Editing

Today started - after wake-up duty and breakfast duty - with a brief primer on how to use our editing suite. Once again, we are using Serif Movie Plus software. I showed them on the big screen how to import, cut and generally mess with video clips. 

I told them that there was no "wrong" way to learn this - that they were free to mess liberally with anything we shot over the last dew days. Effects, cuts, overlays - all were there for their enjoyment. The reminder and understanding that no damage to the source clip would occur helped free up the boys from their initial fear.

Within moments the class was silent, except for the occasional giggle (and more frequent "Mr. T., How do I...?) as the boys flung themselves into their task of having fun with this powerful new tool. 

By the end of 20 minutes, we had a "Chipmonk" version, a really slow cross-fade that led to multiple images on the screen, various color enhancements, a silent movie version (accident), and the comment of the day: "I LOVE THIS! THIS IS THE MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD!"

It's 9:17 AM, and my day could be done on that note... However, I'm on duty tonight!

Before I close, I'd like to give a shout-out to the peeps who made the inaugural #TABSchat last night a success. If you're interested in life in boarding schools, and do the Twitter thing, tune in to #TABSchat, Wednesdays at 8:00 PM EST