Learning the art, business of video
Matthew Salois ’21 jumps into online video creation
Supported by: Talanian Work & Learning Fellowship
Major: Film and new media studies
Moved by pictures: “Ever since I was a kid I’ve been obsessed with TV, movies, YouTube and about any other form of video content I could get my hands on. Once I entered high school and was exposed to the world of post-production and film editing, I knew I wanted to learn more about it and pursue it through college.”
Multiple roles: “During my internship at NewScape Productions I wore many hats. I started out by writing the synopsis and description for each video. Eventually, I moved on to assist in editing and filming before I was put in charge of managing the company’s Amazon Video Direct account and distribution.”
Sound foundation: “I shadowed the lead editor and learned how the editor creates a soundscape for each video. So much time and effort are put into each line of dialogue, sound effect, and moment of ambient noise to make the animation feel like real life. The editor came from a background in sound engineering and music, so he was able to teach me a lot about Adobe Audition and its role in production.”
Editorial control: “The first day I shadowed the lead editor, he received a phone call and had to step out of the editing suite. On his way out, he told me I could sit down and start chipping away if I wanted to. I jumped at the opportunity and got my first real taste of what it was like to edit for an actual production company. It was really exciting for me and validated that this was something I wanted to continue pursuing in my career and college experience.”
Speed lessons: The biggest challenge was adapting to such a fast-paced style of editing. In the feature film and TV world, the goal is to reach as close to 100 percent quality as possible, and time isn’t as much of an issue. For digital video, the goal is very different: You want high quality, but it also needs to be done as quickly as possible. This calls for lots of different techniques and shortcuts, which I hadn’t been exposed to before.”