TFM 327 / 627 Syllabus v2.1

TFM 327/627 - FILM AND EDITING / AUDIO PRODUCTION Instructor: Greg Penetrante

OFFICE HOURS: By appointment – I’m almost always around in the evenings. E-MAIL: [email protected] (recommended) or www.facebook.com/gregpen PHONE : (619) 985-7715

TEXT: Modern Post Workflows and Techniques – Scott Arundale & Tashi Trieu – Focal Press

Highly Recommended but Not Required: The Room Handbook, Hollyn, Norman, Peachpit Press

COURSE PREREQUISITES: TFM 314 or similar

COURSE OBJECTIVES: You will study classical examples of editing techniques by means of video clips as well as selected readings and active lab assignments. You will also will be able to describe and demonstrate modern post-production practices which consist of the Digital Loader/Digital Imaging Technician (DIT), data management and digital . You will comprehend, analyze and apply advanced practices in , online/conforming and . You will be able to demonstrate proficiency in using non-linear editing software by editing individually assigned commercials, short narrative scenes and skill-based exercises. You will identify and analyze past, present and future trends in post-production. Students will also learn how to identify historically significant figures and their techniques as related to defining techniques and trends in post-production practices of television and film and distill your accumulated knowledge of post-production techniques by assembling a final master project.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Film editing evolved from the process of physically cutting and taping together pieces of film, using a viewer such as a Moviola or Steenbeck to look at the results. This course approaches the concept of editing holistically as a process of artistic synthesis rather than strictly as a specialized technical skill. It will focus principally (but not exclusively) on what is often called , that style of editing that is most often used in the construction of narrative films. It will also consider deviations from the classical formulae such as those espoused by master editor and sound designer, Walter Murch. The course aims to inspire and develop what Edward Dmytryk calls the creative editor – the person with an understanding of dramatic structure, a keen sense of timing, a compulsion to seek out the scene’s hidden values, and the technical skills needed to bring all these talents to bear on the film he or she edit. This class provides technical instruction in basic audio production, editing and post production techniques. Emphasis will be on practical exercises in Post-production and . Projects will concentrate mostly on what is commonly referred to as “continuity editing” . Continuity Editing is known as the popular 'classical Hollywood' style of editing was developed by early European and American directors, in particular D.W. Griffith in his films such as The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. The classical style ensures temporal and spatial continuity as a way of advancing narrative, using such techniques as the 180 degree

TFM 327 / 627 Syllabus v2.1

rule, , and Shot reverse shot. Additionally, alternative styles to continuity editing will also be explored.

We will cover items from the TFM 327 Technical Coverage List (on the end of the syllabus). We will also endeavor to cover subjects that the class brings up or expresses interest in, to make this learning experience beneficial to all.

Most importantly, each student will master the technical and conceptual aspects of sound and editing by executing at least 4 hands-on assignments.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

1. COURSE READING 2. WRITING UTENSILS 3. VALID EMAIL ADDRESS 4. EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE 5. A DRIVE TO LEARN 6. A BRAIN.

ASSIGNMENTS /EXERCISES: (THESE MAY CHANGE!)

Lab Exercises Lab exercises will be completed within the class lab period. These will involve real-world examples of post production workflow, editing technique and color correction.

Assignment 1 – “Editing Boot Camp” Working as a team, you will be an editor and sound designer for a short scene that you pick from choices that the professor gives you. You will be in charge of editing, recording, sweetening, mixing, and ADR.

Assignment 2 – “30 Second Television Spot” Working as a team, you will and design sound for a 30-second television commercial with material provided to you.

Assignment 3 – TBA

Assignment 4 – “Final Project” This constitutes your “Final” in this class, and synthesizes all that you have learned about editing picture and sound over the last 14 weeks. Using raw material from a promising advanced film project, including dailies, production audio and the script, you will edit a documentary, music video or short film with sound. You will use the skills and knowledge you have acquired with respect to cutting motion picture images (pacing, timing, rhythm, transition, movement, matching, contrasting), as well as with respect to manipulating sound, to create as dynamic a story as you can.

