Bring Your Story to Life – Video Post-Production

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/bringing-your-story-to-life

Introduction

**Course Review: Bring Your Story to Life – Video Post-Production on Coursera** In the digital age, the ability to tell compelling stories through video has become an essential skill across various platforms, from social media to corporate communication. If you're looking to enhance your storytelling capabilities through editing, the course "Bring Your Story to Life – Video Post-Production" on Coursera is a fantastic opportunity. Below, I’ll share a detailed overview of the course, its syllabus, my insights, and my recommendation. ### Course Overview This course delves into the artistry of picture and sound editing, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of video post-production. While the course highlights the use of Adobe Premiere as the primary editing tool, it welcomes participants to utilize any editing software they are comfortable with, making it accessible for everyone. From the nuances of scripting to the technical skills required for the final cut, this course offers a hands-on approach to video editing that equips learners with both foundational knowledge and advanced techniques. ### Syllabus Breakdown 1. **Writing the Script** The course kicks off by focusing on the essentiality of a well-crafted script. You will learn how to navigate Adobe Premiere, preparing you for the editing process. The module emphasizes the importance of organizing your media and offers tips on effective video assembly, laying a solid groundwork for your storytelling. 2. **Getting to Know Non-Linear Editing** Transitioning from writing to execution, this module introduces the concept of non-linear editing. It provides insights on logging footage, understanding timecodes, and creating a 'paper edit.' This segment is instrumental for anyone aiming to streamline their editing workflow. 3. **Getting Started with Editing** Reiterating some crucial Premiere functionalities, this module enhances your technical skills. You’ll familiarize yourself with the editing workspace, organizing media effectively, and learn various rules of editing crucial for compelling video narratives. 4. **The Rough Cut** This phase is where editing begins to take shape. The course guides you through assembling audio first, creating a ‘radio cut’ that allows for a clearer evaluation of the story's flow before video integration. This unique approach simplifies the editing process and fosters creativity. 5. **The Final Cut** This module focuses on refining your rough cut into a polished piece. You will learn to critically assess your work, maintain pacing, and incorporate audio mix effectively. This polishing phase ensures your video is both technically sound and emotionally impactful. 6. **Creating Graphics** A vital aesthetic component of video editing is the integration of graphics. This module teaches you to create animated titles, lower thirds, and other identifiers that enhance your visual storytelling. 7. **Review and Exporting** The course concludes with guidance on exporting your final project. This module covers various formats and their implications for how your audience views your work, wrapping up the comprehensive learning experience about video post-production. ### Personal Insights "Bring Your Story to Life" stands out for its practical approach and structured curriculum. Each module builds upon the last, ensuring that even novices in video editing can follow along and acquire new skills. The focus on Adobe Premiere, a prevalent editing tool, makes this course especially relevant for those seeking to work in media production. The emphasis on storytelling through editing not only enhances technical skills but also fosters a deeper understanding of audience engagement and narrative flow. The guidance provided in the rough cut and final cut stages is particularly valuable, as it addresses common challenges faced by editors at all levels. ### Recommendation I highly recommend the "Bring Your Story to Life – Video Post-Production" course to anyone interested in mastering video editing. Whether you are a budding filmmaker, a content creator, or simply looking to enhance your skills for personal projects, this course has something to offer. The insights into both the technical and artistic aspects of video editing, coupled with hands-on exercises, ensure that learners gain practical experience. Enroll in this course to unlock the potential of your stories and improve your technical skills in video editing today. You won’t just learn how to edit – you’ll learn how to create impactful narratives that resonate with your audience.

Syllabus

Writing the Script

In this module, we plan to teach you how to use Adobe Premiere, which we’ll use as an analog for common non-linear editing systems. Premiere uses many of the bells and whistles that will enhance your visual storytelling, including color correcting, essential graphics and easy shortcuts to trim edits efficiently. You will learn how to save a project correctly, and how to organize and prep your media for editing. We’ll help you become familiar with the workspace and tools that you will use when trimming video and audio clips. We’ll also share some rules of editing that will help you assemble shots in a manner that is pleasing and dynamic.

In this module you will learn the workflow that advances your visual story in stages: from logging the pictures and sound, to transcribing the interviews, and to writing the script known as the “paper edit,” a document where the script contains editing decisions aligned with timecode. We’ll discuss how to log through your video and audio, where essentially you record the start and end timecodes of your shots. The logging sheets can then be used as a reference tool to help you find where shots are located in your footage and where you can quickly access sound bites and other sounds. The logging sheets are often used by producers and script writers to create the paper edit.

In this module, we plan to teach you how to use Adobe Premiere, which we’ll use as an analog for common non-linear editing systems. Premiere uses many of the bells and whistles that will enhance your visual storytelling, including color correcting, essential graphics and easy shortcuts to trim edits efficiently. You will learn how to save a project correctly, and how to organize and prep your media for editing. We’ll help you become familiar with the workspace and tools that you will use when trimming video and audio clips. We’ll also share some rules of editing that will help you assemble shots in a manner that is pleasing and dynamic.

It’s often been said that editing is an exercise in controlled chaos. It can be overwhelming to face a mountain of footage and decide how it should go together. But using the script gives you a simple plan to get started. In this module, we’ll show you how to start editing the rough cut. The rough cut is where your story starts to take shape. But we’re going to recommend that you begin by assembling the audio first in the order according to what’s in the script. The completion of this audio bed will achieve what amounts to a “radio cut.” Simply listening to the audio will help you evaluate whether the story is making sense. Should you decide to make changes to the audio, it’s often much easier to do so if you don’t happen to have all your video in place, which would require some more shifting and cutting of clips. Once you feel that the radio cut is doing what you want, then it’s time to apply the video. If you’ve written to the video, then the clips should just fall in place. Once all the video clips are in roughly the order that you want, then the rough cut is complete. With this rough cut you will want to watch it several times to make sure it all makes sense. You will then be able to move on to the final edit.

In this module, you will learn how to polish your rough cut into the fine cut. We’ll cover the Rules of Editing, where you critically evaluate your shots, removing technically bad shots and audio, redundant shots, continuity errors and any shots that seem out of place. The goal of the fine cut will be to make sure that each shot is placed precisely and is well-timed with pacing and rhythm that seems appropriate to the emotional impact of the scene. We’ll also share some Adobe Premiere shortcuts for how to trim edits until the sequence feels like it’s working to create a dynamic and engaging presentation. We’ll also make sure you know how to mix audio properly, especially if you add music to your sequence. If you use any stock footage and/or music, then you will also learn about copyright restrictions and public domain.

One of the last elements added during the fine cut are graphics. Not every video needs them, but in some you will want to create a title and even some identifiers for the people who were interviewed. In this module, you will learn how to create animated graphics for slates, titles, full-screen graphics, and identifiers (lower thirds).

In this module, we will show you what you’ve been working towards this whole time: when you can finally export your video! We’ll discuss some of the different formats that you can export, how they will impact how your video will be seen by others. We’ll then call it a wrap!