LO2 - Task 3: Understand the skills to carry out the role of an editor

The key role of being an editor is taking the original footage from a video recording and developing it into a much more professional piece, suitable for business use or broadcasting. To complete the tasks involved in this role, to start with the editor would have to import the original clips into an editing software. Then, clip by clip, the footage has to be edited. In Adobe Premiere Pro, tools such as the razor tool could be used to crop the clips, the speed and duration tool could be used to speed up or slow down the clips, the ultra key tool could be used to remove a background such as a green screen from the video and keyframes could be used to track, zoom in or zoom out in a clip. Once the edit has been completed, the footage would have to be exported as one file. This can be done by rendering, then exporting the clips. For best results in Premiere Pro, saving the video as a H.264 makes it an mp4 file. The video will be saved as the same size and quality as the original sequence settings created unless changed.

Written communication:
The experience that I have had in terms of editing and written communication is asking what a client would like to be added in terms of effects and specific clips in their video that I have edited. This example is from one of the videos that I edited for the 'Sheff Shooters'. I asked them what kind of music they would like fitting to the clips, what kind of effects they would like adding to the clips such as slow motion action replays, colour changes, overlays, keyframes and how long they'd like the video to be. I used this written communication in the form of writing a message to send to them on Twitter. I managed to receive full answers back from the team so that I was aware of what I was aiming to create. This helped me in editing the final product.

Verbal communication:
If I was on a joint project with another editor, it would be very important to have good verbal communication skills. Having these skills would make both of us happier with the final outcome of the project. It would also give us more ideas on how we could enhance the footage to make it more desirable and make it fit better in time to the music or effects. When I was in the boy scouts, I was made a patrol leader, I must have shown the group leaders that I was a good communicator and would give positive messages to others since they put me in that position.

Practical production:
During the editing stage of production, it is important to acquire all your resources and sort all your clips first, so they are easy to access when it comes to altering and enhancing them. When I am getting ready to start editing I always make a back up folder of the footage from the SD card to my desktop, so that there is no risk of any footage being lost. The footage is then also a lot easier to access and import into the editing software, as I am able to import whole folders at a time. As I also have great knowledge of the software Adobe Premiere Pro CC, I am able to quickly find what I am looking to do with a clip to edit it, bringing the time it takes to finish the project down. While I am editing the clips for the 'Sheff Shooters', I use a variety of techniques to enhance the footage. I use film overlays to make the footage look sharper and to change the colours occasionally, I use transitions such as glitch transitions that I have downloaded online and I use after effects to distort parts of the clip or to use a transition that's not applicable in Premiere.

Here is a video that I have edited for the 'Sheff Shooters'.

Creativity:
When I look through the clips that I am about to edit, I can have ideas straight away of what I would like to do to it to enhance it and make it more visually pleasing. This is a great advantage as it shows that I have a natural brain for deciding what I want to do to videos.

Gaps in my skills and areas for improvement:
Having been editing properly and to the best of my ability for over 6 months, I have gained lots of experience over this time and learnt lots of new things. I have developed my technique and leant to manage my time more effectively. I could still manage my time more effectively by specifying how long I should spend on a project, rather then spending too much time on certain parts. Sometimes I try too hard and put too many effects in only a short space of time, I try to improve this by spreading them out more across the video. As I edit more and more videos, I will learn how to use the effects and when it's appropriate to. I could try and edit videos in a more professional surrounding, as at the moment I am only mainly editing them in my bedroom, which isn't what it would be like in industry.

Action plan:
So I can gain more experience in my chosen field of editing and have more opportunities to perhaps get myself a career at the end of it, I plan to...

1. Gain more experience by attending events such as Jigsaw24's 'Post with the Pros', where you are able to talk to industry experts and receive a hands on experience in using the latest editing technology.

2. Study a BA (Honours) in Digital Media Production at Sheffield Hallam University. The course would last 3-4 years, depending on whether I did a year of work experience, and would help me to enhance my skills even further in not just editing, but in media production as a whole.

3. Once I have studied this course at university, I am looking to gain a job in the industry, in the TV or film sector, as an editor of TV shows or films.