In-Depth Post #1

What is In-Depth?

The In-Depth is a TALONS program project where we learn a new skill that we’re passionate about! Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to skateboard, but the constant load of schoolwork never let you do it. We have 5 months to learn the skill, from January to the end of May. Throughout this period, we dive deep into the field we have chosen, following a timeline to achieve a goal that we have set for ourselves. However, you won’t be learning alone. Before we start the project, we will find a mentor that specializes in the skill we’re learning. This mentor will provide teachings, support, and feedback to help better your learning experience. TALONS’ In-Depth project is designed for learners to try something new and unique, outside of the standard school curriculum!

 

My In-Depth Skill

For my In-Depth skill, I’ve chosen to learn video editing. I will explore a software of my choice, and using it, to make videos that are more visually entertaining, attention-grabbing, easier to understand, and even induce certain emotions from the audience. Additionally, I will also learn some other basics on filmmaking such as planning, shooting, cinematography, music, etc.

 

Why I chose this skill?

I chose to learn video-editing because it will come in handy to have in the future for school projects, advertising or promotion, business, or other similar places. I believe that there will be a lot of opportunities for me to apply this skill in my life, especially as more people are moving into the digital world. Furthermore, I’m in a robotics team that could use a better showcase video currently, which is already a situation where video-editing skills would be very beneficial. Video-editing is something I’ve wanted to learn for a while now but never really got to do, which matches the scheme of In-Depth perfectly.

 

Learning Goals

  • I will have created two 5-10-minute professional-quality videos (I’m reconsidering to create more short videos below 5 minutes for better diversity)
  • I learned how to navigate my software of choice effectively and efficiently
  • I will learn techniques to edit videos to be more entertaining, seamless, and professional (transitions, colour grading, music and sound, etc.)

 

Timeline

As a way to track my progress and set the bar, I have created a basic timeline to follow throughout 5 months.

Plan Timetable
 Research and choose a video-editing software that would suit me the best.  January 7th (Completed)
 Have a mentor chosen, and paperwork done.

Explore the software and be comfortable with using it.

Have a general idea of the video topics I would like to do (can change later on)

 January 31st
Edit some short clips as practice February 1st – May 1st
 Complete my first 5-minute edited video. Doesn’t need to be perfect.  March 16th
 Complete showcase video for my robotics team. (not required)  April 30th
 Complete a final edited video around 10 minutes long.  May 31st

 

Current Progress and Next Steps

After some research on various video-editing software, I have decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro as my editing software. I chose Premiere Pro mainly because of its wide popularity and ratings by professional editors, meaning that it will be easier to find more relevant tutorials. Over the break, I watched some YouTube videos and learned the basic gist of this program. I still have lots to explore within the software and start editing a video early relative to my timeline, as it would be better practice over watching tutorials.

I have also not found a sufficient mentor yet, but I do have a candidate that I will get in contact with soon.

 

Proving My Learning

To prove my learning, I will be blogging every 2 weeks right here. I might blog earlier, or later, if I need quick feedback, or I’m just polishing up a video I’ve been working on and posting it a few days late. Along with videos I’ve finished lately, I will also be posting everything I’ve learned within the past 2 weeks. Maybe I learned a new transition trick, or my mentor showed me their workflow.

 

How can you help?

As I mentioned above, I will be blogging every 2 weeks as a progress report. The best way to help me is to provide constructive criticism and feedback on my video projects. I’m trying to make entertaining videos, and getting feedback is especially important for that. Everyone likes different styles and the more diverse feedback I get to hear, the more well-rounded I’ll be for various audience styles.

 

Thanks for reading about my In-Depth, if you’re interested in joining my video-editing journey, just give a quick check-in here every 2 weeks to see my latest progress!