Introduction to Documentary Editing

During this time of social distancing, Docs In Progress is staying connected with visual storytelling and educational media. Although the class needs to be online while the Docs In Progress building remains closed, it's actually an ideal way to learn editing software and techniques, with your own screen right in front of you, personally guided by an Adobe Certified Instructor, editing professor, and filmmaker during live interactive Zoom sessions.

Designed for anyone new to documentary editing (or wanting a refresher), the course requires your own access to a computer with Adobe Premiere Pro software installed: you can get a Creative Cloud license by enrolling in a paid subscription, or you may already have one. However, if you lack access to either option, then you can receive temporary at-home access from Docs In Progress for the duration of the course. We are here to work it out!

During 6 sessions this Fall on Tuesday and Thursday evenings [Thu:10/22, 10/27,10/29, skipping 11/3 Election Day, 11/5,11/10, and 11/12 , you'll learn the editing interface, how to establish a workflow, ingest files, use tools to trim/place/move your material where you want it, incorporate still pictures, and add basic transitions/titles/effects. You'll use provided footage for practice material, leading up to a final editing challenge for real-world experience. Besides this technical training, discussion of documentary editing history and theory will surround each week's topics on: the basics of editing, effects, color, and sound.

NOTE ON PAYMENT: Full payment must be received to guarantee you a spot in the class. In order to get the discounted early bird rate, full payment must be RECEIVED by the early bird date.  Otherwise the regular rate will be charged.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR​: Paul Moon​​

H. Paul Moon (zenviolence.com) is a filmmaker, professor and attorney whose works include short and feature-length documentaries, featured and awarded at nearly two hundred film festivals worldwide. He teaches editing at Docs In Progress and George Mason University, and manages a network of online communities at focuspulling.com and docofilm.com that keep pace with new camera technologies and documentary news. Works include "Sitka: A Piano Documentary" (sitkadoc.com) about the craftsmanship of Steinway pianos, and "Quartet for the End of Time" (quatuor.xyz) about Olivier Messiaen’s transcendent WWII composition. Moon's first feature, an acclaimed and award-winning documentary about the life and music of American composer Samuel Barber (samuelbarberfilm.com), premiered on PBS, and he is currently finishing another documentary feature about Western poetry (westdocumentary.com). His ongoing centenary multimedia works on the poet Walt Whitman are presented at whitmanonfilm.com.  Moon's latest film is an operatic adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" (scroogeopera.com), awarded "Critic's Choice" by Opera News as a "thoroughly enjoyable film version, insightfully conceived and directed" with "first-rate and remarkably illustrative storytelling."

REFUND POLICY If your circumstances change and you must withdraw from a class after registering, please be aware of Docs' refund policy: Withdrawal 30 or more calendar days before the first day of a program: 75% refund. Withdrawal 11-29 calendar days before the first day of a program: 50% refund Withdrawal 10 or fewer calendar days before a program: No refund