Editing Schools -Los Angeles

[Bruce Morgan]

Hey all !!
I have an appointment to meet with the folks at a school in burbank called "Video Symphony " .Id like to hear opinions about this school and courses in general which give training and certs in avid and fcp .
If you preferr to answer through private message , that is fine .
regards
Bruce

[rafikiwilliams]

i would also love to hear about this. i want to get fcp certified, just dont know the best way to go about it.

[Michael Friedman]

I took my first Avid class there ten years ago. It was a two or three day class. I had to share and Avid and I didn't remember a thing when it was done. A month later Premeire 5 came out and I taught myself how to edit at home. (Later that summer my first project got accepted to Sundance)

I think, in general, those types of classes are a waste of money these days. As for certification, it is only good for teaching others. If someone puts that on a resume, it is usually paired with a lack of real world creative experience.

With the range of software choices out there today, I would buy FCP or AVID and teach yourself the basics. The real learning with editing begins after you have mastered the button pushing. It comes from making editing choices, hitting play, and reviewing your choices - alone or with others. The software is a means to an end. A way to interface with the material. Don't get too caught up in learning every feature. At work every day I use ten year old Avid software running on Mac OS 9. I also focus on a smaller area of the feature set since I am being paid to make the basic choices about story, emotion, music, etc. that are independent of the software I am using.

Save your money. Teach yourself the software basics. Find a mentor and get experienced feedback. Watch movies / TV shows you like and learn to emulate the cutting style. That's a start.

[rafikiwilliams]

thanks michael, i was just looking at the prices on some of that training... ridiculous needless to say.

i think ill be sticking to the self taught thing.