05.0 Editing

Editing, in many ways, is where the magic happens and is often the most fun part of creating a film. 

It is here where the auditory and visual journey weave together in the illumination of this new world you are drawing into our awareness. 

Now it's time to upload you materials (voice, music and videos) into your video editor app (depending on your school you will be using: iMovie, Canva and CapCut, all of which have tutorials below). There are many editing apps, but these three (and others) mostly operate in similar ways.

05.3 Balance: Clean Voice Tracks with Music Tracks

When you begin to plan the sound for your video, there are two main categories to consider: voice (03.1) and music (03.2). 

Once you have both your voice and music uploaded, it's really importat to make sure that there is a good balance between the two, so that the vocal track is clear and easy to understand over the music. 

If your voice becomes lost or hard to hear, you will want to either increase the volume on the vocal narrative track or perhaps duplicate the voice track.

05.4 Match and Evaluate Visuals to Illustrate the Narrative Voice

After you have balanced your voice (03.1) and music (03.2), you will want to integrate the visual storytelling using footage you filmed on your own, or "royalty free" films that you have found (either downloaded from pixabay or identified in the library of your editing app (again, depending on your school you will be using: imovie, canva and capcut, all of which have tutorials below that show you where you can find "royalty free" videos).

Be careful though (caution!). Sometimes videos don't follow the audio narrative, and, consequently, the video footage doesn't make sense. Other times, the video footage is too literal and abrupt, and might then make your film look a little silly (for instance if you say "eyes" and then suddenly the image shows two eyes close up). 

05.5 Evaluate and then Readjust Transitions for Smooth Development

The audience will want to experience a natural transition between images. As a creator, look for parallel geometric patterns, overlapping shapes, aligned movements, and matching or sequential colors. 

Also, consider what kinds of transitions (for example, a cut or dissolve) most serve the movement from one image to the next. Note: most complex transitions will cost extra to use within an editor, and usually also make the film look a bit overworked.