assemble a complete scene from script to rough cut. Students experience the full assembly workflow from script breakdown to first edit.

Lesson 1 • The 180-Degree Rule

Explains the axis of action and how crossing it disorients viewers spatially. Mastering this rule is prerequisite to cutting any multi-camera coverage.

Lesson 2 • Eyeline and Screen Direction

Covers matching eyelines and maintaining consistent screen direction across cuts. Correct eyeline matching creates believable spatial relationships between characters.

Lesson 3 • Cutting Dialogue Scenes

Applies all continuity rules to multi-camera dialogue, balancing coverage with performance. Students cut a full dialogue scene using master, medium, and close-up shots.

Lesson 1 • Understanding Pacing in Editing

Defines pacing as the relationship between shot duration, content density, and emotional tempo. Recognising pacing patterns allows editors to diagnose and fix sluggish sequences.

Lesson 2 • Montage Theory and Practice

Explores Eisenstein's collision montage, Kuleshov effect, and associative editing strategies. Students apply montage theory to create meaning beyond individual shot content.

Lesson 3 • Action and Suspense Sequences

Applies rapid cutting, intercutting, and tension-building techniques to action and thriller scenes. Students edit a chase or confrontation sequence using learned pacing tools.

Lesson 1 • Audio Track Architecture

Establishes a multi-track audio layout separating dialogue, music, effects, and ambience. A clean track architecture is essential for efficient mixing and handoff to audio post.

Lesson 2 • Basic Audio Mixing in the NLE

Applies gain, EQ, compression, and panning within the NLE to produce a balanced mix. Students deliver a sequence meeting broadcast loudness standards.

Lesson 3 • Music Editing and Temp Tracks

Teaches selecting, trimming, and fitting music to picture, including temp track strategy. Effective temp tracks guide directors and composers toward the final score.

Lesson 4 • Dialogue Editing and Sync

Covers syncing dual-system audio, cleaning dialogue tracks, and handling room tone. Clean dialogue is the highest-priority audio element in narrative editing.

Lesson 1 • Secondary Colour Correction

Uses HSL qualifiers, masks, and power windows to isolate and adjust specific image areas. Secondary tools enable targeted corrections without affecting the entire frame.

Lesson 2 • Primary Colour Correction

Covers lift, gamma, gain, and offset controls to balance exposure and neutralise colour casts. Primary correction establishes a clean, neutral baseline for creative grading.

Lesson 3 • Understanding Color Science

Introduces colour spaces, gamma curves, and the difference between log and display-referred footage. Colour science knowledge prevents irreversible grading mistakes.

Lesson 1 • Export Settings and Codecs

Explains codec selection, bitrate, and container formats for different delivery destinations. Choosing the wrong export settings is the most common cause of rejected deliverables.

Lesson 2 • Titles, Graphics, and Lower Thirds

Creates and integrates opening titles, end credits, and lower-third graphics within the NLE. Clean typography and motion graphics reinforce the project's professional presentation.

Lesson 3 • Visual Effects Integration

Covers basic compositing, green-screen keying, and round-tripping to VFX software. Editors must understand VFX handoff to maintain timeline integrity.

Lesson 4 • Delivery Specifications and QC

Applies broadcast, streaming, and theatrical delivery specs and performs quality control checks. Meeting delivery specs is a non-negotiable professional responsibility.