Time-Based Editing
Digital Media Convergence — Chapter 14
Ahh, editing. How I love to hate you.
Okay I’m being dramatic. I don’t hate you… But boy, sometimes…
Editing really isn’t that bad, but it is extremely tedious. Especially when you realize, looking back, maayyybbbeee you should’ve shot a video clip differently — but too late now!
I have only ever edited videos with iMovie, and it’s super easy to learn on your own (thankfully). But sometimes the software can be half the problem. They’re finicky and tricky to use sometimes. No other sound haunts my nightmares like the MacBook error sound — you know, the ~thUNK~.
But really, not only does editing itself take practice, so does the actual video shooting. Sometimes the way you shoot a video clip can screw you later on in editing. Take it from me, shoot AT LEAST 10 seconds of nothing before you shoot what you actually want to use. If not, GOOD LUCK in those transitions.
Like normal, I am speaking from experience, and YES I will tell you how I solved it (in case you’re reading this blog and you’re in the same situation — I got you!!).
Earlier this semester, I was asked to prerecord an interview for my internship, and it would be posted to YouTube and presented on a Zoom call. It was a little daunting at first, especially because I was recording an interview between two beloved people from the Meredith College community.
However, despite my nerves, the interview went great. It was entertaining and educational, and they were lovely people that I am so thankful to know.
But when I started editing later that week and cutting down my 10–15 minute clips into smaller segments to filter the responses and fit the time frame, I realized my mistake. There was NO TIME for transitions between clips. So, what did I do?
Thankfully, we wanted to include photos, but were unsure of how and where they’d make their appearance. So, I laid them over the cuts of my video, and you would have never suspected a thing! It was a great hack that hopefully I won’t have to use in the future. I think I’ve learned my lesson, and from now on I will leave myself plenty of space for transitions!
