CONTENTS
- 10 Tips for producing audio-visual research projects
- 10 Essential Moves for Video Editing
- Step 1: Manage Files
- Step 2: Create a New Project
- Step 3: Navigate the Workspace
- Step 4: Arrange and Edit Sequence
- Step 5: Edit and Trim Clips
- Step 6: Transition Between Clips
- Step 7: Add Titles, Text, and Captions
- Step 8: Edit Audio Tracks
- Step 9: Edit Visual Tracks
- Step 10: Save and Share
WELCOME TO THE VIDEO EDITING WORKSHOP!
This workshop is designed to help total beginners or intermediate creators to understand the basics of video editing in Adobe Premiere Rush. In the sample video we will create addresses a primarily academic audience, since the main purpose is to demonstrate classroom uses for video (e.g., explainer videos, interviews with an expert); however, the steps demoed are transferable across various editing styles. The goal is to use the provided media assets to recreate the sample video below using Adobe Premiere Rush.
10 Tips for producing audio-visual research projects
Research first: do your homework! Define and examine the context, problem, or case you hope to study before you write a script, collect data, generate questions to ask an expert, or gather media assets.
Production: every film needs a star! Interview an expert (e.g., a "star" who "tells stories" for a living or frequently). Follow the three Cs rule: citation, copyright, consent. Give credit where it's due (i.e., citations), source information without stealing it (i.e., copyright), and get permission from the "star" to use the recording for your purposes (i.e., consent).
Collect B-roll: you can never have too much B-roll! Try to film and photograph all kinds of creative, interesting close-ups and angles. B-roll (i.e., supplementary footage) can be used as visual metaphors to help narrate your story or illustrate a more abstract concept.
Technical preparation: test your technology! Do sound checks with your microphone, understand the basic features of your device(s), and be mindful of location and lighting—all this before you do an official recording.
Guide your interview(s): listen to your interviewee carefully and strategically! Ask non-leading, open-ended questions that help your subject complete their thoughts and round out their (and your) storytelling. Don't be afraid to go with the flow if the interview goes off script, but do ask follow-up questions that help clarify key terms and concepts, prompt vignettes and anecdotes that illustrate ideas, and achieve the big-picture goals of your project.
File management: stay organized! Create a single folder for all of your recordings, images, files, music, graphics, etc. Then, name each asset descriptively, simply, and consistently for easy access later (e.g., b-roll_beach waves, b-roll_trees). Finally, back up the folder via the cloud. Nothing in your media project should be outside of this folder.
Select the right editing software for you: find your fit in the Adobe Creative Cloud! Here are some recommendations: Adobe Express Video (beginner), Adobe Premiere Rush (beginner-intermediate), Adobe Premiere Pro (intermediate-advanced), Adobe Audition (beginner-advanced).
Develop your story: study and storyboard! Listen to your recording(s) via editing software, and search for concise soundbites that help build a coherent story—something with a beginning, middle, and end. Be prepared to do this many times as multiple listenings/viewings can often illuminate new insights. As you study, consider creating an outline or storyboard to organize the emerging sequence.
Edit for sound first: audio is king! Trim and arrange your audio clips so that spoken information (e.g., narration, interview excerpts) tells a story regardless of how the video looks.
Polish and publish: pay attention to detail! Add visual elements such as b-roll, titles, and graphics to reinforce and/or enhance your spoken audio; edit audio using music and add "ducking"; make a plan for closed captioning accessibility; and render, export, and share.
Step 1: Manage Files
Organize all media assets in one folder
Download video media assets* from the resource page for the video workshop. Familiarize yourself with each clip. Save everything in a designated folder that’s easy to find on your computer.
*Media asset: any media object like video clips, photos, graphics, mp3 music tracks
Step 2: Create a New Project
Load all media assets into a Rush project.
Launch Rush, then click the blue “Create a New Project” button.
Navigate to the folder you created in Step 1, and select all media assets in the order they appear from left to right. Next, title your project “Sustainability” in the bottom left of your screen. Finally, click “Create.”
Step 3: Navigate the Workspace
Familiarize yourself with the Rush workspace.
Watch Step 3 in the video overview for a quick tour of the Rush workspace. In particular, practice the following in this step:
- Zooming and scrolling with the scrollbar
- Expanding control and audio tracks
- Hovering over icons to see their function
NOTE: Rush auto-saves projects, so there’s no need to click a “save” button.
Step 4: Arrange and Edit Sequence
For more effective visual storytelling, add dynamic b-roll as the opening shot in the timeline. Do this by rearranging clips horizontally. Additionally, cut away to related visuals when the speaker in your Audio Narrative talks about the University.
HORIZONTAL EDITING
VERTICAL EDITING
Step 5: Edit and Trim Clips
For more strategic audio and visual storytelling, edit and trim clips so that only necessary information remains. Delete the disclaimer at the beginning and the part about star gazing.
DRAG AND DROP
Click on a clip and then hover over the end of or beginning until your cursor changes to the drag and drop editor. Click and drag to trim the clip
SPLIT
Move your Playhead to where you would like to introduce a cut and then click on the scissors icon to split your clip
Step 6: Transition Between Clips
Activate the “effects” pane and select from the list of transitions.
Typically, “Dissolve,” “Black,” and “White” are good transition options. To fit your preference, elongate or shorten transitions using the “drag and drop” editing method when you see transitions appear on clips.
NOTE: you can also use transition effects to fade audio clips in and out.
Step 7: Add Titles, Text, and Captions
To reinforce or introduce spoken information, add text on screen. Activate the “graphics” pane and select “titles.”
Step 8: Edit Audio Tracks
Using the blue plus sign, select “Audio,” and choose a Rush soundtrack to add to the project.
Balance the music volume by selecting the music track, activating the Audio panel in the right-hand toolbar, and selecting “Auto duck” under the “Advanced” pane.
If you’d like to practice voiceovers, use the “Voiceover” option via the blue plus sign to record an outro.
Step 9: Edit Visual Tracks
Activate the “Crop & Rotate” pane in the right-hand toolbar. Use the “Scale,” “Horizontal Position,” and “Vertical Position” features to resize and place your B-roll.
For still images only, you can choose "pan and zoom" to create movement
You can also flip an image or video horizontally or vertically
Step 10: Save and Share
Click on the “Share” workspace selector
Toggle “Local” on, give your project a file name, save the project in your media assets folder, then click “Export.”
Export the project as a local .mp4 file.
Participants are granted permission without specific, additional written consent to provide and duplicate these materials for use in accredited, non-commercial, educational settings.
Here are some additional resources to help you learn more about about Premiere Rush and other Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
Find Free To Use Music and Videos at the Penn State Free Media Library