Editing Lesson Blog

For today’s media class, we learned all about the editing process. This included learning about the camera, camera procedure, tripods, and the editing process. We had to learn the basics of the camera so we weren’t confused during filming. The first thing we learned was that the camera we are using turns on as soon as the screen is flipped open. The screen is touch screen and can be turned around all the way in order for the actors and director to see the screen. The tripods we use have about 3 different settings, short, medium, and of course the tallest one. The neck is also able to be lifted using a crank, making the camera even taller. Tripods are used so the camera doesn’t have to be hand held and shaky. They also allow for high and low angles to be shot easier and “cleaner.” The last thing we learned about was that the SD card has to be put in the camera. The SD card is not already in the camera, like many people think.

For the class, we also learned about the editing process. We will be using the software “Pinnacle” on our computers. To start the process we have to put all footage in the camera/SD card onto the computer. This is called “dumping” and the footage is put specifically on the desktop, rather than just on the computer. We do this by going to DCIM on the SD folder in the computer. If we can’t find it there, we can also look in the AVCHD folder, which will have everything but will be harder to find. In this folder we press “Stream” and all the footage will be there. You select however many films of footage you have and drag it over to the “Media Studies” folder you previously put on your desktop. When you click on the “Pinnacle” software, you have to import all the footage. “Importing” is when you put all the footage you have into the software and computer that you are using. 

Now we finally moved on to how to actually edit in the software. The first thing we do is to of course import all the footage. To start this, we go to file and select “New Movie.” You click the word “Import” on the top right corner of the software and press the check mark next to the word “desktop.” If you select the right folder, all the raw footage will be pop up and all you have to do is check everything that needs to be imported. All of the footage must be dragged, in the right order, onto AV track 2. The other 2 tracks, AV track 1 and AV track 3, are used for titles and music. To put a title onto the footage, you have to select the T on the left side of the computer. This allows you to write the title you want and change the font, size, color, placement, and more. You can also delete footage. To do this, you hit the razor blade once and make sure the orange box is around the part you want to delete. Hitting delete will remove the footage and right clicking will allow you to choose from speeding, slowing, or reversing the footage.