Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Multimedia Recording and Editing Techniques

Multimedia Recording and Editing Techniques
6
16265
1
First semester
FB
Main language of instruction: English

Other languages of instruction: Catalan, Spanish

Teaching staff


Ms. SÁEZ SÁNCHEZ, Javier - jasaez21@uic.es

Professors: Daniel Benejam dani1benejam@gmail.com / Javier Sáez jasaez21@uic.es.

 

Attention schedule: Wednesday from 10-11 am and Monday from 10-11 am.

Introduction

The course Multimedia Recording and Editing Techniques introduces students to the equipment booking system and to the use of the facilities and equipment for video and audio recording and editing, including the television studio, radio studios, and post-production suites. This is a practice-orientated course designed to ensure that students acquire the fundamental technical skills in audiovisual recording and editing from their first year, preparing them to undertake more advanced courses and professional projects in subsequent years. Apart from the practical dimension, this course wants to wake up and develop a visual and auditive taste. Also wants to develop critical thinking to be able to make effective and most accurate decisions for the result they want to achieve in their audiovisual projects.

Pre-course requirements

No. 

Objectives

Main objectives for the course is that students will be able to: 

  • Manipulate and use a camera in manual mode.
  • Take decisions of visual narrative and developing a shooting plan.
  • Shoot footage thinked to be edited, with a pourpose. Not to shoot because esthetic criteria only.
  • Reccord sound on set with professional quality standards.
  • Know the roles related with photography and sound departments and their workflows.
  • Edit basic audiovisual pieces on Adobe Premiere Pro. 
  • Manage material reservations and manipulate it safely.

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • CN01 - Recognise the different roles within artistic and technical production teams.
  • CN03 - Identify emerging trends and developments within the global audiovisual ecosystem, including new formats and production technologies.
  • CN04 - Explain the current legal and ethical framework governing the creation and distribution of audiovisual products, taking into account the sector's regulatory requirements.
  • CN07 - Recognise the main contemporary artificial intelligence tools with applications in the audiovisual sector.
  • CP03 - Communicate information and original ideas effectively, both orally and in writing, in Spanish, Catalan and English.
  • CP04 - Apply professional ethical principles and standards of academic rigour in the audiovisual field, respecting the fundamental right to equality between women and men, promoting human rights, a culture of peace and democratic values, including the use of inclusive, non-discriminatory and stereotype-free language.
  • CP05 - Develop multi-platform scripts that take into account the specific characteristics of different audiovisual genres and formats.
  • CP06 - Apply innovative image and sound techniques in audiovisual productions, integrating emerging technologies.
  • CP07 - Create audiovisual content for commercial purposes, making full use of the expressive possibilities of multimedia environments and maximising creative potential through emerging digital technologies.
  • HB02 - Apply professional techniques in body language and voice presentation to create impactful audiovisual content.
  • HB03 - Critically analyse contemporary audiovisual genres and formats using professional aesthetic and narrative criteria.
  • HB04 - Use bibliographic resources, specialised terminology and linguistic structures in English effectively for professional communication in the audiovisual field.

Learning outcomes of the subject

Students will be able to:

  1. Design audiovisual products that work effectively across different platforms, adapting their format and content to the specific characteristics of each medium, genre, and device.

  2. Master the techniques and technologies involved in live and multicamera television production.

  3. Work confidently in professional television and radio studios.

  4. Acquire technical skills in the main image and sound recording and editing technologies.

  5. Master audiovisual language, appropriately integrating all the modes present in narrative (visual, verbal, and musical).

  6. Identify the main sound libraries and appropriately integrate music into audiovisual narratives to create impactful content.

  7. Master the main techniques and technologies of digital design, including AI tools.

  8. Work in teams and coordinate teams.

  9. Stimulate artistic creativity by defining a personal style and developing lateral thinking.

  10. Identify the main contemporary artificial intelligence tools with applications in audiovisual creation.

Syllabus

Block I. Control the camera (sessions 1-3)
Equipment → exhibition → optics → color.

  • Presentation of the subject and the profession of the director of photography.
  • Sony Alpha 7 III and Sony NX800: characteristics, uses and limitations.
  • Assembly and disassembly of the equipment: items, objects, battery and SD card. Basic configuration and codecs.
  • Tripod: mounting, leveling, camera col·location, paneig, tilt and movement control.
  • Exposure triangle: aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Relationship between the three parameters.
  • Focals with the 24-70 mm zoom: wide, normal and telephoto. Camera-subject and compression distance.
  • Field depth : diaphragm, distance to the subject, distance subject-fonts, focal length and separation of the background.
  • Histogram: basic reading, highlights and shadows.
  • White balance: color temperature, kelvin, light sources, automatic versus manual.

Block II. Learn to look at (sessions 4-6)
Frame → movement → Raccord.

  • Typology of the enquadrament: gran pla general, pla general, pla sencer, americà, pla mitjà, primer pla, primeríssim primer pla i detall. Picat, contrapicat and cam position.
  • Frame as a decision: Why this and not other different.
  • Types of movement: fixed camera, pan, tilt, handled, tracking, traveling and reframing.
  • Movement of the character vs camera movement.
  • Raccord: 180º axis connection, direction of gaze, direction of movement, frame size, plan/reverse shot and spatial raccord.

Block III. I will learn to roll (sessions 7-8)
Planning → action → interview → illumination.

