Learn the art and techniques of editing image and sound for maximum impact.

There are no available registration dates at this time.

This workshop is a part of the 2023 Summer Academy program

Filmmaking

Film School (Jun 26 - Jul 7, 2023)

Photography

Digital Photography (June 26 - July 7, 2023)

Explore how editing, sound design, effects, and color grading can take your film to a new level. In this workshop, aspiring filmmakers and editors will learn how to use the techniques of editing and post-production to create work that lands with impact.

You’ll spend these two weeks on the mid-coast Maine campus of Maine Media Workshops, one of the world’s most respected training grounds for filmmakers. Our students have gone on to work at the top levels of their professions, winning Oscars and Emmys.

Students will learn the craft of editing, exploring how pacing, shot selection, rhythm, and juxtaposition can be used to create emotional impact and advance a story. We’ll examine how good editors approach their footage, and what actually makes a cut effective, experimenting with different types of scenes.

You’ll have the opportunity to work with existing footage you’ve shot, as well as do exercises with professionally-shot footage that we will provide. If you do not have footage to bring, we will provide extra footage for you to use for exercises. Maine Media will provide all software for you to work with while you are here.

You’ll learn how to work effectively with Adobe Premiere and its interface. Students will learn window layout and customization, folder structure, sequence creation, keyboard shortcuts, 3-point editing, trimming tools, and navigation within a project. The course will also cover building and fine tuning a rough cut, working with audio and effects, creating titles and graphics, and exporting and sharing your projects. Throughout the class, students practice their new skills, editing short scenes.

The workshop will also introduce students to the power of DaVinci Resolve, the standard software for professional colorists. You’ll get a strong introduction to color correction and color grading and how it can make your work stand out. You’ll also learn how to create compelling sound design, exploring the creative dimensions of sound to heighten the impact of a film. Students will create different soundscapes for scenes to examine how these choices change and intensify our perception of a moment.

With the guidance of an experienced instructor, students will gain a strong foundation in this crucial phase of filmmaking and learn how to enhance their creative expression. If you have a film that you want to polish and use as a portfolio sample that you can enter into film festivals, this class provides a great opportunity to do that.

Whether you are looking to journey more deeply into developing your creative voice as a filmmaker or seeking a pre-college film experience that will allow you to create your portfolio, or explore editing as a career, you’ll exercise your creativity and put into practice what you’ve learned. And of course, you’ll also experience two summer weeks in the beauty of midcoast Maine.

See how these techniques and processes can make your work the best it can be.

Student learning DaVinci Resolve online in real time

About the Maine Media Summer Academy

The Summer Academy at Maine Media cultivates the next generation of photographers, filmmakers, and book artists through expert learning opportunities. Students will be surrounded by peers who share their passions and are guided by working artists who encourage creativity as they instruct them in the latest skills and techniques and help create portfolio-level work.

Brief Academy Overview:

  • All Academy students must be fully vaccinated for COVID at least 14 days prior to arrival. A copy of the vaccine card must be submitted to registrar@mainemedia.edu.
  • Student days are comprised of both classroom and field/location work: lectures and critiques, demonstrations, shooting, editing, writing, computer workflow and/or digital lab work, depending on the workshop. All instructors are talented industry professionals as well as experienced educators, and each works with a teaching assistant, providing additional support for their class. The students are busy all day and into the mid-evening hours.
  • All students reside in our campus residence, occupying the lower floor. Rooms are all private baths with a maximum of three students per room (most will be doubles). Resident Advisors (RAs) also reside on the same floor to monitor and supervise.   The upper floor is occupied by non-Academy adult workshop attendees who will have little exposure or direct interaction with the Academy students.
  • During the week, all meals are taken together in the dining facilities directly across the street. Weekend meals are taken in the local economy and transported by the RA’s – or sometimes do cookouts. This cost is included in the tuition package. Parents may indicate any special dietary needs upon registration.
  • RAs supervise the students when not in class and help make group decisions about weekend activities which may include swimming, bowling, movies, and hiking. Coin laundry facilities are available on campus.
  • A lobster dinner is served (there are other choices) on the last Friday night of each workshop, and all Maine Media students gather for an evening presentation of highlights from the week’s work. Parents are welcome to attend, and meal tickets may be purchased in the Registration Office.
  • We recommend students have access to $150 over the two-week period for incidentals, snacks, movies, field trips, etc.
  • Check-in is on Sunday, between 3 and 6 and departure is on Saturday morning.
  • Tuition includes accommodation, access to campus amenities, transportation once the workshop has begun, meals (including a lobster dinner!), Resident Advisors, and Teacher’s Assistants.
  • Students may request a transcript be sent to their high school for possible credit.

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Instructor: Tom Ryan

A New England-based editor and filmmaker, Tom has worked extensively in the worlds of commercial, corporate, and documentary film. He has freelanced in Production for over 9 years and is a co-founder of the Maine-based Production company, Tailwind Media. As an editor, his work in fiction and documentary film has been shown in numerous festivals. In addition to workshops, he currently teaches documentary film in the 30-Week Professional Certificate program at Maine Media College. Affiliated with MMW+C for over 6 years, Tom is passionate about teaching storytelling to students of all career paths and skill levels.

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