Creating a Montage

A montage (literally "putting together") is an art form consisting of a number of smaller items put together.

In our class, we are going to create a montage using final cut express or iMovie. Your montage should follow the following format.

1. A short introduction in which the characters (actors) exchange some spoken dialogue.
2. A song imported as a sound track.
3. During the time the song is playing your actors will be seen in many different edits.
4. The action during the song should tell a story visually using no dialoge.
5. The song will set the mood for the scene
6. Some sort of conclusion, either visual or as dialogue.

In order to complete this assignment you will need to:

1. Learn how to use a digital video camera
2. Learn how to connect the camera to the computer using a firewire cable
3. Learn how to import the video into the computer
4. Learn how to do basic editing operations using either iMovie or Final Cut Express
5. Learn to insert video transitions, effects and sound into the video
6. Learn to export the final product to DVD format

General information about film and video editing

Since the film was physically cut and pasted, a 'nonlinear' style of editing evolved. At the workprint stage, strips of film could be placed in any order. This approach is generally considered superior to the strictly linear approach that was necessary in video editing through the 1970s. A video 'cut' is really the copying of scenes from various camera tapes onto a master. Before the development of powerful computer systems that could store large amounts of visual data for transfer, it was necessary to make the transfer in strictly linear order. Trying to insert a shot between two shots already on the master tape would create noise, etc. A system such as Avid allows the creation of a workprint.
In recent years, 'film editing' has come to mean what a 'film editor' does, even though the work involved is now generally performed on a computer-based non-linear editing system, such as Avid, Lightworks or Apple's Final Cut Pro and, at the semi-professional level, by programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Pinnacle Edition or Sony Vegas.