TFM 327 / 627 Syllabus v2.1

All project assignments must be submitted as self-contained QuickTime movies, ProRes encoded and uploaded to the TFM 327 file server, or directly onto the instructor’s hard drive!

QUIZZES

These simple quizzes will be given randomly to ensure you are keeping up with your reading and lectures. You may or may not be told in advance when a quiz will be given. Just keep up on your reading.

HOMEWORK

Homework will be given out periodically. I will email any additional reading assignments. Any written homework must be emailed to me. No written homework will be accepted. Email to: [email protected].

ADDITIONAL WORKSHOPS

Because many of the assignments in this course will be executed on the Macintosh computers and hard drives in the Mac lab (Comm. 153), and because FCP 7 has been superseded by FCP X, we will spend time with different NLE applications such as Resolve, Premiere Pro and the new FCP X. I will conduct workshops as part of the lab work in the class to support the conceptual work that is the essence of the course. Additionally, the class will cover the related applications, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Audition, PhotoShop, dabble in After Effects and Adobe Encore/AME.

DEADLINES AND ATTENDENCE

Deadlines for editing assignments will be strictly enforced. Late assignments will be devalued. The deadlines are indicated in the schedule section of this syllabus. Attendance is essential to passing the class with a satisfactory grade. If possible, the instructor should be notified at least one week before any (scheduled) absence. Failure to do so will result in a lowering of final grade. Students are expected to attend all class meetings, participate in classroom discussions and complete all assignments on time. If you are going to be absent, please call the instructor. If you think that your are going to be absent unexcused for more than two consecutive times, you will have serious consequences and should reconsider taking this class. If you think you will skate through this semester, think again: Don’t waste my time; I won’t waste yours – enroll in a class that is tolerant of sk8rz!

GRADING

Evaluation: Final grades are determined by the total number of points earned based upon the following criteria: Completion of assigned projects; Written tests/quizzes; Project Reports; Class Participation.

TFM 327 / 627 Syllabus v2.1

Grading Weights Project #1------10% Project #2------10% Project #3------10% Project #4------10% Writing Assignments------5% Quizzes (totaled)------15% Class Participation------40%

The specific requirements and objectives for each project will be included at the time each project is assigned. Some projects will require accompanying written supporting documentation (project reports).

Promptness and punctuality are evidence of a personal discipline that is essential to future communication professionals. As such, each assignment will include a stated deadline that will be strictly enforced. Each audio project will also include a strict running time requirement. Audio projects will be evaluated on objective standards of technical proficiency and aesthetic standards of style and content to be determined in class and established in an agreed upon scoring rubric. Examples of what such a rubric might include are: sound quality of the audio project, timing, mixing of sound, delivery, overall quality, mastering, and how closely the project equals the assignment specifications.

If you receive a grade of less than 70% of the total possible points on an audio project, excluding the last project, you may make the changes suggested on your critique and resubmit the project for further evaluation. If you choose to take this option, you must resubmit a given project within two (2) weekdays of the time that project was returned in class, accompanied by the original evaluation. The highest grade that will be awarded for a resubmitted project will be 80% of the total possible points on that project.

All written materials must be emailed to or shared with (Docs) the instructor! Written materials will be evaluated based on thoroughness, organization, proper use of language and style (e.g., grammar, punctuation, and spelling). Professional presentation is expected and citations of the writings of others must be properly credited (Refer to the “Cheating and Plagiarism” section of the University Policies section in the General Catalog).

Lecture quizzes shall consist of a varied format, including true/false, multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions. They are administered to ensure each student’s comprehension of assigned reading/screening materials.

TFM 627 – GRADUATE STUDENTS

For TFM 627, graduate level students will be tasked with the responsibility of being group leaders/producers for each project team. An additional research component will be required which is composed of team evaluations and a research paper.

Want More? The instructor will be posting important links at the Studio-A website: http://studioa.sdsu.edu/tfm327-2018

TFM 327 / 627 Syllabus v2.1

TFM 327-627 Course outline – this is a provisional course outline. We will attempt to cover as much of this material as possible during our short 15-week course. You will be able to use parts of your own film projects as material for your projects. Please visit course website for up-to-date syllabus changes!

