Part 15: Exercise - Your Own Rough Cut

Using all that you have learned about the practice of editing in the previous three parts of the guide, put together the rough cut of your own video. The amount of time that this exercise will take you is difficult to estimate, but you can rest assured that it will take longer than you think. As you create your rough cut, keep the following questions in mind:

1. Does my shot-order tell the right visual story?
2. Does the timing, speed and rhythm of my edits build dramatic tension in my video?
3. Am I using transitions to add visual effect and impact?
4. Do the music and sound cues that I am using create the intended emotional mood for my video?
5. Am I incorporating the right video, images, and/or audio created by others to improve the effectiveness of my own video?

Really important second part to this exercise. Nothing else tells you what is working in your video, and what isn’t, like sitting down with someone and watching your rough cut. When you have to play the video for someone else, you will be able to see where you need to make adjustments to the edit and change things around if you need to. The other person watching can also give you valuable feedback on what makes sense and what doesn’t.