Avid & history of editing

In today's lesson we were first introduced briefly to the programme known as Avid. This is the programme that we will be using when editing our films. We were took into the editing suite and were shown first how to access our work in progress and how to load up the programme itself. We were also given the chance to create our individual Avid accounts so that we were from then on set to edit away in the suite.

We were later then introduced to a documentary on the history of the editing process known as "The Cutting Edge, The Magic of Movie Editing". We learnt the early process of editing and how it was prominently a women's job in the early ages of film as it was closer to the activity of knitting. It wasn't until sound was introduced that there was male workers who from then on came in by vast amounts due to the more technical side of the editing process.

We learnt about the connection in which the director and editor have and the give and take between the two, a good example would be Steven Spielberg and his editor for the film "Jaws" Verna Fields. In this case Spielberg wanted to get as much of the shark in the film as he could due to the cost of the manufacturing though his editor would not agree and showed him how less was bigger. She was absolutely correct creating one of the most terrifying creature features to date.

The documentary informed us on the use of cutting and how it has brought films to a whole new standard, almost creating living worlds instead of static pictures. I found this lesson to be very interesting and i am glad i am now set to begin my editing process when the time comes.