Sliding into Video Editing

Water shoots out at a sprinkler park in the center of Downtown Silver Spring.

The generosity of a Boston University professor and a class soundslides critique marked my day, but we spent the majority of our time learning to edit and tackling our projects.

Professor Olmsted appropriately began with a speech about not fearing new technology. From there we went right to a class on Final Cut Pro basics led by Rob Roberts. He stressed organization and saving as we followed his lead in a simultaneous practice edit.

We then returned to the theater to critique our soundslides. This forum, led by Professor Hatch, proved very useful in our later video editing — what we learned about matching video to audio and blending natural sound with interview tracks translated easily across platforms.

This later video editing would of course not have been possible without the kindness of Eric Bullock of Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts. After witnessing Tauren and I leave our camera on the Metro, he returned the equipment to our media production center. A huge thank you to Mr. Bullock. I know my luck won’t be as good for a long time.

Shy children created a missed opportunity for colorful audio.

A lack of close-up shots became apparent immediately as Tauren and I logged our tape. The close-ups we did capture were a little shaky because we didn’t have a tripod, and we had to resort to zoom often to avoid splashing on the equipment.

But biggest challenge we encountered in our first phase of editing was our lack of meaningful, clear audio from children.

While we attempted to interview several kids at the pool, we did not find a child who was receptive to the camera. We knew that a kid-oriented story would suffer without this voice. But we didn’t have an option, and we moved on.

Both of these obstacles were a little daunting as we began to edit, especially after a morning of editing lecture. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from today, it’s that you learn from your mistakes, and sometimes it just takes a little luck to set things right.

My stories won’t always be in sprinkler parks. The kids I interview won’t always stare blankly into the camera. And just like I (hopefully) won’t leave my camera on the Red Line again, I’ll learn to shoot and interview better.

Video Adventures

Shops and restaurants frame the sprinkler park.

The day I waited for since the start of Bootcamp — video day — finally arrived. It started with a crash course in shooting Web video and continued with a fun afternoon of shooting at a local sprinkler park. But then the day that began in a crash course absolutely crashed. My partner, Tauren Dyson, and I watched as the train pulled away from Tenleytown station — with our camera inside.

After an hour sitting by the station manager as he called all stops between Tenleytown and Shady Grove three times, we decided to talk to Professor Olmsted. A depressing conversation with a police officer (“During rush hour? You’re not getting that back.”) sealed our defeat.

I’m writing this blog on Thursday. I can tell you now someone returned our camera. And the pictures on this post scream that fact. But man, it was a rough evening.

Back to the beginning: Rob Roberts, senior video editor at USA Today, spoke about his rules of Web video. Generally, creative, dynamic characters are needed for video stories, he said.  Natural sound, natural action, interviews, and B-roll constitute a complete shoot. And those interviews, he said, should be environmental portraits, when possible. The interview frame should provide contextual clues to the shot location.

A child plays in a sprinkler at the center of Downtown Silver Spring.

“Every piece of information [in your shot] should be relevant,” he said. But Roberts warned against extraneous cues and also suggested tight shots to establish subject-viewer relationships.

The Adventure Begins

Professor Olmsted then set us loose across the DC Metro Area to film stories about the record-breaking heat. Tauren Dyson and I headed to Downtown Silver Spring to film at a sprinkler park.

The afternoon in itself was a learning experience. Our interviews got better as we learned how to ask open-ended questions about our topic. After handling the camera for a little while, we became more adventurous with our shots, varying perspective and zoom.

…And Ends

But then came the strongest lesson of all: Be responsible with your equipment. After being so careful not to get the camera wet, even in sprinkler mist, we left it on the Red Line.

Not good. And especially disappointing to someone who prides herself on responsibility.

The Promised Soundslide Project

After a few Saturday hours — here is the final version of my first soundslide effort.

My biggest editing challenge was to make use of audio largely overpowered by natural sound. I’ve learned my lesson to interview in a quieter environment.

I’m most proud of the foresight T and I used shooting. We noted what photos would match each interview and shot accordingly.