Week 1 Week 9 Introduction to course Project 2 TV Commercial screenings Student survey / Collect student data Color Correction and Grading Presentation Screen “The Cutting Edge” , the terminology of grading. What is Digital Screen “History of Cutting” Imaging Technician? Intro to DaVinci Resolve Color Page Reading: Modern Post 6.1 – 6.1.10 Project 3 assignment – TBA Reading: Modern Post 4.2-4.3 Week 2 Week 10 DV 101 presentation Color Grading Lab TBD DaVinci interface part 2 Tracking, qualifications, etc. Premiere to DaVinci and back FCP X to DaVinci and back Reading: Modern Post 6.1 – 6.1.10 Week 3 Week 11 Screen “Transformers 3…”, “Track Stars”, “ADR Before Quiz 4 and After”, Murch “Worldizing” DaVinci Lab part 3 Sound scavenger hunt lab Conforming proxies, transcoding formats in DaVinci Digital Audio 101 presentation Proxies vs. raw vs. original Project 1 assigned: Editing Boot Camp Creating Looks in DaVinci ADR / Foley presentation Remote Grades, versioning, groups, timeline grades, clip ADR Lab (“Lost”) grades, exporting/importing projects and looks Week 4 Week 12 Screen “Interstellar” and Sound Collection “Interstellar” Project 3 screening Screen “Matrix” office scene Intro to After Effects— interface, workflow Mac Lab 101, remedial Mac OS, Mac OS hints tips Exploration of special FX – gunshot, tracking, masking, Davinci Resolve Intro and Audio. Assign Final Project Reading: Modern Post 2.1 – 2.6 Week 5 Week 13 Quiz 1 After Effects – warp stabilizer, optical flow, Screen “King Kong” week 6 and 7 workshop and lab. Stems, submixes, busses Reading: TBA Davinci to Logic Pro workflow Adjusting volumes in Logic / Davinci Auto , Forensic Audio in Audition Week 6 Week 14 Screening Project 1 Putting it all together Project 2 assigned: Commercial Spot Adobe Media Encoder and transcoding lab (TBA) Project delivery – presentation and lab. Reading: Modern Post 3.1-3.3 DaVinci/ X multicam lab Week 7 Week 15 Effects / Dynamics in DaVinci TBA Workflow Presentation / Lab Student meetings DaVinci demo to archiving footage Final Cut Pro X workshop remedial and setup

TFM 327 / 627 Syllabus v2.1

File based workflows Merge Clips in Premiere Reading: TBA Week 8 Week 16 Quiz 3 Final Projects Screening and student evaluations. What makes the Cut Cutting in DaVinci TBA Trim Tools Titling Credit Roll in Illustrator to DaVinci After Effects Credit Roll

TFM 327/627 Audio/Post Production Mercury Playback Engine TECHNICAL Mixdown Transitions COVERAGE LIST SFX basics Unlinked Selection

Audio Editing/Sweetening Stereo Pairs Using your Mac ADR Mark Audio Peaks MacOS Basic UI Foley Select Track Tool conventions Adding SFX/Music Power user tips NLE Foundations Audio Mixing Connecting to Servers Editing workflow Delivering your Project

Video Formats Exporting Quicktime Movie DV 101 Digital NLE Process Media Management Codecs System Setup Compositing with Keys Bit depth Folder Organization and mattes Color Sampling Depth Interface Multicam editing

Easy Setup DIT Workflow Audio/Video Settings VFX Hard drive types System Settings Compositing RAID types Log/Capture Window in X Background and Rsync Tool Audio Capture setups foreground plates Clone Tool Interface and Tape Control DIT Apps Capturing on the Fly Applications Building a DIT workstation Preflight Check DaVinci Resolve/Studio

Opening the Project Adobe Encore Colorists Workflow Browser Tabs Adobe Media Encoder Primaries Viewing/Trimming clips Adobe After Effects LUTs Building your edit FCPX Log curves Matched action edit Stills edit Audio Field Production XML / AAF interchange Boom Mic Techniques Ripple tool Power Windows Field Recording Color Matte Mic Placement Color Space Titles with Photoshop Sound Devices recorders Color Science Proper recording levels Title Safe ACES workflow