Video Editing

Week 1: The Foundation – The Cut & The Story

 

Topic A: Setup & Workflow

• The Editor’s Mindset: Storytelling 101 – “Why are we cutting here?”

• Interface Tour: Source Monitor, Program Monitor, Timeline, and Project Panel.

• Project Management: The “Folder Structure” rule (Footage, Audio, Graphics, Exports). Avoiding the “Media Offline” error.

• Ingest: Importing footage correctly and creating Proxies for smooth playback on slower laptops.

Topic B: The Rough Cut

• Reviewing Footage: Using “Hover Scrub” and marking In (I) and Out (O) points.

• The Timeline: Insert (.) vs. Overwrite (,) edits.

• Basic Tools: Selection Tool (V), Razor Tool (C), and Track Select Forward (A).

• The Assembly: Dragging clips to the timeline to build the skeleton of the story.

Topic C: Refining the Edit

• Trimming: Ripple Edit (B) vs. Rolling Edit (N). Why you should rarely just “delete” empty space.

• Pacing: Cutting on action to make edits feel seamless.

• Exporting a Draft: Using “Quick Export” to share a low-res review copy.

 

Week 2: Audio, Titles & Transitions

 

Topic A: Sound Design & Mixing

• Audio Levels: Understanding Decibels (dB). Why dialogue should hit -6dB to -12dB.

• Keyframing Audio: Using the Pen Tool to fade music down when people speak (“Ducking”).

• Audio Transitions: Constant Power vs. Constant Gain.

• Essential Sound Panel: Using the “Dialogue” tag to auto-fix noisy audio (DeNoise, DeReverb).

Topic B: The Art of the Transition

• Hard Cuts: Why the simple cut is the most powerful tool.

• Standard Transitions: Cross Dissolve and Dip to Black (When to use them vs. when they look amateur).

• J-Cuts & L-Cuts: Detaching audio from video to create smooth, professional dialogue flow.

Topic C: Graphics & Titles

• Essential Graphics Panel: Creating text overlays, lower thirds, and end cards.

• Safe Margins: Ensuring text doesn’t get cut off on mobile screens.

• Motion Graphics Templates (MOGRTs): Installing and customizing free animated titles.

 

Week 3: Colour, Speed & Style

 

Topic A: Colour Correction vs. Grading

• Lumetri Colour Panel: Reading the Scopes (Waveform & Vectorscope).

• Correction: Fixing White Balance (Temperature/Tint) and Exposure (Highlights/Shadows) so clips match.

• Grading: Using “Creative Looks” (LUTs) to give the video a specific mood (Cinematic, Warm, Cold).

Topic B: Speed Ramping & Motion

• Time Remapping: Creating slow-motion (50%) or fast-forward sequences properly.

• Frame Rates: Why 60fps is needed for good slow motion.

• Keyframing Motion: The “Ken Burns” effect (slow zoom in) on static photos to make them dynamic.

Topic C: B-Roll Strategy

• Covering the Cut: Using B-Roll (footage of objects/scenery) to hide jump cuts in an interview.

• Stabilisation: Using the “Warp Stabiliser” effect to fix shaky handheld footage.

 

Week 4: AI Workflow, Social & Final Sprint

 

Topic A: Innovative AI Workflow (Using Gemini)

• The AI Producer: Using Gemini to generate interview questions, video scripts, or shot lists before editing.

  • Prompt Example: “Create a shot list for a 30-second coffee shop commercial.”

• AI for B-Roll: Using Gemini to suggest B-roll ideas based on the script text.

• Problem Solving: Pasting Premiere Pro error codes into Gemini for instant troubleshooting.

Topic B: Formatting for Social Media

• Auto Reframe: Using Premiere’s built-in AI to automatically convert horizontal (16:9) video to vertical (9:16) for TikTok without losing the subject.

• Captions: Using the “Text-to-Captions” feature to auto-generate subtitles for social videos.

Topic C: Final Export & Delivery

• Export Settings: Understanding H.264 (MP4) vs. H.265 (HEVC).

• Bitrate: High bitrate for YouTube vs. Medium bitrate for WhatsApp/Email.

• Media Encoder: Queueing multiple exports at once.

 

Mentorship & Portfolio Polish

 

After four weeks of core instruction, students enter a free 1-month mentorship delivered online via Discord. This phase shifts the focus from learning new tools to applying them to industry standards.

• Project Polish & Portfolio Building: Finish or redo your 2 required projects. High-quality submissions ensure better scores and a stronger portfolio.

• Weekly 1-on-1 Sessions: Each student is assigned a dedicated mentor for a personalised 30 to 60-minute weekly guidance session.

• Open File Reviews: Present open project files via live screen sharing for direct mentor critiques and feedback.

• Live Debugging: Join dedicated livestreams where instructors actively troubleshoot settings and fix your project errors in real-time.

• Final Premiere: Submit your fully rendered images or video for the Virtual Viewing Party to watch and critique final reels with the class.

• Certification & Next Steps: Complete the course evaluation and submit all final polished projects to finalise grading and unlock your Certificate of Completion.