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Wildlife Film News
The free monthly e-zine for the wildlife film-making industry

Creative Wildlife Video Editing

Editing is the crucial and almost final creative stage a film goes through before reaching an audience. It is a much misunderstood craft and frequently taken for granted by viewers all over the world. Wildlife editing has diversified a great deal in the last ten years. We no longer view the chocolate box or ‘blue chip’ narrative as the only way to tell a story. There are many ways to put a wildlife film together depending on what you want to say. In this Creative Wildlife Editing weekend, you will learn the tricks of the trade, styles that are ‘in’, styles that are ‘out’ and techniques that draw from unusual places.

Through the use of many clips and examples taken from every aspect of film production and hands on practical lessons, we’ll examine the symbiotic relationship between direction, shooting and editing and also the importance and power of music. Hands on experience will be available via Final Cut Pro.

The course is taught by Alan Miller who has twenty years' experience of editing wildlife documentaries and Caroline Brett, who is a highly experienced and award-winning producer/ director.

The location is Hall Farm House in North Norfolk, UK. Accommodation is camping in your own tent (or a limited number of shared rooms are available for an extra £20 per course, or there are B&Bs nearby) and there will be excellent home-cooked food. No experience or equipment is required, but do bring your laptop editing system if you have one.

Itinerary

Friday: Aim to arrive by 6pm on the Friday the course starts, directions will be sent when you have booked your place.
7pm - Evening meal served (no problem if you arrive later)
8pm - Introductory chat - who we are, who you are, and what we will be doing this weekend.

Saturday:
8am - Breakfast
9am - Introduction to creative wildlife editing. What is editing? The Basics.
10am - Caroline Brett on 'How to make the Editor happy!' - The Basics of good camerawork
11am - Coffee break
11.20am - Breaking Down The Edit - why do we cut? The elements of the edit - Emotion, Eye-Trace, Rhythm, Story, 3D action, 2D screen.
1pm - Lunch
2pm - When to throw out the rules. Choices and Clips to illustrate many editorial points
4pm Coffee Break
4.30pm - Team selection and Editorial Challenge. View Rushes
6pm - Course Day Ends
7pm - Evening meal served followed by the showing of wildlife films or related works

Sunday:
8am - Breakfast
9 am - Short Introduction to Final Cut Pro (some basic computer skills required for the team member operating the system)
11am - Coffee break
11.20am - Practical Editing
12.30-1.30pm - Lunch break
1.30pm - Practical Editing
3.30 pm - Tea - Viewing and comments
4pm - Course ends

Staff/Tutors

Alan Miller (pictured left) has been editing wildlife documentaries for almost twenty years. BBC trained, Alan started editing wildlife programmes at Partridge Films and worked on many of their Wildscreen Panda award winners. He has worked for many companies, including Granada, BBC, NHK Japan and Nature Conservation Films for whom he edited two wildlife feature films. He has also written and directed many documentaries but remains passionately interested in editing. He is experienced in both Avid and Final Cut Pro systems.

Caroline Brett (pictured right - a highly experienced and award-winning producer/ director. Caroline worked for twenty one years for the prestigious Survival series making programmes in numerous locations including out on the ice in Arctic Canada, in the rainforests of Sierra Leone, high on the tundra in Alaska and on a remote Vietnamese island in the South China Sea. She produced the highly successful ‘Predators with Gaby Roslin' and directed some of the ‘Wild about Essex with Tony Robinson’. She now works as an independent Producer/Director through her company Shake The Tree Productions)

Julian Wheeler (pictured left) is a Media Resources Officer and lecturer in Media and Video Production at Thanet College in Broadstairs. He also works freelance as a video cameraman, editor and web designer. Ha has worked extensively for many years with a variety of media-based programs, including Photoshop, Quark Xpress, InDesign, Avid, Final Cut Pro and After Effects. He regularly run classes in Photoshop, Final Cut Pro and After Effects.

Booking Information

Costs: £250 per person (concessions available for full-time students - ask for details)
This includes tuition and meals. A limited number of shared rooms are available for an extra £20 per course, or there are B&Bs nearby

Dates:
To be confirmed

Booking: Initially contact info@wildeye.co.uk to check if any places are left. If so you will be put on a short list and required to pay a deposit of £25 to secure your place.Places are limited and will be awarded first-come-first-served - so you are advised to book early. View our Terms and Conditions for Booking Courses.

Comments from previous students:

"Just wanted to say a quick thank you for a fantastic weekend and wonderful hospitality. I found it all really inspiring and the useful advice has really helped me to focus on improving my skills. Also, thank you for the gorgeous food"

"I found it really interesting and inspirational and very worthwhile. I can't recommend it enough and makes me want to seek avenues in wildlife documentary."

"Thanks for your company and for organising yet another great weekend. I was very impressed with both the quality and value of the weekend. Hope to do it again as soon as possible"

"The weekend prompted me to stand back and think more about the overall effect of story and the emotions I wanted to prompt, rather than just rushing in to join pieces of footage. I learnt more about using storyboarding, eye lines and spatial awareness of the bigger picture."

Staff and students March 2008

Staff and students January 2008