Editing

Editing gives form to a story told in the form of images and sounds. For this, the editing graduate requires both organisational and creative insight as well as skill in operating an editing set. The editing discipline is geared to acquiring the skills needed to master the creative process. Besides learning about editing, the students learn to work with different kinds of editing sets in a methodical manner and in this way they acquire the necessary routine.

Characteristics emphasised in admission tests
The first selection is based on the registration form and the work submitted. Prior education, editing experienced gained through courses or internships and traineeships, the ability to tell a story and a sense of reality are aspects that are taken into consideration. What is also considered is whether the candidate has a realistic picture of the editing profession as expressed in his written motivation - does the candidate know what he is embarking on? An indication of this is whether the candidate has attended the Information Day(s). The recording submitted of the candidate´s own work soon shows whether or not the candidate has the talent to tell a story in sound and images.

The second selection takes place during the interview with the admissions board. They determine whether the impression created by the registration form and the submitted work has been correct.

The third selection takes place after the selected candidates have had their admission interview and some variety in age, gender, technical skills and artistic engagement is reflected in the group. And naturally proven talent remains the most important criterion.

Key attributes of a good editor.
- A story teller
- Creative
- Stress resistant
- Communication and organisational talent

Students learn this during practical exercises within the discipline, but mainly through joint exercises and internships. Subjects such as cutting, film analysis, editing music and dialogue also play an important part in this. This is trained by theory with illustrative film fragments followed by practical exercises.

During the first year, the course takes a more general approach and offers an introduction to all the disciplines in theory and practice. The practical side focuses on subjects such as camera, sound and editing and includes various exercises and assignments that the students must complete during the course of the year. Furthermore general subjects such as film and art history, literature and television history are included. Part of the programme during the first year is devoted to the chosen specialisation.

By giving the students individual attention during the practical exercises of the discipline, by coaching their joint projects, by letting students work with as many directors as possible, by introducing them to many guest lecturers who all have their own personal methods and in a variety of internships, by confronting students with each other´s methods and encouraging them to find their own methods.

First year
During the first year, the students are given of list of highlights in history of film. Works by Orson Welles, Sergei Eisenstein, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Akira Kurrosawa, Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola is very interesting to editors. More recent films by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator), David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Lost Highway), Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Lars von Trier (The Idiots), Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love), Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream), P.T. Anderson (Magnolia) and Tom Tykwer (Lola Rennt) are also important.

Second year
During the second year, a number of films are analysed including one that is very interesting to editors, The Limey (Steven Soderbergh), but also documentaries such as Nobody´s Business (Alan Berliner), Lessons of Darkness (Werner Herzog) and Sreda/Wednesday (Viktor Kossakovski). A wide range of films are examined from Plan 9 from Outer Space (Ed Wood) to Solaris (Andrei Tarkovski), from Los amantes del circulo polar (Julio Medem) to The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki) and from Hundstage (Ulrich Seidl) to Traffic (Steven Soderbergh).

Study material
Software
IMovie, Avid Xpress DV, DVD Studio Pro en Photoshop in the first year and
Diverse Avid editing software, After Effects, Final Cut Pro from the second year.

Books
- Walter Murch, In the Blink of an Eye
- David A. Cook, A History of Narrative Film
- Aristotle, Poëtica
- François Truffaut, Hitchcock/Truffaut
- André Bazin, Wat is film?
- Lajos Egri, The Art of Dramatic Writing
- Sergei Eisenstein, Lessen in regie

From the second year the editing lecturers provide various readers on theory as well as operating techniques.