Hi Stage 32'ers! Question. As a screenwriter, I'll probably never edit but while I'm at home, I feel like I should learn the basics. Where does one start? Cheers!
Post-Production : Basic Editing by Kate Pyle
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As a filmmaker, it should be part of your arsenal (along with cinematography & sound mixing). It will also help you as a screenwriter. For aesthetics and rules of editing, watch movies and read books on film editing. You don't need to read them all but find a couple good ones, read them and keep them on your shelf. Blink of an Eye, Cut by Cut are two. For the technical, hands-on side, if you can afford it, get Adobe Premiere. If that isn't feasible, try OpenShot, VSDC, or MovieMaker. Then start cutting. You'll see what works and what doesn't. If you get stuck, do a YouTube search on your particular problem. Chances are there's a video out there dealing with the issue. Beyond that, have fun. Editing is a blast, in a way, it's a lot like writing. It's relatively solitary, you have to have a beginning, middle, and end, and you must tell a good, tight story. However, the gratification is much more immediate.
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Among other things, I also went to editing school. That being said, read or watch anything on Walter Murch.
Here is a great doc on what editors do: https://vimeo.com/335100287It has a lot of great modern clips as well as history.
A short piece on Walter Murch editing.
The easiest thing to do to practice basic editing is use you cell phone. There are many free apps for editing video.
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To follow up with Christopher's post regarding Walter Murch, I highly recommend his book In The Blink Of An Eye. It's compact but full of his wisdom on the craft of editing.
Thanks for sending along that link, Christopher!
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I'm going to give all these suggestions a REAL go. Thx for the recommendations!