Online Editing for Dummies

Brian Carroll’s Writing for Digital Media devotes an entire chapter to “Getting It Right: Online Editing, Designing and Publishing.” 

The chapter opening proclaims, “online publishing is not at all like editing for print, at least in terms of job responsibilities,” (120).  Luckily for us, Carroll lays out eight key points to step-by-step edit online.

1. Identify the readers and the purpose of the content: Focus mainly on the needs of the reader
2. Define document structure and links: Make sure the website is easy to navigate
3. Define the style: Use templates and keep it consistent
4.  Edit: Editing chunks of randomly spread information is more effective than reading start to finish
5. Copyedit: Search diligently for typos and misspellings
6. Copyedit (again!): Utilize other sources this time, such as dictionaries, stylebooks, or encyclopedias
7. Write headlines: Headlines are necessary for quick skimming and finding useful information
8.  Test usability: Navigation should be easy and make sense for your content

Another concept Carroll dives into is multimedia storytelling.  The two necessary skill sets for editors include XHTML coding and being proficient in multimedia (128).  These two ar

e most important when it comes to telling your digital story, but the Poynter Institute’s Eyetrack studies reveal four succinct characteristics of first-rate multimedia presentations (129).

1.     Short is better.

2.     Interactive is better.

3.     Personal (or local or hyperlocal) is preferred.

4.     Navigability is central.

So, can you think of any well-designed webpages? Which characteristics make it that way?

Once Upon a Digital Story

Osgood and Hinshaw write an entire book on Visual Storytelling, but for our purposes their chapter on “The Aesthetics of Editing” serves the most purposeful for our class.  As we begin our video projects, the authors offer helpful tips on how to edit video effectively.

Director Louis Malle is quoted in the chapter as saying, “I keep telling my editors, if you win an award for editing, I won’t work with you anymore. Your editing shows,” (230).  The cardinal rule of editing is to be sure the viewer isn’t aware that the story is being cut, as the story should flow so naturally that a viewer does not have time to consider whether or not the editing is quality or subpar.  

Have you ever noticed the editing as a viewer?  Do you notice it because it is excellent editing or poor editing?

Osgood and Hinshaw identify several aspects of good editing to consider when cutting a video.

•        Image and Sound
•        Shot Order
•        Shot Relationship
•        Time
•        Rhythm and Pacing 

Additionally, transitions are critical to high quality editing.  A transition is  “the fundamental action that advances a story line from shot to shot and scene to scene,” (240).  There are three major techniques when cutting:

•        Cut on dialogue
•        Cut on action
•        Cutting on the beat

Sequencing is another characteristic of first-rate editing.  “The purpose of the sequence is to add interest and sophistication to a scene and provide the viewer with a better understanding of the scene,” (239).  Different shows utilize different sequencing techniques because those patterns work for their material.  

Rachael Ray’s Thirty Minute Meals uses close up shots so that viewers can see how the chef whips up her favorite dishes in thirty minutes.  Displaying the cooking process in close ups makes it more appealing to viewers.  Check out Rachael making BLT Burgers with Sriracha Aioli below.