THL Toolbox > Audio-Video > Technical Processing of Audio-Video - Log, Edit and Compress > Lesson 1

Lesson #1

What is Editing?

• Cutting out the bad bits of footage, and rearranging the pieces to make sense.
• Demonstration: Indicate shots and cuts using a finished film.
• Definitions:
  • Shot – Building block of film. A unit of information
  • Cut – The point at which one shot changes to another
  • Sequence – A succession of shots
  • Footage – Video images
• Demonstration: Concept of Editing
• Analogy: Making a soup. To make a soup you must cut the unusable parts off the vegetables. Similarly, in editing you must cut the unusable parts off the
• Not just technical, also storytelling.

A Basic Explanation of Adobe Premiere

• Video footage is collected on dv tapes. We cannot actually cut the footage in the tapes – or else we would destroy the tape! Adobe Premiere helps us work with the video footage to create a film, without cutting the tape. Premiere does this by bringing the footage into the computer and turning it into Video Files. We work with the video files in the program, and the tapes are unaffected.

Opening the Adobe Premiere Workspace

1. Open Adobe Premiere. In the Initial Workspace window select Single-Track Editing.
2. Premiere will now display the Project Settings window. Under the folder “DV-NTSC Real-time Preview” select Standard 48kHz.

Elements of the Adobe Premiere Workspace

1. Timeline – The parallel horizontal lines at the bottom portion of the workspace. This is the space where shots are assembled into a sequence. Analogy: This is the pot into which you put your ingredients.
2. Project Window – The box at the bottom left portion of the screen. This is where you store and access your footage. Analogy: This is the kitchen, where you store your ingredients.
3. Source Window – The box at the top left portion of the screen. This is where you prepare shots to be put into the Timeline. Analogy: This is the counter, where you cut the unusable parts off your ingredients and put them into the pot (Timeline).
4. Program Window – The box at the top right portion of the screen. This is where you watch the shots you have entered into the Timeline. Analogy: This is like your spoon, with which you taste the soup. In cooking, you must taste the soup to many times to determine whether or not it is ready. Similarly, in editing you watch the sequence many times before your sequence is ready.

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