  • Sony NX800: assembly, configuration and operation. Differences, advantages and limitations respect to the Alpha 7 III.
  • Planning the action: where to place the camera, how many shots are needed and what information provides each one.
  • Construction of the viewer's space orientation.
  • Interview: character blocking, framing, eye's direction, background and distances between camera-character.
  • Basic lighting: light direction (front, side, backlight and ¾) and quality (hard and soft).
  • Optics and space applied to the interview: subject-background separation, focal and field depth.

Block IV. I will learn to ride (sessions 9-11)
Premiere → rhythm → continuity → export.

  • Premiere Pro: interface, project creation, material organization, import, bins and sequence creation.
  • Timeline: selection of shots, cutting, displacement and basic tools. Basic audio editing.
  • Rhythm, selection, relationship between shots, music, titles and transitions.
  • Construction of a sequence from a basic material.
  • Codecs and export: codec, content, H.264 and other formats, resolution, framerate and bitrate.

Bloc V. Being autonomous (sessions 12-15)
Thesis → planning → filming → edit → critic.

  • Development of an own project from a premise: what is want to tell and how.
  • Location, character, action, planning, frame, movements and shotlist.
  • Advised filming
  • Project management: organization, selection, raccord, rhythm, structure, music, titles and images.
  • Critical analysis of the finished piece: image, editing, raccord, movement and narrative.

Teaching and learning activities

In person



In camera exercises, technical control is assessed: exposure, white balance, focus, focal length selection, and depth of field. The focus is not on accuracy, but on the ability to explain the reasoning behind each decision.

The sound component is structured around the principle of developing a discerning ear. Students must learn to select and position microphones, adjust gain at different recording stages, and manage various audio signals.

In planning exercises and the project itself, the focus is on the usability of the footage, rather than on the final product: sufficient coverage, adherence to the axis, continuity, and proper editing. A single, visually appealing shot is not valued; what matters is the overall composition that allows for the construction of a sequence.

In editing exercises, the organization of the footage, selection, pacing, continuity, and the technical quality of the final output are evaluated.

Special attention will also be paid to sound treatment, as it is a fundamental element for establishing the editing rhythm and defining continuity for the viewer.

The final practical exercise assesses the ability to configure aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for a given situation, while also justifying the decision made.

Submission of all exercises and attendance at the filming and editing sessions are mandatory and cannot be substituted.

TRAINING ACTIVITY ECTS CREDITS
Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. 2
Coaching. Monitoring how students learn the content of the subject, either individually or in groups. In the coaching sessions, mistakes will be corrected, queries answered, and exercises and activities to achieve the established objectives will be suggested. 1
Practical workshop. A highly practical working activity, where students can acquire skills that are practical or also theoretical (intellectual skills, logical skills, critical skills, intellectual learning skills, study skills, quoting skills, etc). 2
Peer learning. The aim of this activity is to ensure that students gain the ability to analyse and be critical. One way of achieving this is by correcting their peers' exercises and results, etc. Each student will be evaluated twice: as both a recipient and a transmitter of critical knowledge. 1

Bibliography and resources

Basic

  • Almendros, N. (1982). Días de una cámara. Barcelona: Seix Barral. [Ed. original: Un homme à la caméra, 1980. Prefacio de François Truffaut.]

  • Brown, B. (2008). Cinematografía. Teoría y práctica: la creación de imágenes para directores de fotografía, directores y operadores de vídeo. Barcelona: Ediciones Omega. [Ed. original: Cinematography: Theory and Practice; 4.ª ed. inglesa, Routledge, 2021.]

  • Tranche, R. R. (2015). Del papel al plano. El proceso de la creación cinematográfica. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

  • CHION, Michel: El sonido (Paidos, Barcelona, 1999)

  • LYVER, Des: Principios básicos del sonido para video (Gedisa, 2000)

  • RUMSEY, Francis y McCORMICK, Tim: Introducción al sonido y la grabación (IORTV, 1992)

  • Almendros, N. (1982). Días de una cámara. Barcelona: Seix Barral. [Ed. original: Un homme à la caméra, 1980. Prefacio de François Truffaut.]

  • Brown, B. (2008). Cinematografía. Teoría y práctica: la creación de imágenes para directores de fotografía, directores y operadores de vídeo. Barcelona: Ediciones Omega. [Ed. original: Cinematography: Theory and Practice; 4.ª ed. inglesa, Routledge, 2021.]

  • Tranche, R. R. (2015). Del papel al plano. El proceso de la creación cinematográfica. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

  • CHION, Michel: El sonido (Paidos, Barcelona, 1999)

  • LYVER, Des: Principios básicos del sonido para video (Gedisa, 2000)

  • RUMSEY, Francis y McCORMICK, Tim: Introducción al sonido y la grabación (IORTV, 1992)

Suplementary

  • Ballinger, A. (2004). Nuevos directores de fotografía. Madrid: Ediciones Ocho y Medio. [Ed. original: New Cinematographers, 2004.]

  • KATZ, Robert A: La masterización de audio (Focal Press, 2002)

  • NISBETT, Alex: El uso de los micrófonos (IORTV, 1993)

  • Nykvist, S. (1998). Culto a la luz. Madrid: Ediciones del Imán. [Conversaciones con Bengt Forslund. Ed. original: Vördnad för ljuset. Traducción de Francisco J. Uriz.]

  • Schaefer, D. y Salvato, L. (1990). Maestros de la luz. Conversaciones con directores de fotografía. Plot Ediciones. [Ed. original: Masters of Light, 1984.]

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